Students' Evaluations of Simulations in Dentistry: A Multiple Cohort Study at a U.S. Dental School

Abstract

Simulation may help translate didactic learning to patient care in areas such as communication skills and medical emergency management. The aims of this study were to investigate how multiple cohorts of dental students evaluated simulations utilizing standardized patients and manikins and to explore evaluations of a simulation that combined social determinants of health with oral health education. All approximately 600 second‐ and fourth‐year dental students at one U.S. dental school participated in simulation activities for five years (2014‐18). The activities involved clinical communication skills with an urgent care patient, medical emergency management, and communication skills with a parent with low income. After the simulations, students were invited to complete an evaluation of the experience. Questionnaire items addressed perceived applicability to patient care, value of the experience, and fulfillment of objectives; and open‐ended questions asked for comments specific to the parent with low income simulation. A total of 497 responses from D2 and D4 students were collected over the five‐year period, as well as from all 12 periodontics residents in 2017, for an overall 91.7% response rate. The vast majority (>90.6%) positively evaluated all items for each simulation. The positive ratings ranged from a mean of 99.3% for the urgent care simulation to 93.8% for the parent with low income simulation. Positive student comments often related to learning from/with others and effective practice of teach back and patient education tactics. Students' most frequent suggestions for improvement called for better preparation. In this study, simulations with both standardized patients and manikins led to positive evaluations as well as anticipated improvement of clinical performance. These results suggest that incorporating simulation into an already‐crowded curriculum is worth it from the student perspective, especially for reinforcement of clinical skills not easily amenable to classroom instruction.

Introducing dental students to complete denture treatment in times of COVID‐19: Students’ responses

“…Active learning activities were evaluated as the best resources, 43,44 and future courses could increase these types of activities. Overall, it is important to consider that the future education about complete denture fabrication should incorporate computer‐aided design/computer‐aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) into the clinical curriculum 45–48 …”

“…Overall, it is important to consider that the future education about complete denture fabrication should incorporate computer-aided design/computeraided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) into the clinical curriculum. [45][46][47][48] In summary, at this time, we recommend making more resources available to allow students to individualize their study approach, including links to additional videos and literature applicable to patient care and offering additional didactic information for students who need more explanation or detail to understand certain topics better. In addition, we suggest to include more assessment materials or activities for some clinical topics such as "Border Molding and Final Impressions," "Jaw Relations," and "Complete Denture Occlusion."…”

Implementing Standardized Patient Caregivers to Practice Difficult Conversations in a Pediatric Dentistry Course

“…Much as in other health care fields, current research on SP encounters in dentistry suggests the methodology is a valuable part of dental education, improving provider communication, confidence, and conflict resolution skills. 23,25 Multiple factors can influence the successful implementation of a simulation program, including support from internal and external stakeholders, access to appropriate resources, and continuous faculty development. 37,38 Fortunately, frameworks exist to guide educators seeking to implement a simulation program in an existing curriculum.…”

“… 22 After participating in these pediatric SP encounters, learners show improved skills ranging from explaining a treatment plan to caregivers to delivering the news of the death of a child. 23 – 25 Overall, the use of SP methodology applied to caregivers or children has a positive effect on communication skills and confidence as a part of medical education at both the pre- and postdoctoral levels. 8 – 10 , 12 , 18 – 22 , 26 , 27 Reports calling for increased use of SP methodology for evaluating diagnosis and treatment planning in dental education go back to the 1990s.…”

“…Much as in other health care fields, current research on SP encounters in dentistry suggests the methodology is a valuable part of dental education, improving provider communication, confidence, and conflict resolution skills. 23 , 25 …”