The workforce outcomes of dental graduates from a metropolitan school ‘Rural Clinical Placement Program’ versus a ‘Rural Clinical School’

Abstract

Introduction: This study compares the workplace decisions from University of Sydney (USYD) dental graduates who participated in a 1-month voluntary Rural Clinical Placement Program (RCPP), USYD graduates who did not participate in the RCPP (non-RCPP), and with graduates who qualified from a dental Rural Clinical School (RCS) at Charles Sturt University (CSU). Methodology: From mid-2015, USYD students who graduated between 2009 and 2013, and CSU graduates from 2013 to 2014, were requested to complete a telephone interview related to employment choices. For USYD, 135 interviews were completed (63% of contactable graduates) and for CSU, 39 interviews (68%). Mixed methods were applied to analyse the data. Results: For USYD, 33% of RCPP participants were working rurally compared with 18% of the non-RCPP, whilst 54% of CSU graduates were working rurally. For USYD, the self-reported influence of the RCPP on the graduates' employment decisions was a significant predictor of rural employment. For CSU, country of birth and employment status were weakly associated with rural employment. Across the three cohorts, key employment factors were as follows: job availability, family, personal relationships, good mentorship, clinical training, partner factor and lifestyle. In addition, both the RCPP and CSU graduates showed greater interest and awareness of rural employment than the non-RCPP. Conclusion: The CSU RCS and USYD RCPP are leading to positive rural employment outcomes, and it is clear that the provision of a rural experience is influencing graduates to work rurally. Further investigation of the CSU program is required to fully assess its impact and to provide longitudinal workforce information.

Rural clinical school dental graduates views on rural and metropolitan employment

“…For the univariate analysis, only “country of birth” (Χ 2 = 6.20, P = .01), “competitiveness in finding employment” (Χ 2 = 5.57, P = .02) and “employment status” (Χ 2 = 4.17, P = .04) were significantly associated with rural employment. The multivariate analysis resulted in “country of birth” (PR = 3.23, 95% CI: 0.93‐11.24, P = .07) and “employment status” (PR = 2.13, 95% CI: 0.94‐4.82, P = .07), showing weak evidence of an association with rural employment 37 …”

“…To the knowledge of the authors, this is one of the first studies to explore the views on rural and metropolitan employment, and recruitment and retention factors from dental graduates from a rural clinical dental school. A recent companion study 37…”

“…In the recent CSU companion study, 37 both univariate and multivariate analyses were applied of the workforce outcomes of the 2013 and 2014 CSU graduate participants presented in this current study, and examined characteristics including age, graduation year, gender, rural background, country of birth (Australia or International), employment status (full‐time or part‐time), dental practice type and the competitiveness in acquiring employment. For the univariate analysis, only “country of birth” (Χ 2 = 6.20, P = .01), “competitiveness in finding employment” (Χ 2 = 5.57, P = .02) and “employment status” (Χ 2 = 4.17, P = .04) were significantly associated with rural employment.…”

“…The 77% of CSU graduates working in a dentist-owned practice and 8% in the public sector correlate with a NSW oral health report, which reported that the majority of oral health services are provided by the private sector (87%), with only 7% working in the public sector, demonstrating the sample is generally representative of the NSW workforce. 38 In the recent CSU companion study, 37…”

“…The 77% of CSU graduates working in a dentist-owned practice and 8% in the public sector correlate with a NSW oral health report, which reported that the majority of oral health services are provided by the private sector (87%), with only 7% working in the public sector, demonstrating the sample is generally representative of the NSW workforce. 38 In the recent CSU companion study, 37 both univariate and multivariate analyses were applied of the workforce outcomes of the 2013 and 2014 CSU graduate participants presented in this current study, and examined characteristics including age, graduation year, gender, rural background, country of birth (Australia or International), employment status (full-time or part-time), dental practice type and the competitiveness in acquiring employment.…”