Transversal Competencies in Peruvian dental students in times of COVID-19

Abstract

Background Transversal competencies are crucial for university students' academic-professional training and labor insertion. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the transversal competencies (instrumental, interpersonal, and systemic) according to sociodemographic variables in Peruvian dental students during COVID-19. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out on second to sixth-year students of Peruvian dental school. A validated printed questionnaire on transversal competencies was used, which contains two sections, the first corresponding to the sociodemographic characteristics of the student and the second to the transversal competencies. The survey was conducted between May and August 2022. Descriptive statistics were applied for each of the competencies. The Friedman, Dunn-Bonferroni post-hoc, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to relate the study variables. Results The three types of competencies presented similar median values (3); four competencies obtained lower median values. Interpersonal competencies presented lower statistically significant values (p = 0.003) when compared to instrumental and systemic competencies. Conclusions No connection was found between each group of transversal competencies and sociodemographic variables.