Journal of Dental Education最新文献

Reflective practice is viewed as a theoretical and pedagogical concept in higher education having several diverse approaches and interpretations. The most important aspect of reflective practice is that it is a necessary quality assurance aspect of higher education which should occur recurrently and at different stages of the program. It usually entails an evaluation of advanced instructions which has become the norm in an educational setting, in order to improve the learning outcomes. Reflective practice must therefore be seen as a tool which allows continuous improvement, modifications, and changes to educational approaches, which include theoretical and clinical assessment strategies. Academics in prosthetic dentistry at a research-led university reflected on their current assessment strategies used in the senior undergraduate dental program as part of a quality assurance process and its global comparability. This paper aims to share and explain the importance of reviewing assessment strategies in higher education, especially in such a clinical program using reflective practice as a framework. Different assessment strategies used over a 5-year period are explored and their different structures, expectations, and appropriateness for a clinical program are reported from the literature. The concerns were addressed in a cyclical manner within this framework, and Blooms and blueprinting implemented where appropriate. We conclude that without a validated definition and framework for regular reflective practices, and guidelines to modify the included assessment strategies, the quality assurance within a competency-based dental program may be compromised.

Objectives: Health literacy awareness is a crucial skill for health professionals, yet training may be lacking. Didactic lectures may improve health literacy awareness in future health professionals, however, compressed curricula may lead educators to consider the incorporation of eLearning into the delivery of health literacy education. E-modules have been shown to engage learners, yet little is known about their effectiveness in instilling behavioral change in learners' clinical communication skills. This study aimed to shed light on the impact of learning modality on dental students' ability to learn and translate soft skills into clinical settings.

Methods: An e-module on health literacy awareness was created by the researchers with an equivalent lecture developed. Fifty-six dental students were randomly assigned to a control or intervention cohort (lecture or e-module) and all cohorts participated in standardized patient experiences to be assessed in a simulated but authentic patient care scenario. Pre- and post-intervention scores, simulation scores, and learner reflections were compared.

Results: Fifty-six students participated in the study. Post-intervention health literacy awareness knowledge increased for both intervention cohorts. In clinical simulation, intervention cohorts scored significantly higher on nearly all variables, with the lecture cohort scoring consistently better than e-learners.

Conclusion: Both lecture and e-learning are effective learning modalities for promoting health literacy awareness, but dental students learning the subject via lecture may translate certain newly acquired soft skills more effectively in clinical scenarios.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of traditional teaching versus traditional teaching supplemented by serious gaming in imparting knowledge of periodontal indices among dentistry students. Additionally, the study seeks to measure the level of satisfaction among students engaging with the assessed teaching method.

Materials and method: This comparative study was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Valencia with file number: 2479311. A sample of 61 subjects was divided randomly into two groups: the test group (n = 36) and the control group (n = 25). Baseline knowledge of community index of periodontal treatment need was assessed through a questionnaire completed by both groups before receiving a comprehensive explanation of the topic. The test group, in addition to the conventional explanation, received supplementary training via an educational gaming experience. Both groups underwent a final evaluation and, subsequently, a satisfaction survey was completed by the test group. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using a non-parametric Brunner-Langer model. The relationship between scores was examined using Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests, with a significance level set at α = 0.05.

Results: The training, in general, was effective as both the test group (p = 0.003) and the control group (p = 0.015) demonstrated an increase in scores with both teaching modalities, but no significant difference was observed between the groups. The test group expressed a high level of satisfaction with the instructional approach.

Conclusion: No statistically significant difference in learning outcomes was identified between the traditional lecture teaching method and the approach supplemented by gaming. There was an elevated level of student satisfaction with the gaming method.

Purpose: Interprofessional education and intraprofessional learning experiences are fundamental to becoming an efficient member of the healthcare team for dental and dental hygiene students. The purpose of this study is to determine the attitudes and perceptions of The Ohio State University's dental and dental hygiene students on intraprofessional education and collaboration.

Methods: Dental and dental hygiene students at The Ohio State College of Dentistry were surveyed in this cross-sectional study about their readiness for intraprofessional learning. The questionnaire was modeled after a study conducted by Brame et al. which focused on assessing students' readiness for intraprofessional education and determining their perceptions towards the use of intraprofessional education.

Results: Two hundred and seventy students completed the questionnaire for a 61.3% response rate. Dental hygiene students agreed more to how incorporating shared learning would help to think more positively about other oral health care professionals (p = 0.025) and would help students to become better oral health care team members (p = 0.002). Dental students agreed more than dental hygiene students that the function of a dental hygienist is to provide support for dentists (p ≤ 0.001) and that they must acquire more knowledge than other oral health care students (p ≤ 0.001). Most students (93%) agreed that intraprofessional learning would help in becoming a more effective oral health care team member.

Conclusion: Dental hygiene students feel more strongly than dental students about including intraprofessional education in their learning. However, all students were receptive to the idea of incorporating intraprofessional practices.

Purpose: To determine the relationship between woman leadership at senior administrative and predoctoral levels in United States (US) dental schools and assess if this relationship is affected by school characteristics.

Methods: A 23-question survey was created and distributed to each US accredited dental school (2023). Data regarding the gender of the school's dean, senior administrators, and student leaders, as well as school characteristics were gathered. Data were organized in Excel. Descriptive statistics were performed using mean and standard deviation for continuous measures and using count and percent for categorial measures. Statistical comparisons were performed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), Fisher's Exact, or Chi-squared tests for comparison of proportions.

Results: 32 dental schools provided analyzable data for this project (44.4% response rate). The most common senior administrative position held by a woman was the dean of student affairs (71.9%). For every surveyed school with a woman dean (n = 11, 34.4%), at least one other senior administrative position was held by a woman. There was no statistical significance between the year of school establishment, geographic region, gender of the dean, or prevalence of women administrators and students in leadership roles. The number of women students in leadership roles was close to the national enrollment trends for gender.

Conclusions: Included US dental school data showed no relationship between women in leadership at the senior administrative and predoctoral levels. To keep leadership-minded students interested in dental academics throughout their careers, further studies are needed to identify the most important factors influencing careers in academic dentistry.

Objective: Radiographic imaging interpretation is a central competency of the dental profession. Previous research has determined that radiographic interpretations vary across dentists. In addition, the efficacy of empirical learning within the realm of medical imaging analysis remains understudied. This project aimed to improve an existing anatomy curriculum as well as students' radiographic interpretation skills via implementation of medical radiographic case studies with scaffolded exercises.

Methods: Three medical imaging activities were developed by the authors and presented in the anatomy laboratory for 60 first-year dental students. Each module included identical pre-activity and post-activity questionnaires, radiographic images with corresponding lesson plans, and open-response questions on the activity's valuable and challenging components. Pre-activity and post-activity questionnaire scores were compared via a Wilcoxon signed rank test. Kruskal-Wallis tests were conducted to determine the impact of previous anatomy experience and previous medical imaging experience on student performance. Thematic analysis was applied to open response comments.

Results: A statistically significant improvement in questionnaire scores was observed in the first medical imaging activity. No significant change in scores was observed for the other two activities. Students valued the activities' interactive structure, review of course material, and application to the dental profession. Students reported challenges in radiographic image interpretation and lack of previous knowledge on course concepts.

Conclusions: While medical imaging activities failed to consistently improve student-learning outcomes, they introduced skill development in radiographic analysis and increased student confidence. These findings suggest a need for additional research on experiential methodologies within medical imaging education.