University of Malaya Dental Students’ Perception on Competency Based Test

This study was undertaken to explore the perception of Year IV and Year V University of Malaya dental students on different domains related to the competency based test (CBT). Methodology: A questionnaire was constructed and a survey conducted to explore the students’ perception on four domains related to the competency test: 1) benefits, 2) readiness to take, 3) timing and 4) lecturers’ supervision. Results: In general, majority of the students agreed that they benefited from the competency test and felt adequately prepared for each test. Students’ agreeing on feeling confident to sit for each test ranged from 70.0%- 81.4% for Year IV and 45.1%-70.4% for Year V. Majority of Year IV and Year V students perceived that the timing of each competency test was ‘just right’. There was a high response of ‘Strongly agree/agree’ to availability of patients for practice and assessment, self-confidence and amount and distribution of clinical session as factors affecting when they take the CBT. Majority of Year IV students agreed that the assessment of lecturers was consistent for each tests while Year V had a high percentage of ‘Neutral’ response. Students’ agreeing that there was feedback after the test was 52.9%-71.4% for Year IV and 31.0%-56.5% for Year V. ‘Strongly agree/agree’ response of 68.6%-75.0% for Year IV and 36.6%-52.1% for Year V was recorded for the level of supervision being the same after passing the test. Conclusion: Overall, majority of students gave positive perception towards CBT in relation to four main domains explored in this research.