"We are not in the least bit used to these ways of studying": developing academic competence in all students.
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This article is located in the field of academic development in oral health science education. Specifically, it examines the academic difficulties experienced by oral hygiene students in their transition from high school to university. A qualitative approach was employed to elicit student and lecturer perceptions. Drawing on empirical evidence from a case study of a cohort of first-year oral hygiene students at a dental faculty in South Africa, the article contributes to an understanding of how first-year university students might be better prepared for the challenges of reading and writing in higher education. The voices of lecturers and students are used to highlight the nature of the difficulties that students experience in the transition from high school to university. The suggestions that students made regarding how the transition might be eased are also examined. The final section draws on these suggestions and presents a working model for an academic development module for first-year oral health students. (+info)
Knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes of dental and dental hygiene students toward obesity.
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Obesity is recognized as a growing public health problem. The authors surveyed dental hygiene and dental students from one institution regarding education, knowledge, perceived professional duties, and attitudes toward the overweight and obese population. Half of the respondents reported no obesity education prior to professional dental education, and 80 percent received five hours or less while in professional training. While most students held a generally positive attitude regarding obese and overweight patients, a number of students demonstrated evidence of negative stereotyping. Obesity education and training must be integrated into dental education to permit greater understanding of coexisting medical problems, explore the basis for a negative attitude and work toward its elimination, and raise public health awareness within dentistry. (+info)
The need for tobacco education: studies of collegiate dental hygiene patients and faculty.
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The need for inclusion of comprehensive tobacco control education/training for health care providers continues to be stressed in publications addressing cessation services. The dental appointment presents an excellent opportunity to provide tobacco interventions to basically healthy people on regular intervals. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to assess the need (stage of change and concomitant need for tobacco cessation intervention) of dental hygiene patients at a Midwest dental hygiene clinic, and 2) to assess and compare the level of tobacco intervention education currently being offered by dental hygiene educators in a Midwestern state. Patients (n=426) of a collegiate dental health clinic completed a survey that assessed the level and type of tobacco cessation intervention patients might require. A statewide sample of dental hygiene faculty (n=97) were surveyed to determine the attitudes, perceived barriers, and current practices in tobacco education offered in their programs. Of patients who currently smoked (34.5 percent), 24.7 percent indicated being in the Action stage of change; 14.2 percent were in Preparation; 22.2 percent were in Contemplation; and 29 percent were in Precontemplation. Although faculty indicated tobacco education was very important (5.03 on 1-6 scale), they felt only moderately confident delivering tobacco education (3.18 on a 1-5 scale). Only 16 percent to 35 percent of faculty reported that their curriculum included brief motivational interviewing, pharmacotherapies, or setting-up a private practice tobacco control program. The results strongly suggest the need for a comprehensive, competency-based tobacco curriculum to enhance and expand existing dental hygiene programs. (+info)
Access to care and the allied oral health care workforce in Kansas: perceptions of Kansas dental hygienists and scaling dental assistants.
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Access to oral health care continues to be a problem in the United States. Research has called for innovative approaches to improve access to oral health care and reduce oral health care disparities. Successful alternate approaches have been reported. In 1998 the Kansas Legislature passed a proposal to enhance access to care and manpower needs by allowing dental assistants to provide supragingival scaling, a service traditionally assigned to dental hygienists. In 2000, Mitchell et al. investigated the perceptions of Kansas dental hygienists and scaling dental assistants in relation to House Bill 2724 (HB 2724), which allows dental assistants to perform coronal scaling. The intent of the study was to collect baseline data in relation to HB 2724. The purpose of the present study was to follow up on the impact of HB 2724 six years after legislation. Both groups report satisfaction with their professions: scaling dental assistants believe the delivery of care in Kansas has changed, and areas of Kansas previously noted as dental health professional shortage areas are now served by either a registered dental hygienist or scaling dental assistant. (+info)
A comparison of career satisfaction amongst dental healthcare professionals across three health care systems: comparison of data from the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Trinidad & Tobago.
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BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the expressed levels of career satisfaction of three groups of comparable dental healthcare professionals, working in Trinidad, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. METHODS: Three questionnaire surveys were carried out of comparable dental healthcare professionals. Dental nurses in Trinidad and dental therapists in the UK and New Zealand. Questionnaires were sent to all registered dental nurses or dental therapists. RESULTS: Career satisfaction was lowest amongst Dental Therapists working in Trinidad and Tobago. Approximately 59% of the Therapists working in New Zealand reported stated that they felt they were not a valued member of the dental team, the corresponding proportion in the United Kingdom was 32%, and for Trinidad 39%. CONCLUSION: Dental therapists working in different healthcare systems report different levels of satisfaction with their career. (+info)
The prevalence of mentoring programs in the transition from student to practitioner among U.S. dental hygiene programs.
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Mentoring of students to assist them in the transition to clinical practice has been utilized in a number of health professions but has only been recently introduced in dental and dental hygiene education. A survey was sent to all U.S. dental hygiene program directors to determine the prevalence of mentoring programs in the dental hygiene curriculum that utilize practicing dental hygienists as mentors to facilitate the transition from student to practitioner. Results showed that less than 30 percent of dental hygiene programs are using this type of student mentoring. Dental hygiene program directors reported that the main benefit mentoring provided was "real world" experiences to their students. Lack of formal structure to the mentoring program was the most frequently cited weakness of existing programs. Programs not utilizing mentoring programs listed inadequate time in the existing dental hygiene curriculum as the main obstacle for not implementing a mentoring program. Student mentorship in other health professions has been shown to not only enhance personal and professional growth, but also to increase job satisfaction and retention. Further research, however, is needed on student mentoring programs in the dental and allied dental fields. (+info)
Predictive validity of critical thinking skills and disposition for the national board dental hygiene examination: a preliminary investigation.
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The objective of this study was to determine if preexisting critical thinking skills and critical thinking disposition predict student performance on the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE). The predictive value of critical thinking skills scores and disposition (habits of mind, attitudes, and character attributes) scores were examined above that provided by traditional predictors: entering grade point average, age, and total number of college hours at entry into the dental hygiene program. Seventy-six first-year dental hygiene students from three baccalaureate dental hygiene programs participated in this study. Participants' preexisting general critical thinking skills and disposition were assessed during the first week of classes in their respective baccalaureate level programs using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI). At the completion of their two-year educational program, the CCTST and CCTDI were administered a final time, and students' scores on the multiple-choice and case-based NBDHE were obtained. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that CCTST scores explained a statistically significant (p<.05) proportion of variance in students' multiple-choice and case-based NBDHE scores, above and beyond that explained by other predictor variables. Although CCTDI scores were not a significant predictor of either outcome measure, CCTST is a good predictor of student performance on high-stakes qualifying examinations and may have utility for student selection and retention. (+info)
Child abuse and neglect: dental and dental hygiene students' educational experiences and knowledge.
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The objective of this study was to explore dental and dental hygiene students' educational experiences and knowledge concerning child abuse/neglect. Questionnaire data were collected from 233 dental (116 male/117 female; response rate=54.82 percent) and seventy-six dental hygiene students (all female; response rate=76.77 percent). Of those surveyed, 94.7 percent of the dental hygiene and 70.5 percent of the dental students reported having learned about child abuse/neglect in classroom settings, and 15.8 percent of the dental hygiene and 29.3 percent of the dental students reported having learned about it in clinical settings. Dental students reported more minutes of instruction about this topic than dental hygiene students (184.48 vs. 112.90 minutes; p=.006). Only 5.5 percent of the dental and 16.7 percent of the dental hygiene students defined child abuse correctly; 32.2 percent of the dental and 13.2 percent of the dental hygiene students did not know their legal responsibility concerning reporting child abuse; and 82.4 percent of the dental and 78.9 percent of the dental hygiene students did not know where to report child abuse. Dental care providers are likely to encounter child abuse and neglect in their professional lives and are legally required to respond to these matters. Dental and dental hygiene curricula should be revisited to ensure that students are adequately prepared for this professional task. (+info)