Gender Differences in First-Year Dental Students' Motivation to Attend Dental School

Administration of anesthetics using metal syringes. An ex vivo study

The aim of the present study was to assess injection flow rates of metal syringes, with an emphasis on injection speed and the generation of flow pulsations. A cohort of 64 operators (32 practitioners and 32 students) performed 3 consecutive ex vivo simulated injections (SIs) of 1.8-mL cartridges of anesthetic solution. Two needle diameters were tested (27-gauge and 30-gauge). Each SI was filmed and analyzed using a computer. In most cases, the SI lasted longer than 60 seconds with the 30-gauge needle (75%) but not with the 27-gauge needle (47.9%) (P < .0001). Practitioners and men delivered a full cartridge significantly faster than students and women, respectively (P  =  .0007 in both cases). All operators generated 1 pulse in at least 1 of the 3 SIs with both types of needles, especially during the first 3 seconds (254/384; 66.1%). Pulses occurred more frequently with practitioners (P  =  .0176) and with the 27-gauge needle (P  =  .005). Within its methodological limits, the present study showed how difficult it is to control injection pressure when using a metal syringe, especially at the beginning of the injection. Computerized systems may help overcome this problem.

Reforming dental workforce education and practice in the USA

The USA dental education programmes are facing challenges similar to those confronting countries around the globe, particularly amongst the industrialised nations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the educational programmes of 15 USA dental schools to determine their impact on improving workforce diversity and oral health care access. The study investigates the predictors of public service plans of dental school seniors in Pipeline and non-Pipeline Program dental schools. We analysed baseline and post-intervention data collected in the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Annual Survey of Dental School Seniors and a set of contextual variables. Public service plans (dependent variable) was predicted by four types of independent variables: intervention, contextual, community-based dental education (CBDE), and student characteristics. Findings from the study show that access to a state or federally sponsored loan repayment program was the most significant predictor of public service plans and that increasing educational debt was the most significant barrier. In the short-term we may be able to sustain the USA loan repayment programs to motivate senior dental students to provide public service to address the oral health care access crisis. However, in the long-term, a new workforce development initiative will be required to transform dental education and practice, modelled after the well-respected licensure programmes for Physician Assistants and/or Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, to expand oral health care access, particularly amongst vulnerable population subgroups, such as low-income children and families.

Gender disparities in prosthodontics: authorship and leadership, 13 years of observation

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to examine gender disparities in prosthodontics by reviewing the trend of female authorship in prosthodontic journals and exploring the role of female leadership in prosthodontic organizations and Advanced Education in Prosthodontic (AEP) programs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Three journals representing the prosthodontic specialty were selected to analyze the percentage of female dentist first and last (senior) authors for the years 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2008. Article inclusion criteria were restricted to the first or last authors who held at least a DMD/DDS/BDS degree and were from U.S. institutions. Data on female leadership in prosthodontic organizations and advanced education programs were collected, and the trends were studied. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. A linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the proportion of female authorship compared to male in the dental literature. A Fisher's Exact Test was performed to contrast differences of female first and last authorship in the selected journals between years 1995 and 2008.

RESULTS

Overall, there was no statistically significant linear increase in the proportion of either first or last female authorship compared to male authorship over time. With respect to each journal, the linear regression analysis showed that the increase of first female authorship was statistically significant (p= 0.016) compared to male authorship only in the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. The percentage of female presidents of prosthodontic organizations has been very limited. A similar trend was also observed in AEP program director positions.

CONCLUSIONS

Over the past 13 years, female dentists' participation in prosthodontics literature authorship has not increased significantly in the United States. Furthermore, female involvement in prosthodontics leadership has been limited over the past decades.

The emerging dental workforce: long-term career expectations and influences. A quantitative study of final year dental students' views on their long-term career from one London Dental School

BACKGROUND

Research into the motivation and expectations of the emerging workforce and their short-term expectations has already been reported with a view to informing professional and policy decisions. The objective of this component of the research programme was to examine the long-term goals and perceived influences on final year dental students' professional careers.

METHODS

Univariate analysis of a self completed questionnaire survey of all final year dental students from King's College London, comprising questions on demography, long-term career goals and influences, proposed commitment to dentistry, commitment to healthcare systems and the influences thereon. Statistical analysis included Chi Squared tests for linear association.

RESULTS

Ninety per cent of students responded to this survey (n = 126), the majority of whom were aged 23 years (59%), female (58%) and Asian (70%). Long-term career goals were fairly evenly split between 'dentist with a special interest' (27%), 'primary dental care practitioner' (26%) and 'specialist' (25%), with 19% not certain. Only 60% of total respondents anticipated working full-time in the long-term (79% males cf 52% females; p = 0.00). The vast majority of respondents (> or =80%) identified 'work-life balance', 'financial stability' and 'professional development' as 'important' or 'very important' influences on the number of future sessions. Females were significantly more likely to rate childcare commitments as an important influence on their future working capacity compared with males (p = 0.00). A wide range of factors were considered important or very important in making the NHS attractive, led by support for professional development (88%) and feeling valued by patients (88%), as well as funding, time with patients, rewards for prevention and practical issues such as dental materials and premises. Females were significantly more likely than males to be attracted to work within the NHS by 'childcare support' (p = 0.02), 'retraining facilities after career break' (p = 0.01), 'assistance with student debt' (p = 0.01) and 'incentives to work in deprived areas'.

CONCLUSION

Long-term career plans of new graduates from this London Dental School commonly embrace opportunities for professional development as well as personal issues such as work/life balance and financial income. Significant differences were identified between male and females long-term plans and influences. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Career choice and attitudes towards dental education amongst dental students in Japan and Sweden

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the perspectives of dental students towards their career choice and dental education in Japan and Sweden. One hundred and fourteen dental students from the Nippon Dental University, Japan and 43 dental students from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden participated in this study. Information was derived from a self-answered questionnaire consisting of five items for career choice and six items for dental education. Chi-square test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used for comparison. Significant differences were detected for 10 questionnaire items between the two countries. Regarding motivation towards the career choice, 44% of Swedish students indicated interpersonal motives related to helping other people, whereas 32% of Japanese students indicated expectations of their family in the dental profession. As future career options, 64% of Japanese and 47% of Swedish students planned to work as general dentists. More Swedish students (37%) preferred specialisation than Japanese students (17%). Nearly three-quarters of the Swedish students were satisfied with the teaching faculty of their school, whilst only 32% of the Japanese students indicated content. The perspectives of dental students were different in Japan and Sweden. This study provides a description of the perspectives of Japanese and Swedish dental students and enables better understanding of career decision and dental curriculum issues.

Reasons for choosing dentistry as a career by Arab dental students

The aim of this study was to determine the reasons for choosing dentistry as a career in an Arab population of undergraduate dental students in Jordan. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to dental students from year 1 to 5 at the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Jordan in Amman. The questionnaire comprised 31 items and the students were required to rate the importance of each item for selecting dentistry as a career on a 10 point scale. Parametric tests were used to investigate if statistically significant differences existed between scores for different groups. The response rate for the study was 79% (477 out of 604 students recruited). Two hundred and twenty one students (46%) had dentistry as a first choice. Prestige was given a maximum score by 44.4% of the students recruited and a similar number of students, 43.6% gave a maximum score to the factor representing helping people. There were slight differences in the motivation between male and females with males more motivated by financial factors. It was concluded that 'prestige' and 'helping people' were important motivating factors in this group of dental students.

Understanding the motivation: a qualitative study of dental students' choice of professional career

BACKGROUND

Given the changing nature of the dental workforce, and the need to retain the services of future members, it is important to understand why current dental students perceive that they were motivated to study dentistry. Qualitative research provides the opportunity to explore the underlying issues in addition to informing subsequent quantitative research. The objectives of this research were to investigate final-year dental students' motivation for studying dentistry and how they perceive this has been modified during their undergraduate degree programme.

METHODS

Purposive sampling of a representative group of 35 final-year dental students at King's College London Dental Institute to participate in audio-taped focus groups. Qualitative data were analysed using Framework Methodology.

RESULTS

The findings suggest a strong emphasis on having a career, providing 'professional status', 'financial benefits', 'job security, flexibility and independence' and 'good quality of life'. Students reported being attracted by features of the job, supported to a greater or lesser extent by personal experience, family and friends. It appears however that students' initial motivation is being tempered by their experiences during their undergraduate degree programme, in particular, the 'responsibilities of an intensive professional education', their 'mounting student debt' and the perception of 'feeling undervalued'. This perception related to dentistry in general and National Health Service dentistry in particular, being undervalued, by government, patients, the public and members of the dental profession.

CONCLUSIONS

Students' vision of a 'contained professional career' within health care, providing status and financial benefits, appears to have influenced their choice of dentistry. Pressures relating to student life and policy changes are perceived as impacting on key components of professional life, particularly status in the social and economic order. The implications for educators, professional leaders and policy makers are explored.

Study motives and career choices of Iranian dental students

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the study motives and career choices of Iranian senior dental students in relation to their background factors.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

During the spring term 2005, a questionnaire survey was administered to 327 senior dental students in seven randomly selected state dental schools in Iran. The questionnaire requested information on age, gender, parents' employment in dentistry, previous education and employment in dental hygiene, study motives, and career choices. Statistical analyses were made using independent sample t test, factor analysis, and binary logistic regression model.

RESULTS

Based on the factor analysis, which explained 73% of the total variance, five motive dimensions were identified: altruism and intellectual challenges, characteristics of the profession, social status and security, other person's recommendation, and failure to be admitted to other study programmes. The mean for the 'characteristics of the profession' dimension was lower among the students with at least one parent employed in dentistry (p = 0.03). The 'altruism and intellectual challenges' dimension was reported to be more influential by the students with background in dental hygiene (32 students) compared to the others (p < 0.001). Engaging in postgraduate studies was the first career preference of 189 (70%) of the respondents. Those with a background in dental hygiene were less inclined to enter postgraduate courses (p < 0.001), but more eager to be employed in either the public or the private sector (p < 0.001), and to enter the community oral health and research field (p < 0.001) than the others.

CONCLUSION

Personal characteristics and motives of the students play a major role in shaping their career preferences.

Dentistry - a professional contained career in healthcare. A qualitative study of Vocational Dental Practitioners' professional expectations

BACKGROUND

New graduates in the UK presently spend one year in training as Vocational Dental Practitioners (VDPs) in preparation for primary dental care. There is a growing recognition that the emerging workforce has very different professional expectations to those of earlier generations, with implications for the profession, patients and the performance of health systems. The objectives of this study were to investigate why VDPs' in England and Wales perceive they chose dentistry as a professional career; how they perceive their vision has changed and the implications for their professional career plans, both short- and longterm.

METHODS

Purposive sampling of schemes was undertaken to include urban, rural and metropolitan schemes, schemes in areas with and without dental schools and geographic coverage across England and Wales. All VDPs in these schemes were initiated to participate in this qualitative study using focus groups. A topic guide was utilised to standardise data collection. Informants' views were recorded on tape and in field notes. Data were transcribed and analysed using Framework Methodology.

RESULTS

A total of 99 VDPs participated in the 10 focus groups. Their choice of dentistry as a professional career was motivated by multiple categories of influence: 'academic', 'healthcare', 'lifestyle', the influence of 'family', 'friends', 'careers advice' and 'work experience'. Consideration of the features of the 'professional job' appears to have been key to their choice of dentistry and the 'active rejection of medicine' as an alternative career.Entry into the profession was proving a challenging process for some but not all VDPs. Informants perceived that their vision had been moderated as a result of 'personal student debt', 'national workforce initiatives', 'limitations on clinical practice' and the 'cost of additional training'.Short term goals focused around 'recovery from the past' and 'preparation for the future'. Longterm goals covered the spectrum of opportunities within dentistry. Factors influencing VDPs longterm career plans fell into six main categories: professional, personal, financial, political, social and cultural.

CONCLUSION

VDPs chose dentistry because they perceived that it provides a financially lucrative, contained career in healthcare, with professional status, job security and the opportunity to work flexibly. They perceive that their vision is challenged by changes affecting education and the healthcare system. Longterm professional expectations were closely linked with their personal lives and support a vision of a favourable work/life balance.

The emerging dental workforce: why dentistry? A quantitative study of final year dental students' views on their professional career

BACKGROUND

Dental graduates are joining a profession experiencing changes in systems of care, funding and skill mix. Research into the motivation and expectations of the emerging workforce is vital to inform professional and policy decisions. The objective of this research was to investigate final year dental students' perceived motivation for their choice of career in relation to sex, ethnicity and mode of entry.

METHODS

Self-administered questionnaire survey of all final year dental students at King's College London. Data were entered into SPSS; statistical analysis included Chi Squared tests for linear association, multiple regression, factor analysis and logistic regression.

RESULTS

A response of 90% (n = 126) was achieved. The majority were aged 23 years (59%), female (58%) and Asian (70%). One in 10 were mature students. Eighty per cent identified 11 or more 'important' or 'very important' influences, the most common of which were related to features of the job: 'regular working hours' (91%), 'degree leading to recognised job' (90%) and 'job security' (90%). There were significant differences in important influences by sex (males > females: 'able to run own business'; females > males: 'a desire to work with people'), ethnic group (Asians > white: 'wish to provide public service', 'influence of friends', 'desire to work in healthcare', having 'tried an alternative career/course' and 'work experience') and mode of entry (mature > early entry: 'a desire to work with people'). Multivariate analysis suggested 61% of the variation in influences is explained by five factors: the 'professional job' (31%), 'healthcare-people' (11%), 'academic-scientific' (8%), 'careers-advising' (6%), and 'family/friends' (6%). The single major influence on choice of career was a 'desire to work with people'; Indian students were twice as likely to report this as white or other ethnic groups.

CONCLUSION

Final year dental students report a wide range of important influences on their choice of dentistry, with variation by sex, ethnicity and mode of entry in relation to individual influences. Features of the 'professional job', followed by 'healthcare and people' were the most important underlying factors influencing choice of career.

Reasons for choosing dentistry as a career: a study involving male and female first-year students in Peru

The aim of this study was to compare the reported reasons to choose dentistry as a career between Peruvian male and female first-year students. A self-completion questionnaire was administered to 75 first-year students registered at the Faculty of Dentistry of the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. The questionnaire comprised 16 items grouped into four categories (economic, professional, vocational and personal background). Students rated the importance of each item for selecting dentistry as a career on a Likert-type scale of five points. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare groups and item scores by gender. A male/female proportion of 1/2.1 was found in the pool of participating students. When group and item scores were compared between genders, statistically significant differences were only found for vocational and personal background reasons (P < 0.05); however, the three reasons that obtained higher scores for each gender were found to be different. It is recommended that further studies be conducted to increase the sample, by extending the study and evaluating not only reasons for choosing dentistry, but also other factors that may influence the decision.

Representations of the dental surgery profession and the motivations given by second-year French students for applying for dental surgery

AIM

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the representations odontology students had of their career path. Second-year odontology students were questioned about their own motivations and the motivations they attributed to dentists in choosing this profession.

METHODS

The students were asked to complete a questionnaire during the first course and again after 5 months. It was thus possible to study the evolution of their motivations after 5 months of interactions with their fellow students and professors.

RESULTS

Whether or not students were able to choose their career path following the selection examination at the end of the first year of the medical programme was an important variable in determining individual motivations and the motivations they attributed to dentists in choosing the dental profession. For example, students who were unable to choose their career path reported that they would like to work in the public health system, while those who were able to choose said they chose odontology as a vocation. The closing of the gap between the two groups during the period between the two questionnaires highlighted the increasing cohesion of the group.

CONCLUSION

Beyond the differences between the motivations provided, this study showed that students who had not planned to become dentists before the selection examination needed some time to familiarise themselves with the situation and accept the change in their career path.

Differences Between Men and Women Regarding Attitudes Toward Dental Local Anesthesia Among Junior Students at a United Kingdom Dental School

The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of junior dental students at a United Kingdom dental school regarding the administration and receipt of a local anesthetic injection. The effect of teaching on these attitudes was also evaluated. Data were collected by questionnaire. Previous experience with local anesthesia in a dental office did not affect students' attitudes toward administration and receipt of a local anesthetic injection from a classmate. Female students were more anxious about giving and receiving local anesthetic injections than male students. Didactic teaching decreased anxiety in relation to administration and receipt of a local anesthetic injection. The results showed that male and female students in a United Kingdom dental school differed in their attitudes toward local anesthesia.

The future of the profession — a survey of dental school applicants

PURPOSE

To gather background information about applicants to the dental undergraduate course, and ascertain the factors involved in their decision to study dentistry.

METHOD

Applicants attending for interview at Dundee and Manchester Dental Schools completed anonymous questionnaires. The useable response rate was 94% (n = 436).

RESULTS

There were equal numbers of male and female applicants to the two schools as a whole. Although there was a much broader ethnic mix in the applicants to Manchester, the overall proportion of minority ethnic groups was considerably greater than in the UK population as a whole. Seventy-five per cent came from professional backgrounds, although marked differences were apparent between ethnic groups. A quarter had family relations who were dentists, and 30% were related to doctors. Over half (53%) decided to apply within the last year, with popular motivating factors including a general interest in dentistry, a desire to help people and to work with their hands. Dentistry was the first choice of career of 89%, with medicine the most popular alternative.

CONCLUSION

Valuable information was gathered from these prospective dental students regarding their backgrounds and the decision process involved in their career selection. This will prove beneficial when developing the recruitment process and allow appropriate tailoring to the target audience.