Showing papers in "Journal of Dental Education in 1976"

Factors associated with career choice among women dental students.

Abstract: This paper describes factors associated with women9s decisions to enter dentistry including timing of decision, external influences, previous dental experience, and dempgraphic characteristics. Analyses comparing data from male students are provided. On the basis of responses from 66% of all women dental students and a systematic comparison sample of men enrolled in 1974, both sexes were found to possess similar values,motivations, and reasons for pursuing dentistry. Male and female dental students differed significantly, however, in time of career decision, factors influencing this decision, work and educational history of parents, and the student9s previous dental-related work experience.

Dental learning resources center

Abstract: The University of Kentucky College of Dentistry has been operating the Dental Sciences Study Center since 1971 to support a curriculum with a large percentage of individualized instruction. Three crucial aspects of the Study Center were discussed: the facilities, the instructional materials, and the atmosphere. Administrative attention to and support of each aspect are essential to the successful functioning of a learning resources center in a largely individualized dental curriculum.

Effect of an extramural program of dental care for the special patient on attitudes of students

Abstract: All too frequently, courses and clinical experiences are introduced in dental education merely becausse they seem to be the popular things to do. Unfortunately, however, just as frequently such experiences are inappropriately planned and developed; they fail to achieve the basic purpose behind their introduction. This study reports such a failure in dental education. A course in dental care for the special patient was hastily and inadequately conceived and implemented. Thecourse did not achieve its objective9in fact, had it been allowed to continuein subsequent years, it could have done more harm than good. The means exist for evaluating whatever id done, and the educator should be willing to accept failure as well as success. The recognition and identification of failure can infact serve a worthwhile purpose, to the advantage of the system, if the elementscontributing to the failure are identified and proper changes are introduced.

Four-phase study of computer-assisted and slide-tape methods of stimulating clinical endodontic problems.

Abstract: 1. Computer-assisted instruction of stimulated clinical endodontic problems is superior to a slide-tape presentation for test selection but not for diagnosis and treatment planning. 2. The lack of a difference in diagnosis is likely due to the already superior performance of students in diagnosis at the University of Kentucky without computer assistance. A study with students of less background might reveal a difference in presentation methods. 3. Students with high GPSs score higher on a written test of endodontic clinical judgment. 4. Reliable results on the effects of a human tutor's supplementing machine instruction were not obtained. 5. Students felt that the problems presented in this study were useful in preparing for clinical treatment of patients. 6. After some exposure to machine methods of instruction, students divided into three sizable groups, one preferring a human teacher, another preferring a machine, and the third having no preference. The decision to use only machine or human instruction cannot then be made from student attitudes. 7. Students liked the active participation and immediate responses of the computer but not the time necessary to complete the problems. 8. Students liked the self-pacing, speed, and convenience of the slide-tape method but not the incompleteness of the problems presented by this method. 9. It appears that there is some justification from this study for offering both slide-tape and computer-assisted presentations to students.

Motives to enter the dental profession: students, practitioners, faculty.

Abstract: 1. The dental student, the private practitioner, and the dental educator have similar self-motives related to an educational process which includes learning to develop to full potential and having the freedom to carry out one9s ideas. 2. The motives perceived by dental students as important for the private practitioner are not the same as those the private practitioner perceives for himself. The student perceives good salary and a community reputation, while the practitioner perceives a continual educational process with freedom to carry out his ideas as the primary motive for entering the profession. The student and the practitioner are aligned on most of their self-motives. 3. The motives of the dental educator parallel those of the practitioner more than they parallel those of the student.

Variables affecting attitudes of dentists toward the use of expanded function auxiliaries

Abstract: A questionnaire survey of over 500 dentists in upstate New York was conducted to determine the following: (1) the extent to which the dentists understood the recent changes in the State Dental Practice Act as it applies to expanded functions of dental hygienists and (2) the attitudes and beliefs of these dentists regarding the use of hygienists and dental assistants in the performance of expanded duties in the private office. In general, the respondents were not familiar with the recent changes in the Dental Practice Act. When the respondents who employed dental hygienists were compared to those who did not employ hygienists, the differences regarding understanding of the changes in the act were not striking.

Pass/fail versus A-F grading: a comparative study

Abstract: This study compared achievement when one half of a class was assigned to take a course on a pass/fail basis and the other half received a letter grade. The unique characteristics were as follows: (1) students were assigned to A-F and pass/fail groups rather than allowed to choose the grading system, (2) virtually no other course competed for study time, and (3) the course constituted a major field of study for the student. The results showed no significant difference between the two groups in achievement on three separate examinations.

Attitudes toward women dental students among male dental students and male dental faculty members.

Abstract: The results of this study support the following conclusions: 1. Male dental faculty and male dental students have similar perceptions of women enrolled in dental school. 2. Male dental faculty and male dental students rate women dental students high on the evaluative and activity scales of the semantic differential but relatively low in potency measures. 3. Male dental faculty and male dental students perceive women dental students as different from both the sex role of women and the professional role of dentist.

Experiential education for dental students at the University of Kentucky.

Abstract: An experiential educational system at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry has been described. It consists of a summer externship program and an individualized externship program offered during the academic year. These programs provide dental students with extramural educational experiences in private dental offices to prepare them better for the practice of dentistry and to expose them to forces affecting the delivery of dental services.

Comparison of personal values among freshman and senior dental students and dental faculty.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to test the effects of dental education on the values of dental students and dental faculty. This was accomplished by testing five hypotheses. The results of the study indicate no significant differences between freshmen and senior students9 values; infer no apparent changes in student values during a dental education; indicate no significant differences between part-time faculty and full-time faculty; support a positive association among all groups, i.e., freshmen, seniors, full- and part-time faculty; rank-order the values for all groups from highest to lowest (theoretical, aesthetic, political, economic, social, and religious); and show some significant differences between students as a group and faculty as a group. If a more objective means of choosing dental students is desired, then further research will be needed to determine the characteristics of the type of practitioner that is needed. The presented data help in defining one aspect of the collective personality of dental students and dental faculties.

Influence of instructional methods on student achievement and attitude in an introductory endodontic course.

Abstract: 1. Self-paced instruction did not improve performance in raw score on achievement by a different amount for each achievement level, but it did bring all the students to the same level of performance as the group-paced treatment in less time. 2. Permitting the self-paced students to take quizzes when they felt prepared improved student performance. 3. Self-paced instruction lends itself readily to flexible scheduling and thus permitted high achievers to complete the course sooner and allowed new students to start the course at any time. 4. The slide-tape method also freed the instructor from formal lectures and thus permitted him to spend one additional hour (the unused discussion hour) each week in laboratory exercises with the students.

Evaluation of the time spent in learning from a programed text, a slide-tape, and a lecture at six dental schools.

Abstract: 1. Programed text and slide-tape presentations required significantly less study time than the lecture method. 2. Students of varying academic ability required approximately the same amount of study time. 3. Familiarity with self-paced study methods did not significantly affect study time.

Use of a problem-oriented dental record in undergraduate dental education.

Abstract: This paper describes how the concepts and methods of problem-orientation have been applied in the clinical education of dental students. It makes the point that the problem-oriented dental record is only one part of a complete system which has five interrelated components. The problem-oriented dental record is discussed in detail, and the paper includes examples of all four sections of the record. All sections of the record are interrelated, and the steps in identifying and resolving problems follow a logical sequence: (1) collect the data base, (2) write the cue list, (3) write the problem list, (4) write the initial plan, (5) write the final plan, and (6) record progress. The problem-oriented dental record is seen as a tool for patient care, audit, and education. The main advantage lies in the way information is organized and recorded. The record is highly communicative and permits everyone involved an opportunity to relate the data collected to the problem list and to the decisions made regarding how problems will be resolved. The record and the systems were borrowed from Weed and are being adapted for use in dentistry. Although still in the trial stages, this system has proven to have many more advantages than other record-keeping systems and is invaluable as a tool for education. In the future we plan to use computers to help store and retrieve data from these records. We anticipate that a dental education built on this record will have a lasting impact on the graduates' approach to patient care. This should result in a graduate who is conversant with medical colleagues and systematic in the collection of data, listing of problems, and resolution of patient problems. Finally, we believe that the problem-oriented dental record is also a good tool to help the dental graduate become more empathetic with patients and more aware of their total health needs. The record provides a mechanism for recording physical and emotional information as well as the oral status.

The basic science curriculun problem in dental education: some causes and solutions

Abstract: At present there is no established purpose generally agreed on by members of the dental profession for the basic sciences in the dental curriculum. Such a purpose, supported by the entire profession, is considered a necessary first step in improving the basic science curriculum. Substantive basic science courses should be taught by instructors, holding a Ph.D. degree. These basic science instructructors, however, need the respect of the clinical faculty in order to be effective in teaching dental students. They also need to be given professional opportunity equal to that given clinical faculty if they are to commit themselves to dental education. The role of the clinical faculty in teaching the scientific basis of clinical methods is described, and the need for cooperation and communication between the basic science and clinical faculties is emphasized. Regularly scheduled faculty workshops are recommended for this purpose. A decrease in student contact time for clinical faculty is also suggested. The dental profession, led by dental educators, with advice from other health professionals, dental students, and the general public, is the logical body to define the purpose of basic science in dental education.

Undergraduate grades, class standings, and performance in a graduate orthodontics curriculum.

Abstract: This study shows that graduate performance correlates poorly with undergraduate class standing; that relatively large differences in class standing are not generally accompanied by correspondingly large differences in grade point average; and that performance in just ten courses, taken in the freshman and sophomores years, predicts, with a multiple correlation coefficient of 0.88, the final undergraduate class ranking of a student. It is argued that variables other than class rank should receive more weight in the selection of graduate dental students. Undergraduate orthodontics courses made no significant contribution to this prediction. These factors, when combined with a failure to include other relevant factors in selecting graduate students (in particular, the failure to take into account any postgraduate clinical experience), explain the low correlation between undergraduate class rank and performance in the graduate orthodontics program. It is suggested therefore that factors other than undergraduate class rank receive considerably more weight in the selection process.