Simon J F, Chambers D W
Department of Operative Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific, San Francisco, CA 94115.
J Dent Educ. 1992 May;56(5):317-21.
This article is a reinterpretation of an unsuccessful attempt to develop a standard battery of aptitude measures to distinguish practicing dentists. Of 22 potential predictors used by a firm specializing in aptitude testing and career counseling, the national sample of 116 dentists tested showed few differences from the norm group, and some differences were counterintuitive. For example dentists performed no better than the norm on spatial visualization and worse than the norm on several measures of language skill and on finger dexterity. Based on these findings, this paper argues that a broad conceptualization is required when attempting to characterize the aptitudes necessary to complete dental education and to maintain a dental practice. The apparent inconsistency between these findings and successful prediction of performance in laboratory courses using available admissions instruments is explained.
本文重新解读了一项未能成功开发一套标准能力倾向测试组合以区分执业牙医的尝试。一家专门从事能力倾向测试和职业咨询的公司使用了22种潜在预测指标，对116名牙医的全国样本进行测试后发现，与正常对照组相比，差异寥寥，而且有些差异与直觉相悖。例如，牙医在空间视觉化方面的表现并不比正常对照组更好，而在几项语言技能测试和手指灵活性测试中的表现比正常对照组更差。基于这些发现，本文认为，在试图界定完成牙科教育及维持牙科执业所需的能力倾向时，需要进行更宽泛的概念化。本文还解释了这些发现与使用现有入学测试工具成功预测实验室课程表现之间明显的矛盾之处。
