Dental students interacting with dental nurses: an investigation of the role of gender and ethnicity in inter-professional communication and working styles.

AIM

To examine the influence of dental students' gender and ethnicity on their perceptions of dental nurses' duties and upon their communication and working styles when interacting with dental nurses (DNs).

METHOD

A survey of clinical dental students attending Queen's University Belfast and University of Leeds. Students were invited to complete the 34 item Communication and Working Styles Questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed the students' perceptions of the duties of a DN and the students' communication and working styles. Factor analysis revealed two communication and working styles which were friendly and difficult styles, respectively.

RESULTS

Two hundred and forty-eight students participated giving a response rate of 88%: 58% were female and 30% of students from Leeds were from various ethnic minority groups. The students' perceptions as to the duties of a DN were affected by university attended and ethnicity. The majority of students used friendly communication styles. The type of style used was determined by university attended, gender and ethnicity. Male students had higher mean scores for friendly working styles whereas students from minority ethnic groups had higher mean scores for gender-related communication style. Female students and students from minority ethnic groups had higher mean scores for items relating to teamwork.

CONCLUSIONS

This survey illustrates the different communication and working styles used by male and female and dental students from different ethnic backgrounds when interacting and working with DNs.