Paulis Marie R
Fones School of Dental Hygiene at the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA.
J Dent Hyg. 2011 Fall;85(4):297-305. Epub 2011 Nov 11.
The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of professional preparation among clinical instructors employed in baccalaureate dental hygiene programs in the U.S. and to examine clinical instructors' and students' perceived need for educational preparation. The data-generating sample consisted of 285 dental hygiene clinical students and 76 dental hygiene clinical instructors from the 48 dental hygiene programs in the U.S. that offered a baccalaureate or higher degree in dental hygiene.
Online survey instruments contained both qualitative and quantitative questions and were completed by 285 clinical dental hygiene students and 76 clinical dental hygiene instructors from dental hygiene programs in the U.S. Using descriptive statistics, Chi-square analysis and the Mann-Whitney U test, the data from clinical dental hygiene instructors and students were compared to determine if the preparation in educational methods being offered to dental hygiene clinical instructors was meeting the perceived needs of both clinical dental hygiene students and instructors.
According to dental hygiene clinical students (n=285), 60% (n=171) indicated that 6 to 10 years of clinical dental hygiene experience was optimal, while 37% of clinical instructors (n=28) identified having less than 5 years of clinical experience prior to clinical teaching. Therefore, the majority of clinical instructors have less than optimal years of clinical dental hygiene experience prior to clinical instructing. Regarding methods of pre-employment preparation, more than half (n=40) of the dental hygiene clinical instructors (n=76) reported most professional preparation occurred through informal discussion with fellow clinical instructors. Significant differences were found between the clinical dental hygiene instructors' and clinical dental hygiene students' opinions of importance of clinical instructors being given formal guidance in educational methodologies (p=0.002), communication skills (p=0.027), grading and evaluation techniques (p=0.001) and use of technology (p=0.008). Although the majority of instructors and students rated training in teaching methods and communication skills as most important, the majority of clinical dental hygiene instructors (74%, n=53) identified grading and evaluation techniques as the most addressed subject of training.
Both dental hygiene clinical instructors and students identified areas of potential improvement in the professional educational guidance of dental hygiene clinical instructors. Dental hygiene clinical education may benefit from including formal clinical instructor pre-employment preparation programs.
本研究旨在确定美国牙科学士学位口腔卫生专业临床教师的专业准备程度，并调查临床教师和学生对教育准备的认知需求。数据生成样本包括来自美国48个提供口腔卫生学士学位或更高学位的口腔卫生专业项目的285名口腔卫生临床学生和76名口腔卫生临床教师。
在线调查问卷包含定性和定量问题，由美国口腔卫生专业项目的285名临床口腔卫生学生和76名临床口腔卫生教师完成。使用描述性统计、卡方分析和曼-惠特尼U检验，对临床口腔卫生教师和学生的数据进行比较，以确定提供给口腔卫生临床教师的教育方法准备是否满足临床口腔卫生学生和教师的认知需求。
根据口腔卫生临床学生（n = 285）的反馈，60%（n = 171）表示6至10年的临床口腔卫生经验最为理想，而37%的临床教师（n = 28）表示在临床教学之前的临床经验少于5年。因此，大多数临床教师在临床教学之前的临床口腔卫生经验年限并不理想。关于入职前的准备方法，超过一半（n = 40）的口腔卫生临床教师（n = 76）报告称，大部分专业准备是通过与其他临床教师的非正式讨论进行的。在临床教师接受教育方法（p = 0.002）、沟通技巧（p = 0.027）、评分和评估技术（p = 0.001）以及技术使用（p = 0.008）方面的正式指导的重要性上，临床口腔卫生教师和临床口腔卫生学生的意见存在显著差异。尽管大多数教师和学生认为教学方法和沟通技巧的培训最为重要，但大多数临床口腔卫生教师（74%，n = 53）将评分和评估技术确定为培训中涉及最多的主题。
口腔卫生临床教师和学生都指出了口腔卫生临床教师专业教育指导方面可能需要改进的领域。口腔卫生临床教育可能会受益于纳入正式的临床教师入职前准备项目。
