Halawany Hassan Suliman, Binassfour Abdullah Salman, AlHassan Waleed Khalid, Alhejaily Rami Ayed, Al Maflehi Nassr, Jacob Vimal, Abraham Nimmi Biju
College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Periodontics and Community Dentistry, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Dent J. 2017 Jan;29(1):15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.sdentj.2016.12.001. Epub 2017 Jan 9.
The purpose of this study was to investigate evolving trends in dental post graduate specialty preferences and career aspirations among final year dental students in Saudi Arabia.
A cross sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted among final year dental students from seventeen universities in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire enquired about socio-demographic details and the ranking of three of their best preferences among the list of specialties/general dentistry and career options. They were also enquired about their opinion regarding the total time required to become a dentist and their intention to go for further studies abroad. The questionnaire assessed factors influencing their choices using a 5 point Likert scale ranging from extremely important to not important. Binary logistic regression to examine the combined effect of several independent variables on the likelihood of choosing a dental specialization/general dentistry and career option were analyzed.
The overall response rate was 64.6%. Restorative and Aesthetic Dentistry was the most preferred specialty ( = 98; 17.7%) followed by Endodontics ( = 78; 14.1%); Prosthodontics ( = 65; 11.7%) and Orthodontics ( = 63; 11.4%). The two most preferred careers were 'Civilian dentist in public sector' followed by 'Academic services dentist'. Overall, students reported that the influence of family members in the dental profession, preference for private practice and specific interest in patient population as the most important factors in choosing a specialty/general dentistry. Intellectual content of the specialty was ranked the least important. On the other hand, the most important factors for choosing a career were variety of non-clinical duties, access to child care facilities and research opportunities.
The results of this study show the top preferred specialties and career choices which can be a baseline for establishing national policies and for the improvement of graduate programs. There seems to be a need to promote mentoring activities and provide guidance and encouragement to pre-doctoral dental students in selecting the most appropriate specialty within their capability domain.
本研究旨在调查沙特阿拉伯牙科专业最后一年学生对牙科研究生专业偏好和职业抱负的发展趋势。
对沙特阿拉伯17所大学的牙科专业最后一年学生进行了一项使用自填式问卷的横断面调查。问卷询问了社会人口学细节以及他们在专科/普通牙科和职业选择列表中三个最佳偏好的排名。还询问了他们对成为一名牙医所需总时间的看法以及他们出国深造的意愿。问卷使用从极其重要到不重要的5点李克特量表评估影响他们选择的因素。分析了二元逻辑回归，以检验几个独立变量对选择牙科专科/普通牙科和职业选择可能性的综合影响。
总体回复率为64.6%。修复与美学牙科是最受欢迎的专业（n = 98；17.7%），其次是牙髓病学（n = 78；14.1%）；口腔修复学（n = 65；11.7%）和正畸学（n = 63；11.4%）。两个最受欢迎的职业是“公共部门的文职牙医”，其次是“学术服务牙医”。总体而言，学生们报告说，牙科行业家庭成员的影响、对私人执业的偏好以及对患者群体的特定兴趣是选择专科/普通牙科的最重要因素。该专业的知识内容被评为最不重要。另一方面，选择职业的最重要因素是非临床职责的多样性、获得儿童保育设施的机会和研究机会。
本研究结果显示了最受欢迎的专业和职业选择，这可以作为制定国家政策和改进研究生项目的基线。似乎有必要促进指导活动，并为牙科预科学生在其能力范围内选择最合适的专业提供指导和鼓励。
