O'Hehir T
O'Hehir University, https://www.ohehiruniversity.com/.
Int J Dent Hyg. 2018 Aug;16(3):340-348. doi: 10.1111/idh.12335. Epub 2018 Feb 28.
Despite expansion of the scope of practice and clinical responsibilities of dental hygienists since 1945, the degrees granted for dental hygiene remain the same. The majority of dental hygienists complete 4 or even 5 years of college to receive an associate's degree while a few earn a baccalaureate degree. The aim of this study was to determine whether an associate's degree appropriately matches the current level of dental hygiene education.
This retrospective, analytical pilot study compared contact hours required for dental hygiene programmes in 1945 and three community college dental hygiene programmes and one university programme in Arizona currently. Comparisons were made to determine the relationship between contact hours and credits granted today and how these credit levels relate to the degrees conferred.
Today, an associate's degree requires 60 credits. Descriptive statistics revealed that 2-year dental hygienists in 1945 completed the equivalent of 112 contact hours compared to 157 contact hours for associate degree dental hygienists today, a difference of 45 contact hours. Bachelor degree dental hygienists complete 170 contact hours, a difference of 13 contact hours more than associate degree dental hygienists today. This pilot study is limited by the small sample size of dental hygiene programmes included. Further studies are needed that include a broad diversity of dental hygiene programmes.
Dental hygiene education has grown and expanded significantly since 1945, surpassing the requirements for a 2-year associate's degree.
尽管自1945年以来牙科保健员的执业范围和临床职责有所扩大，但授予牙科保健专业的学位仍保持不变。大多数牙科保健员需要完成4年甚至5年的大学学习才能获得副学士学位，少数人能获得学士学位。本研究的目的是确定副学士学位是否与当前牙科保健教育水平相匹配。
这项回顾性分析试点研究比较了1945年牙科保健课程所需的接触时长，以及亚利桑那州目前的三个社区学院牙科保健课程和一个大学课程。进行比较以确定当今接触时长与授予学分之间的关系，以及这些学分水平与授予学位之间的关系。
如今，副学士学位需要60个学分。描述性统计显示，1945年的两年制牙科保健员完成了相当于112个接触时长的课程，而如今副学士学位牙科保健员为157个接触时长，相差45个接触时长。学士学位牙科保健员完成170个接触时长，比如今副学士学位牙科保健员多13个接触时长。这项试点研究受到所纳入的牙科保健课程样本量小的限制。需要进一步开展研究，纳入种类更丰富的牙科保健课程。
自1945年以来，牙科保健教育有了显著增长和扩展，超过了两年制副学士学位的要求。
