Professor, Dental programs, Algonquin College, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada At the time of data analysis and manuscript preparation, Ms Benbow was senior manager-policy, research, and government relations at the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association.
Director, Dental Hygiene Degree Program, Faculty of Dentistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Can J Dent Hyg. 2019 Jun 1;53(2):89-99.
While there continues to be dialogue on the level of education required for entry into the profession of dental hygiene, there is a scarcity of literature pertaining to students' views on the subject. The aim of this study was to explore Canadian dental hygiene students' views on entry-to-practice dental hygiene education and their future educational aspirations.
In March 2017, an online survey comprising closed- and open-ended questions was conducted with Canadian Dental Hygienists Association student members enrolled in entry-to-practice Canadian dental hygiene programs.
Of the 1,738 students who received the survey invitation, 401 students responded (23% response rate). Ninety-one percent of respondents were enrolled in entry-to-practice diploma programs. The majority of respondents agreed that baccalaureate dental hygiene education provides increased knowledge (86%), increased capacity to work with underserved groups (86%), expanded clinical abilities (83%), and enhanced abilities in areas such as critical thinking, research use, and collaboration (85%). Most students (78%) ,support the vision of all future dental hygienists in Canada having a baccalaureate degree. Approximately 42% of respondents in diploma dental hygiene programs intend to complete baccalaureate education following graduation, 88% of whom intend to enrol in the next 3 years. Reasons for pursuing baccalaureate education include a desire to increase their knowledge base (83%), achieve personal satisfaction (78%), expand career opportunities (75%), increase recognition (75%), increase critical thinking abilities (69%), and access graduate education (58%).
These findings provide a new understanding of dental hygiene students' views and their general support for and interest in baccalaureate dental hygiene education. Such results offer further impetus for discussions about creating additional opportunities for dental hygiene degree education and advancing the entry-to-practice requirements.
尽管人们一直在就进入口腔保健行业所需的教育水平进行对话，但关于学生对此主题的看法的文献却很少。本研究旨在探讨加拿大口腔卫生学生对实践前口腔卫生教育的看法及其未来的教育愿望。
2017 年 3 月，对加拿大牙科卫生协会的学生成员进行了一项在线调查，这些学生成员就读于加拿大实践前的口腔卫生课程。该调查包括封闭式和开放式问题。
在收到调查邀请的 1738 名学生中，有 401 名学生做出了回应（回应率为 23%）。91%的受访者正在攻读实践前的文凭课程。大多数受访者同意，学士学位口腔卫生教育可以增加知识（86%）、提高与服务不足群体合作的能力（86%）、扩大临床能力（83%）以及提高批判性思维、研究使用和协作等领域的能力（85%）。大多数学生（78%）支持加拿大所有未来的口腔保健师都拥有学士学位的愿景。大约 42%的文凭口腔卫生课程的学生计划在毕业后完成学士学位教育，其中 88%的学生计划在未来 3 年内入学。攻读学士学位的原因包括增加知识基础的愿望（83%）、实现个人满足感（78%）、扩大职业机会（75%）、提高认可度（75%）、提高批判性思维能力（69%）和获得研究生教育（58%）。
这些发现提供了对口腔卫生学生的看法的新认识，以及他们对学士学位口腔卫生教育的普遍支持和兴趣。这些结果进一步推动了关于为口腔卫生学位教育创造更多机会和提高实践入学要求的讨论。
