Department of Health Behavior and Policy, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry, and Innovation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
JDR Clin Trans Res. 2021 Apr;6(2):153-160. doi: 10.1177/2380084420984772. Epub 2021 Jan 6.
The aims of this study were to investigate whether dental and dental hygiene students' career plans postgraduation were affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to examine wellness and readiness for clinical practice among students who reported a change in career plans.
An anonymous online REDCap survey was developed and emailed to 436 dental and dental hygiene students at a US dental school. The survey consisted of 81 questions that covered demographics, career plans postgraduation, and readiness and wellness measures. An open-ended question assessing how students' career plans have changed during the pandemic was also included.
A total of 252 students completed the survey, of whom 11.5% reported that their plans for future dental practice have changed since the COVID-19 outbreak. Students who reported a change to their career plans had significantly higher mean perceived stress (20.1 vs. 16.3; = 0.003) and anxiety (9.2 vs. 6.2; = 0.004) scores and lower mean resilience (18.9 vs. 20.9; = 0.01) scores than those who reported no change to their career plans. Concerns were raised regarding the limited employment opportunities, long-term stability of the dental profession, and the interruptions to clinical education and licensure examinations consequent to the pandemic.
A comprehensive effort inclusive of adeptly designed clinical and curriculum experiences paired with wellness interventions and support tailored to students is needed. These measures need to support trainees across varying years in training and resilience levels to be effective for dental and dental hygiene students as they approach their future career intentions in the dental profession. Additional longitudinal research is needed to assess if change in career intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic corresponds with actual change postpandemic and affects the dental profession.
This study explores the potential short-term change in career intentions of dental hygiene and dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings can inform workforce planning as well as interventions developed and implemented by academic dental institutions to support student wellness during unexpected and prolonged emergency situations.
本研究旨在探讨牙科和牙科卫生学生毕业后的职业计划是否受到 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行的影响，并研究报告职业计划发生变化的学生的健康和临床实践准备情况。
在美国一所牙科学校，我们开发了一个匿名的在线 REDCap 调查，并通过电子邮件发送给 436 名牙科和牙科卫生学生。该调查包括 81 个问题，涵盖了人口统计学、毕业后的职业计划以及准备和健康状况的衡量标准。还包括一个评估学生职业计划在大流行期间如何变化的开放式问题。
共有 252 名学生完成了调查，其中 11.5%的人报告称，自 COVID-19 爆发以来，他们未来牙科实践的计划发生了变化。与未报告职业计划发生变化的学生相比，报告职业计划发生变化的学生的感知压力（20.1 比 16.3； = 0.003）和焦虑（9.2 比 6.2； = 0.004）评分显著更高，而韧性（18.9 比 20.9； = 0.01）评分则显著更低。学生们对就业机会有限、牙科专业的长期稳定性以及大流行导致的临床教育和执照考试中断表示担忧。
需要做出全面努力，包括精心设计的临床和课程体验，以及针对学生的健康干预措施和支持。这些措施需要支持不同培训年限和韧性水平的学员，以便在他们即将进入牙科专业的未来职业意向时对牙科和牙科卫生学生有效。需要进行更多的纵向研究，以评估 COVID-19 大流行期间职业意向的变化是否与大流行后的实际变化相对应，并对牙科专业产生影响。
本研究探讨了 COVID-19 大流行期间牙科卫生和牙科学生职业意向的潜在短期变化。研究结果可以为劳动力规划提供信息，并为学术牙科机构制定和实施干预措施提供信息，以支持学生在意外和长时间紧急情况下的健康。
