The Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Department of Health Promotion, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Public Health Ontario, Ontario, Canada.
J Public Health Dent. 2022 Jun;82(3):303-312. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12537. Epub 2022 Jul 7.
To explore dental students' perceptions of the role of dental professionals as healthcare providers and/or businesspersons.
A cross-sectional online survey collected information from undergraduate dental students at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto (N = 430). PPR was assessed through a visual analog scale (VAS) question, with the two ends labeled as "Healthcare Provider" (0) and "Business Person" (100), which asked respondents to point where they perceived dental professionals to be. Association of students' PPR with environmental, institutional and student-related factors was investigated using Chi-square and Spearman's correlation tests and logistic regression. Additionally, information on students' professional attitudes was gathered using: (i) the same VAS question, which asked students what they themselves aspired to be; and (ii) level of agreement with two sets of Likert-type questions highlighting healthcare provider and businessperson attitudes.
The survey yielded a response rate of 51.4% (n = 221). The majority of respondents perceived dental professionals as healthcare providers and aspired to be healthcare providers themselves. Results of multivariable logistic regression suggested that perceiving dental professionals as businesspersons was significantly associated with perceiving future patients as consumers. Those who strongly agreed with healthcare provider statements had lesser odds of perceiving dental professionals as businesspersons.
In this sample of students, perceptions of professionalism appear to be congruent with the normative role of dental professionals as healthcare providers. Dental education should prepare graduates who strongly identify with this role even in the presence of dental care market pressures.
探讨牙科学生对牙科专业人员作为医疗保健提供者和/或商人的角色的看法。
一项横断面在线调查从多伦多大学牙科学院（N=430）的本科生牙科学生那里收集信息。通过视觉模拟量表（VAS）问题评估 PPR，该问题的两端标记为“医疗保健提供者”（0）和“商人”（100），要求受访者指出他们认为牙科专业人员处于何处。使用卡方检验和斯皮尔曼相关检验以及逻辑回归调查学生 PPR 与环境、机构和学生相关因素的关联。此外，使用以下方法收集学生的专业态度信息：（i）相同的 VAS 问题，询问学生他们自己渴望成为什么样的人；（ii）用两组强调医疗保健提供者和商人态度的李克特式问题来衡量对学生的认同程度。
该调查的回复率为 51.4%（n=221）。大多数受访者认为牙科专业人员是医疗保健提供者，并希望自己成为医疗保健提供者。多变量逻辑回归的结果表明，将牙科专业人员视为商人与将未来患者视为消费者的看法显著相关。那些强烈认同医疗保健提供者观点的人，将牙科专业人员视为商人的可能性较小。
在这个学生样本中，对专业精神的看法似乎与牙科专业人员作为医疗保健提供者的规范角色一致。牙科教育应该培养与这一角色强烈认同的毕业生，即使在牙科保健市场压力的存在下也是如此。
