Cheng Feng-Chou, Tang Li-Hua, Lee Kou-Jung, Wei Yuh-Fen, Liu Bo-Lin, Chen Mu-Hsiung, Chiang Chun-Pin
Chia-Te Dental Clinic, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
School of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan.
J Dent Sci. 2023 Oct;18(4):1812-1821. doi: 10.1016/j.jds.2023.06.020. Epub 2023 Jun 29.
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Online courses have been widely used in all levels of education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the effectiveness of a dentist continuing education (DCE) course through the online devices in Taiwan.
The practicing dentists who participated in the online course of dental radiation technology for DCE offered by the Taiwan Dental Association (TWDA) in October 2022 and in March 2023 were enrolled in this study. The composition of participating dentists was confirmed by the public inquiry system and their learning effectiveness was evaluated by a questionnaire-based survey after the online DCE class.
All participating dentists (132 in October 2022 and 117 in March 2023) obtained consistent good learning outcomes in this online DCE course. Of these 249 dentists, there were 170 (68.27%) males and 79 (31.73%) females, 127 (51.00%) dental specialists and 122 (49.00%) general dentists, as well as 50 (20.08%) hospital dentists and 199 (79.92%) clinic dentists. The participation rates for this course of practicing dentists in non-municipalities (4.70%), counties (3.88%), eastern region (8.08%), and outlying islands (3.60%) were much higher than those in municipalities (0.79%), cities (1.16%), and the western region including the northern region (0.88%), central region (1.96%), and southern region (1.94%), respectively.
The participating dentists express positive feedback on the online DCE courses, and the online DCE courses can reduce the urban-rural gap in dental education resources. The use of online DCE courses in dental education will be a future trend.
背景/目的：在新冠疫情期间，在线课程已在各级教育中广泛应用。本研究探讨了台湾地区通过在线设备开展的牙医继续教育（DCE）课程的效果。
本研究纳入了2022年10月和2023年3月参加台湾牙医协会（TWDA）提供的牙科放射技术在线DCE课程的执业牙医。通过公共查询系统确认参与牙医的构成，并在在线DCE课程结束后通过问卷调查评估他们的学习效果。
所有参与的牙医（2022年10月有132名，2023年3月有117名）在该在线DCE课程中均取得了一致良好的学习成果。在这249名牙医中，男性170名（68.27%），女性79名（31.73%）；牙科专科医生127名（51.00%），普通牙医122名（49.00%）；医院牙医50名（20.08%），诊所牙医199名（79.92%）。非直辖市（4.70%）、县（3.88%）、东部地区（8.08%）和离岛地区（3.60%）执业牙医参加本课程的比例分别远高于直辖市（0.79%）、市（1.16%）以及包括北部地区（0.88%）、中部地区（1.96%）和南部地区（1.94%）在内的西部地区。
参与的牙医对在线DCE课程给予了积极反馈，且在线DCE课程可缩小牙科教育资源的城乡差距。在牙科教育中使用在线DCE课程将是未来的趋势。
