Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Dental Health, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
PLoS One. 2024 Jul 15;19(7):e0307310. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307310. eCollection 2024.
For dental graduates, internships are a vital transitional phase that gives them the invaluable opportunity to close the gap between their academic studies and the reality of professional dentistry. Research on dental internships remains limited and most of the existing studies focus on the clinical aspects of dental internships with little attention given to dental interns' experiences overall. This study aims to bridge this gap in the literature by gaining an in-depth understanding of Saudi dental graduates' range of experiences as dental interns.
To achieve the research objective, this study adopted a qualitative approach. Using purposive and snowball sampling, the study recruited 23 dental interns from Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia, who had completed at least nine months of their internship. Data was gathered across three months via diaries and virtual semi-structured interviews based on participants' preferences. The data was then analysed thematically using an inductive analytical strategy.
The data analysis revealed three major themes and four sub-themes regarding the experiences of dental interns. The core three themes were "activities", "autonomy" and "transitioning to a balanced life" whereby interns have the time and freedom to explore their interests, rekindle their social lives and focus on self-care, resulting in a better work-life balance.
This study suggests that dental interns will benefit from the retention and strengthening of key internship activities such as research, community work and clinical rotations. Additionally, the experiences of dental interns can be improved by encouraging interns to progress in their clinical training with a high level of autonomy. Also, due to the limited research in this area, further studies are required to improve our understanding of the lived experiences of dental interns and dental internships in general.
对于牙科毕业生来说，实习是一个至关重要的过渡阶段，使他们有机会弥合学术学习与专业牙科实践之间的差距。关于牙科实习的研究仍然有限，大多数现有研究都集中在牙科实习的临床方面，而很少关注牙科实习生的整体经历。本研究旨在通过深入了解沙特牙科毕业生作为牙科实习生的一系列经历来填补文献中的这一空白。
为了实现研究目标，本研究采用了定性方法。通过目的抽样和滚雪球抽样，研究从沙特阿拉伯利雅得省招募了 23 名完成至少九个月实习的牙科实习生。数据在三个月内通过日记和虚拟半结构化访谈收集，根据参与者的偏好进行。然后使用归纳分析策略对数据进行主题分析。
数据分析揭示了牙科实习生经历的三个主要主题和四个子主题。三个核心主题是“活动”、“自主性”和“向平衡生活过渡”，实习生有时间和自由探索自己的兴趣、重新点燃他们的社交生活并关注自我保健，从而实现更好的工作与生活平衡。
本研究表明，牙科实习生将受益于保留和加强关键实习活动，如研究、社区工作和临床轮转。此外，通过鼓励实习生在临床培训中以高度自主性取得进展，可以改善牙科实习生的体验。由于该领域的研究有限，需要进一步研究以提高我们对牙科实习生和牙科实习的整体生活经历的理解。
