Jankowski Jakub, Krokosz Stanisław, Zięba Sara, Komandera Dominika, Kochańska Barbara, Fiegler-Rudol Jakub, Zawilska Anna, Feret Ryszard, Szczeklik Katarzyna, Gliwa Katarzyna, Sitarz Monika, Soboń Norbert, Bociong Kinga, Łacinik Szymon, Jedliński Maciej, Muczkowska Natalia, Górski Bartłomiej, Armata Julia, Skośkiewicz-Malinowska Katarzyna, Nijakowski Kacper
Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 70 Bukowska Street, Poznan, 60-812, Poland.
Department of Restorative Dentistry, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.
BMC Med Educ. 2025 Apr 28;25(1):627. doi: 10.1186/s12909-025-07215-6.
Dental education requires the mastery of theoretical knowledge, practical skills and social competence to provide patients with appropriate medical care. Our cross-sectional study aimed to assess the self-reported preparedness of final-year dental students and dental interns at all ten dental universities in Poland.
We used the validated questionnaire "Dental Undergraduates Preparedness Assessment Scale" (DU-PAS), which consisted of 50 items divided into two sections: section A (24 items associated with clinical manual skills) and section B (26 items related to cognitive and behavioural features). The online survey was addressed to final-year dental students and dental interns (recent graduates) from all Polish universities. Depending on the academic centre, the Google link was disseminated via year groups in social media and/or emails.
In our survey, 1281 respondents participated, including 739 students and 542 interns. The overall response rate was 71.6%. Most participants were females (75.1%). For most evaluated aspects, the increase in their mastery was significant for interns compared to students. Most interviewees declared independence in collecting a complete medical history and conducting a dental examination, as well as effective removal of caries and conservative reconstruction of teeth with aesthetic materials. However, they also most often had no experience in undertaking bitewing radiographs and providing prosthetic crowns. Students and interns did not significantly differ in their confidence in the application of evidence-based dentistry and interpretation of research findings for clinical practice, as well as their approach to treating children and the inappropriate behaviour of their colleagues. On the other hand, both groups assessed their preparedness to refer patients with suspected oral cancers the worst. Moreover, significant differences were observed in DU-PAS scores regarding gender and education stage. Males and interns scored significantly higher self-esteem overall, as well as separately in manual skills and social competencies.
Our study provides the first detailed evaluation of final-year dental students and interns in Poland, highlighting areas for improvement and guiding educational reforms to enhance future dentists' independence. Despite some areas needing significant changes in the academic approach, a considerable proportion of assessed procedures demonstrated satisfactory outcomes.
牙科教育要求掌握理论知识、实践技能和社交能力，以便为患者提供适当的医疗护理。我们的横断面研究旨在评估波兰所有十所牙科大学的最后一年牙科学生和牙科实习医生自我报告的准备情况。
我们使用了经过验证的问卷“牙科本科生准备情况评估量表”（DU-PAS），该问卷由50个项目组成，分为两个部分：A部分（24个与临床手工技能相关的项目）和B部分（26个与认知和行为特征相关的项目）。在线调查针对波兰所有大学的最后一年牙科学生和牙科实习医生（应届毕业生）。根据学术中心的不同，谷歌链接通过社交媒体上的年级群组和/或电子邮件进行传播。
在我们的调查中，有1281名受访者参与，其中包括739名学生和542名实习医生。总体回复率为71.6%。大多数参与者为女性（75.1%）。对于大多数评估方面，与学生相比，实习医生在掌握程度上的提高更为显著。大多数受访者宣称在收集完整病史、进行牙科检查、有效去除龋齿以及用美学材料进行牙齿保守修复方面具有独立性。然而，他们也最常没有进行咬合翼片X线摄影和提供修复冠的经验。学生和实习医生在基于证据的牙科应用和临床实践研究结果解释方面的信心，以及他们对待儿童的方式和同事的不当行为方面没有显著差异。另一方面，两组对转诊疑似口腔癌患者的准备情况评估最差。此外，在DU-PAS分数方面，观察到性别和教育阶段存在显著差异。男性和实习医生总体上以及在手工技能和社交能力方面的自尊得分显著更高。
我们的研究首次对波兰最后一年的牙科学生和实习医生进行了详细评估，突出了需要改进的领域，并指导教育改革以提高未来牙医的独立性。尽管在学术方法上有些领域需要重大改变，但相当一部分评估程序显示出令人满意的结果。
