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Impact of COVID‐19 on advanced dental education: Perspectives of dental residents in Wuhan
Author(s) -
Zhao Dan,
Yu Jingjing,
Zhang Tao,
Du Mingyu,
Yang Qian,
Li Zhiyong,
Fouad Ashraf F.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1930-7837
pISSN - 0022-0337
DOI - 10.1002/jdd.12570
Subject(s) - covid-19 , personal protective equipment , medicine , family medicine , demographics , dental education , outbreak , medical education , disease , demography , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology , virology , sociology
Purpose This study investigated the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) from the perspectives of dental residents in Wuhan, the former COVID‐19 epicenter of China. Methods A survey form was sent to 424 residents in the School of Stomatology, Wuhan University (WHUSS) in September 2020. The form included 23 questions on demographics, study situation of residents during the COVID‐19 outbreak, effect of COVID‐19 on graduates, and status of residents who returned to clinic training. Results A total of 361 (85%) survey forms were collected. Over 70% of respondents felt anxious during Wuhan lockdown. Most respondents continued studying (94%) mainly through free online resources (79%). The majority reported improvement in didactic knowledge (80%), but the respondents’ perceptions of their clinical skills, especially those in Wuhan, did not change (41%) or worsened (40%) ( p < 0.05). Most graduates (88%) reported having found jobs or continued study. Among the 209 responders who returned to clinical training, 52% felt no concern about COVID‐19 infection, 89% thought they were equipped with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), and 57% indicated that they received sufficient knowledge for preventing COVID‐19 in clinic. Most respondents agreed that the way to gain the knowledge for preventing COVID‐19 in clinic was training at dental school (93%). Conclusion Although online study has been appreciated by residents, concern about clinical skill learning in the COVID‐19 hardest‐hit area has arisen. Most graduates felt that the impact of COVID‐19 on their immediate postgraduation career was limited. Teaching about infection control in dental schools seemed effective to develop a positive attitude for residents after they returned to clinical training.