Premium
A cross‐sectional study of confidence in minor surgical skills amongst junior dentists
Author(s) -
Keat R. M.,
Sheik S. A.,
Thomas M.,
Albuquerque R.,
Hill K.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
european journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.583
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1600-0579
pISSN - 1396-5883
DOI - 10.1111/eje.12314
Subject(s) - medicine , likert scale , confidence interval , minor (academic) , oral health , family medicine , dentistry , medical education , psychology , developmental psychology , political science , law
To work in the National Health Service ( NHS ) as a dentist, the practitioner needs to be on the UK dental “performer's list”. To apply for access to this list and work as a General Dental Practitioner ( GDP ), dentists must be qualified from the European Economic Area ( EEA ) or, those trained in the UK , must undertake Dental Foundation Training ( DFT ). Dentists interested in further taught learning or pursuing specialist training must continue working as “Dental Core Trainees” ( DCT s). Most of these jobs are available in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ( OMFS ) Units and require dentists to undertake unsupervised surgical procedures. It is currently estimated that over 400 “junior dentists” undertake DCT a year. It is the aim of this study to ascertain whether confidence in simple surgical procedures improves when compared to GDP s of similar experience. Methods One hundred and two junior dentists, 34 DFT s, 20 DCT 1s, 21 DCT 2s and 27 second and third year post‐ DFT GDP s all working across the Midlands, UK , had Likert scale responses about confidence in 14 minor surgical skills assessed. Results were analysed to ascertain whether gender, year group and number of extractions had any effect on confidence. Conclusions We conclude that confidence in minor surgical procedures improves significantly when undertaking DCT OMFS posts, with the most significant improvement in confidence occurring within the first 6 months. Dental Core Trainees become significantly more confident in their surgical ability within the first 6 months when compared to GDP s with longer postgraduate experience.