Subjective well-being in dentists: the role of intrinsic aspirations

Profiling health professionals' personality traits, behaviour styles and emotional intelligence: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Non-cognitive traits have been theorised to predict characteristics, career choice and outcomes of health professionals and could represent a homogenous group. This study aims to profile and compare personality traits, behaviour styles and emotional intelligence of health practitioners across a variety of professions.

METHODS

Empirical literature was systematically reviewed. A two-concept search strategy was applied to four databases (CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, ProQuest). Title/abstract and full text articles were screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria. Methodological quality was assessed using Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Data was synthesised narratively and meta-aggregated where feasible.

RESULTS

Three hundred twenty-one studies representing 153 assessment tools of personality (n = 83 studies), behaviour (n = 8), and emotional intelligence (n = 62) were included. Most studies (n = 171) explored personality (medicine, nursing, nursing assistants, dentistry, allied health, paramedics), revealing variation in traits across professions. Behaviour styles were least measured with only ten studies exploring these across four health professions (nursing, medicine, occupational therapy, psychology). Emotional intelligence (n = 146 studies) varied amongst professions (medicine, nursing, dentistry, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, radiology) with all exhibiting average to above-average scores.

CONCLUSION

Personality traits, behaviour styles and emotional intelligence are all key characteristics of health professionals reported in the literature. There is both heterogeneity and homogeneity within and between professional groups. The characterisation and understanding of these non-cognitive traits will aid health professionals to understand their own non-cognitive features and how these might be useful in predicting performance with potential to adapt these to enhance success within their chosen profession.

Accreditation and professional integration experiences of internationally qualified dentists working in the United Kingdom

INTRODUCTION

Regulatory processes for Oral health care professionals are considered essential for patient safety and to ensure health workforce quality. The global variation in their registration and regulation is under-reported in the literature. Regulatory systems could become a barrier to their national and international movement, leading to loss of skilled human resources. The General Dental Council is the regulatory authority in the UK, one of the nine regulators of health care overseen by the Professional Standards Authority.

AIM

The aim of this paper is to present the professional integration experiences of internationally qualified dentists (IQDs) working in the UK, against the background of regulation and accreditation nationally.

METHODS

Registration data were obtained from the General Dental Council to inform the sampling and recruitment of research participants. Semi-structured interviews of 38 internationally qualified dentists working in the United Kingdom were conducted between August 2014 and October 2017. The topic guide which explored professional integration experiences of the dentists was informed by the literature, with new themes added inductively. A phenomenological approach involving an epistemological stance of interpretivism, was used with framework analysis to detect themes.

RESULTS

Internationally qualified dentist's professional integration was influenced by factors that could be broadly classified as structural (source country training; registration and employment; variation in practising dentistry) and relational (experiences of discrimination; value of networks and support; and personal attributes). The routes to register for work as a dentist were perceived to favour UK dental graduates and those qualifying from the European Economic Area. Dentists from the rest of the world reported experiencing major hurdles including succeeding in the licensing examinations, English tests, proving immigration status and succeeding in obtaining a National Health Service performer number, all prior to being able to practice within state funded dental care.

CONCLUSION

The pathways for dentists to register and work in state funded dental care in UK differ by geographic type of registrant, creating significant inconsistencies in their professional integration. Professional integration is perceived by an individual IQD as a continuum dictated by host countries health care systems, workforce recruitment policies, access to training, together with their professional and personal skills. The reliance of the UK on internationally qualified dentists has increased in the past two decades, however, it is not known how these trends will be affected by UK's exit from the European Union and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Motivational Mechanisms Underlying Physicians' Occupational Health: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

Numerous studies have documented deteriorating occupational health among practicing physicians. This trend poses a serious risk not only for physicians but also for the many patients under their care. Past research finds that one protective factor involves the quality of physicians' motivation. When physicians are more autonomously motivated, they tend to experience better occupational health. However, few studies have identified antecedent factors that support physicians' autonomous work motivation. To identify and model potential root causes of physicians' autonomous work motivation and occupational health, the current study assessed physicians' intrinsic aspirations and need satisfaction at work. Hypotheses were tested in a sample of 2,116 U.S. practicing physicians. Structural equation modeling showed that physicians who endorsed intrinsic aspirations more strongly reported better occupational health, and that this association was mediated by physicians' need satisfaction and autonomous work motivation. Implications for designing more effective individual- and system-level interventions to improve physician occupational health are discussed.

Dental Faculty, Student, and Alumni Perceptions of Happiness and Life Satisfaction in Dental School: Foundations for Resilience and Well-Being

This study examined happiness and satisfaction as possible foundations for long-term well-being and resilience in dental education. Psychological research has found that respect, camaraderie, and trust help define well-being and that resilience is built with these supportive influences. The aims of this study were to assess if happiness and life satisfaction reported by one U.S. dental school's faculty, students, and alumni also enhanced their perceived well-being and resilience and to determine the factor that most affected the participants' happiness. Email and hard copy surveys were distributed in 2018 and 2019 to all 71 full-time preclinical and clinical faculty members, 572 students in all four years, and 143 alumni who graduated in 2018 (total N = 786). Overall, 471 responded; response rates by group were as follows: faculty 87.3% (N = 62), students 65.9% (N = 377), and graduates 22.4% (N = 32). Of the three groups, responding faculty members reported having the highest levels of happiness in life (92.0%) and job satisfaction (90.3%). In the highest percentage reported, 90.2% of D4 students reported that the level of trust and respect they received from clinical faculty members contributed most to their happiness. The lowest level of happiness among the groups (71.0%) was reported by the D2 students. These results suggested that perceived well-being translated to happiness among the participants in our study. More research is needed to understand the relationship among positive environments, well-being, and provider resilience in dental education.