Career expectations and influences among dental students in Malaysia

Effect of morality or capitalist ideology in choosing dentistry as a career in Türkiye: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have provided important findings on the profession of dentistry and the motivators for choosing dentistry. This study has attempted to contribute to this accumulation by using a sociocultural perspective and interpreting the relationships among motivators from this perspective in a large Turkish sample. The aim of this study was to investigate what motivates dental students to choose dentistry as a career in Türkiye.

METHODS

First-year dental students from different dental schools were included in a descriptive cross-sectional study. The questionnaire included sections covering demographics, motivators and career satisfaction. A total of 919 students from 29 different state dental schools and four private dental schools participated. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, means and standard deviations were used to summarize the sociodemographic information and the distribution of the motivators. Factorial analysis was carried out for the structural status of the questionnaire items. The relationships between the motivators were analyzed using Pearson's correlation.

RESULTS

Among the 919 students, 64.2% were female, and 35.8% were male. Half of them chose dentistry after seeing their higher education institution's examination results, while the other half had already considered it a career during their preuniversity years. Communicating with people, artistic skills, and helping others were the main motivators for students to choose dentistry as a career in Türkiye, and students' overall career satisfaction was moderately high. The strongest correlations were between communication with people and benefits (r =.74), between communication with people and helping others (r =.71), between communication with people and artistic skills (r =.66), between artistic skills and benefits (r =.69), between artistic skills and helping others (r =.65), between dental experience and benefits (r =.51), between dental experience and helping others (r =.50), and between benefits and helping others (r =.71).

CONCLUSION

Helping others, artistic skills, communicating with people, and benefits were the most important factors motivating dental students to choose a career, and positive relationships were detected between these four factors. This information may help to develop more effective career guidance and mentorship strategies for dental students.

Evaluation of the Undergraduate Learning Environment at Dental Schools in Syria

OBJECTIVE

The learning environment plays a vital role in dental education. A positive learning environment could improve students' satisfaction, psychosocial well-being, and academic achievement. This study set out to measure the quality of the learning environment according to the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) at different dental schools in Syria.

METHODS

The study included dental schools at Damascus University (DU), Tishreen University (TU), and University of Hama (HU). DU and TU are considered 2 of the largest universities in Syria. Students across all years of study were invited to complete an Arabic version of the DREEM questionnaire.

RESULTS

In total, 1205 students completed the questionnaire: 650 were from DU, 309 from HU, and 243 from TU. Cronbach's alpha value of the DREEM instrument was 0.927. The total DREEM score for all universities was 108.8 ± 31.5 (n = 1205), which is 54.4% of the total score; DU scored the lowest on the DREEM scale (105.9 ± 28.5) followed by TU (111.1 ± 34.3) and HU (113.3 ± 34.4). There was a significant difference amongst the 3 universities (P = .001) with a small effect size (eta-squared = 0.01). At the subscale level, students' perception of learning (SPL) at DU and TU was perceived unfavourably, and the social self-perception of students (SSP) was negatively perceived across all universities. Clinical students scored significantly lower than their preclinical counterparts. No significant difference emerged between male and female students.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides a baseline data on the learning environment at dental schools in Syria. Although the study suggests a more positive than negative perception of the learning environment, Syrian dental schools scored considerably lower than their Arab and international counterparts. Aspects related to SPL and SSP were the most serious areas requiring improvement, and future research should focus on designing proper interventions to address them.

Career expectations and the motivating factors for studying dentistry in Libya

INTRODUCTION

This study investigated entry-level dental students' motives for studying dentistry at the University of Benghazi (UoB), Libya and career expectations among recent UoB graduates in an atypical context during the time of political unrest and identified factors associated with these motives.  METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2021-2022 for all entry-level dental students and recent dental graduates of UoB. A self-administered survey explored motives for studying dentistry, career expectation and associated factors. The questions were adopted from previous studies and pre-validated for use among Libyan students. Motives and career expectations were summarized, and their association with potential associated factors were assessed using chi-square test at p ≤ 0.05.

RESULTS

One hundred eighty-four entry-level students and 156 recent graduates completed the surveys, response rates = 73.6% and 62.4%, respectively. The main motives to study dentistry were the desire to work in the healthcare field (183, 99.4%), interest in scientific knowledge (178, 96.7%) and because there were various dental specialities (168, 91.3%). The most common career expectations were setting up a business (107, 68.6%) and establishing a dental clinic (105, 67.3%). In addition, preference for working in the public sector (106, 67.9%), work-life balance (102, 65.4%) and financial gain (94, 60.3%) were the main factors associated with career expectations.

CONCLUSION

The main motive to join a dental school in Libya was academic interest. However, recent graduates showed more pragmatic expectations related to private practice ownership.

The motivation and confidence in choosing dentistry as a career amongst dental students: A mixed-methods study

OBJECTIVES

An insight into students' motivation and confidence in the choice of entering and remaining in dental education is essential. The understanding of how choices are made can help universities in the planning of admission policies. This study aimed to evaluate the career choice influences, motivation and confidence in the choices made into dental education.

METHODS

A mixed-method design was employed, using both quantitative and qualitative data. One hundred seventy-three questionnaires were distributed to all registered dental students, with a response rate of 85%. The questionnaire explored students' demographics and factors that influenced their career choice. Seven focus groups were facilitated with related data recorded and transcribed verbatim.

RESULTS

The quantitative data revealed the desire to help others, and socioeconomic factors were influential, whilst for parents' influence, the mother's influence was statistically significant. Qualitatively, results converged and complemented quantitative data; there was a balance between helping others and socioeconomic and familial influences. There was an increase in confidence in the choice made as students advanced in their dental education. The results indicate that informed awareness of the dental programme structure is essential before embarking on a dental career.

CONCLUSIONS

The factors that impacted on choice were helping others, socioeconomic factors and the influence on choice from family. They were generally satisfied with their choice and were confident in the choice they made. This confidence, however, was not reflected until the more advanced clinical stages of their dental education.

Malaysian dental therapists' job motivation, job satisfaction, intention to leave and perceived future roles

OBJECTIVE

To assess Malaysian dental therapists' job satisfaction, motivation, turnover intention, and perceived future roles, following recent changes in the regulations that allow them to provide dental care within their scope of practice in the private sector.

METHODS

A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to public dental therapists who were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. Questions included items on social structure, job satisfaction and motivation (based on the Warr-Cook-Wall scale), turnover intention (based on four cognitive processes) and perceived future roles. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the predictors of dental therapists' turnover intention.

RESULTS

Overall, a majority (> 90%) of participants had high job satisfaction and job motivation, with total mean scores of 45.70 ± 6.86 and 21.16 ± 2.63, respectively. A total of 8.3% intended to leave the public sector to work in a different organisation. Of those who chose to remain as a dental therapist in the next five years, only 7% considered working in the private sector. The significant predictors for turnover intention were educational attainment, years of working experience, job satisfaction level and future preferred working sector.

CONCLUSION

Although the newly introduced Dental Act allows dental therapists to expand their roles to the private setting, very few intended to do so. This could be related to them having a high level of job satisfaction and job motivation while serving in the public sector.

Work situation and prospects of recently graduated dentists in the Netherlands

INTRODUCTION

Dentists who have graduated recently from a Dutch dental school work mainly in the Netherlands, where collaboration and differentiation are relevant factors. Furthermore, the Netherlands face regional undersupplies of dentists. The objective of this study was to describe choices and aims of recently graduated dentists for the near future.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An invitation for the web questionnaire was sent by e-mail to 945 dentists who had graduated from a Dutch dental school between 2013 and 2017, of whom 230 (24.3%) participated in the survey.

RESULTS

Approximately three quarters (77%) of the recently graduated dentists worked as a general dentist in a practice of some else, primarily in urban areas. The choice for a practice was affected by location, earnings, and the opportunity to gain experience. Furthermore, the career choices were affected most by the desired length of the working week and financial security. The narrow majority (53%) of the recently graduated dentists believed that in 5 years they will be practice owner; 49% expected to be a differentiated dentist. Furthermore, 41% believed they will work in a smaller municipality.

DISCUSSION

Although recently graduated dentists seem receptive to work in smaller municipalities, the peripheral regions are conceivably less appealing. Practice ownership conceivably is an option for the near future for a narrow majority of the recently graduated dentists.

CONCLUSION

Recently graduated dentists have different preferences regarding their work situation in 5 years.

Final year dental students' career plans, work patterns, work-life balance and domestic life in New Zealand and Australia

INTRODUCTION

Having insight into final year dental students' career planning is vital in maintaining and enhancing the quality of dental education. The aim of this study was to investigate final year dental students' career plans, work patterns, work-life balance and domestic life, in New Zealand and Australia.

METHODS

The design of the study was a two-centred cross-sectional study.

RESULTS

A total of 148 students, including 95 females (64%) and 53 males (36%), completed the survey (response rate = 87%). The mean age of students across two Australasian universities was 23 ± 3 years. Findings from this study demonstrate that students prefer their first job is an urban, full-time and salary-based with a good mentor. However, when describing their long-term planning, work-life balance becomes more important. The growth in the number of female dentists will continue to shape the future patterns of our dental profession.

CONCLUSION

The current study has highlighted several similarity and differences in career plans, work patterns, work-life balance and domestic life between two Australasian universities. The information might be useful for the policymakers involved in future workforce planning and infrastructure and for those involved in the delivery of dental education.

Expectations Regarding Dental Practice: A Cross-Sectional Survey of European Dental Students

Obtaining information on expectations among dental students regarding their career planning was the main purpose of this observational online survey. The questionnaire was designed with 18 items in five different languages: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Data were collected on nationality, age, sex, country of residence, university attended, semester, expected year of graduation and expectations about future career. More than 3000 participants (n = 3851, 2863 females 74.34% and 988 males 25.66% with a sex ratio of 0.35) participated in the survey. Almost one-third (31.29%) of the participants plan to start their own practice at least three years after vocational training, a quarter (25.76%) after three, and only 12.59% after one year. A positive influence of the family in the decision to start a practice was observed in 50.07% of the sample with a statistically significant difference regarding sex (p < 0.01). Almost one-third of the participants did not wish to work in an institution run by private equity or insurance companies, while 21.79% would work in that environment (p < 0.01). European dental students desire mainly to become self-employed and start their own practice. New professional practices also offer them options for their future career that they have not yet decided on or thought about.

Career Prospects of Young Dentists in Switzerland

The observational cross-sectional study was aimed to obtain information on the promotion and development of young professionals in Switzerland. An online survey with 20 questions was sent out. Data was collected on participants’ demographic data, including age, gender, level of qualification, place of work, information on employment, future perspectives, and career prospects. The survey was sent out to 1920 practitioners, of which 440 (22.9%) responded (37.1% males and 62.9% females). Of them, 76.6% were members of the Swiss Dental Association (SSO) 15.9% students, and 7.5% non-SSO members. Most participants had parents with a dental education (80.9%), and 19.8% did not. Young dentists in Switzerland most often saw their career prospects as neutral (39.8%) or rather positive (39.3%). Whereas significantly fewer dentists had a negative view of their professional future (16.8%), including more women than men, the fewest dentists of both sexes (4.1%) saw their career prospects as positive by far. The majority of young dentists were satisfied with their career prospects. Within the limitations of the current study, the reasons for this need further investigation. Despite good career prospects, there is a desire among young colleagues for cantonal practice assistance and mentoring programs, as well as support in finding a job and in taking the plunge into self-employment.

The dental workforce in Malaysia: drivers for change from the perspectives of key stakeholders

OBJECTIVE

The dental workforce is facing unprecedented change globally as a result of multiple influences. There is a need for research informed action to map possible drivers for change at the national level and examine their potential implications in order to shape the dental workforce to serve population needs. The objective of this study was to explore key stakeholders' views on the drivers for change for the Malaysian dental workforce and their potential implications.

METHOD

Stakeholders from key dental organisations/professions in Malaysia were purposively sampled and invited to participate in a semi-structured interview (n = 20) using a pre-tested topic guide. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using Framework Analysis.

RESULTS

Drivers for workforce were identified across four main domains: policy-politics; trends in demography; social and economic; and, technology-scientific development. The pace of change and possible interplay between drivers, most notably government policy, liberalisation of education and health services and challenges of workforce governance, followed by Malaysian demography and health trends. Implications for the future, including possible uncertainties, particularly in relation to specialisation and privatisation were identified, together in balancing and meeting public health needs/demands with professional career expectations.

CONCLUSION

Stakeholders' views on the high-level drivers for change broadly mirror those of high-income countries; however, specific challenges for Malaysia relate to rapid expansion of dental education and a young workforce with significant career aspirations, together with imbalances in the health care system. The impact of these drivers was perceived as leading to greatest uncertainty around specialisation and privatisation of the future workforce.

Career perspectives of senior dental students from different backgrounds at a single Middle Eastern institution

BACKGROUND

Differences between dental students in terms of social, economic and cultural backgrounds are likely to impact their professional career plans. The aim of this study was to explore the professional career plans among final year dental students from different backgrounds at a single Middle Eastern institution (Jordan university of Science and Technology-JUST).

METHODS

Fifth year dental students at JUST were invited to fill out a paper based self-administered questionnaire. Data was collected on students` demographics, their future career plans and the impact of social and economic changes on such plans, their interest in postgraduate studies and the specialty of choice in addition to the influence of a group of factors on that choice. Data was also collected on the value of non-academic workshops, guidance regarding career plans, participants` preferred pattern of work (full-time versus part-time) and retirement plans. Students were categorized according to their nationalities. Pearson's chi squared test, one way ANOVA and post hoc tests were used to measure statistical significance between measured variables and backgrounds of participants. The level of significance was set at P ≤ 0.05.

RESULTS

A total of 227 students completed the survey (response rate = 84%). 47% of the participants were Jordanians, 27% were Malaysians, 11% were from Gulf States (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar), 10% were from conflict zones in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Palestine and Yemen) and 5% comprised students from other nationalities. Significant differences were found between students from different backgrounds in their funding sources (Chi square = 132, P < 0.01), practice plans (Chi square = 43, P < 0.01), the impact of social and economic changes on their career choices (Chi square = 34, P < 0.01), planned work pattern within the first 10 years post-graduation (chi square = 18, P < 0.05) and 10-20 years after graduation (69%, Chi square = 22, P < 0.01) and retirement plans (Chi square = 25, P < 0.05). Students from different nationalities agreed on most factors affecting their choice of a specialty, except for the reputation of the specialty (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Several differences in career plans were found between dental students from variable backgrounds studying a single institution. Many of these disparities could reflect variations in socioeconomic backgrounds.

Professional Aspirations and Cultural Expectations: A Qualitative Study of Saudi Females in Dentistry

The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of Saudi female dentists and dental students on their motivation for and expectations of a career in dentistry. Twenty-one semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of Saudi female dentists (postgraduate students, generalists, specialists, academics, and unemployed), along with final-year female dental students from public and private dental schools. A topic guide, informed by the literature and piloted on a representative group of Saudi dentists, was used to guide the discourse. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and then analyzed using framework analysis. We found that highly academic achieving females are interested in a prestigious, financially rewarding career in health care that fulfills their family and community expectations of balancing family life with work. Features of the job that facilitate this balance such as regular hours and no on-call were commonly important. A range of professional interests, most importantly specialization and holding academic positions, often involving studying abroad, emerged. Females' movement between sectors, location of work, and practice patterns in this study were shaped by their domestic circumstances. The findings suggest that Saudi females in dentistry aspire to fulfill their interest in a successful, professional, highly prestigious, progressive career while recognizing cultural expectations and maintaining a family-work balance and perceive this is possible through a career in dentistry. Knowledge Transfer Statement: This study makes an important contribution to the knowledge on this topic. The findings can inform decisions made by policy makers on dental education and workforce planning, as well as future dentists who plan to join the dental workforce. It gives insight into the motivation and career expectations of Saudi females in dentistry in light of the current economic and cultural changes, as well as their implication for the dental workforce.

Professional identity, career choices, and working conditions of future and young dentists in Germany - study design and methods of a nationwide comprehensive survey

BACKGROUND

Little is known regarding young and future dentists' career choices, professional identity, and working conditions in Germany. While the dental healthcare environment and demands in treatment are changing, it remains unclear what job perceptions young dentists have developed at the beginning of their work life and if and how these perceptions change during the subsequent years. The aim of this study was to survey future and young dentists regarding their professional identity, planned career paths, and working conditions and strains to understand career decisions and choices and enable policy makers to include future dentists' views and expectations in their decisions.

METHODS/DESIGN

This study is a longitudinal nationwide survey over a time span of 4 years of dental students and young dentists in Germany and is comprised of three waves. The first wave focuses on dental students in their final year before the state examination and is composed of a qualitative pre-study in the form of focus groups and a quantitative main survey in the form of a questionnaire. The end points were established to analyse (1) the professional identity of the young future dentists; (2) their career paths, preparation for a career, and basic career conditions; and (3) perceived conditions and strains. The aim of the overall survey was to depict the development of these three aspects during the first years of work life. All of the questions were evaluated with a descriptive univariate analysis. The analysed subgroups were grouped according to gender, target working condition (employed/self-employed), and primary socialisation (parents dentists/parents not dentists).

DISCUSSION

To our knowledge, this is the only study which focuses on career choices, professional identity, and working conditions of future and young dentists in Germany. The longitudinal observation provides information that is essential for professional and purposive dental health care planning, and to meet the oral health demands and needs of the German population appropriately over the long term.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

German Health Services Research Data Bank VfD_Y-Dent_14_003759 .