Dental students' perceptions of their experience at a residential outreach centre

D. R. Radford*, P. Hellyer

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    199 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Introduction: The Portsmouth Dental Academy delivers an interprofessional education to dental students on outreach placement from King's College London Dental Institute.

    Aim: To establish what the dental students' attitudes to the placement are and how these correlate to the perceptions of the staff who work with them.

    Method: Using Delphi consensus procedures, a simple, closed, two-question questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire was completed by the students and then, to triangulate the results, was subsequently applied to staff who teach and assist them on clinic.

    Results: To the question: Why do you think the experience that is commonly termed the 'Portsmouth experience' is so successful 'in the eyes of the students'?, the students ranked first the response: 'Students gain experience in primary dental care clinical practice under the current NHS contract - UDAs and KPIs'. To the second question: What do you think the students most enjoyed about working in Portsmouth?, the students ranked first: 'A sense of independence - being made to make their own decisions'.

    Conclusion: The students' major perception of the 'Portsmouth experience' centres around the placement being a realistic preparation for their future practising career. This is combined with a strong sense of belonging when studying and working at the Academy.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)171-175
    Number of pages5
    JournalBritish Dental Journal
    Volume219
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 28 Aug 2015

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Dental students' perceptions of their experience at a residential outreach centre'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this