Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges related to formal clinical remediation in dental hygiene programs, which include timing of student identification, policy development, and the issues of methodology and scheduling.
Methods: A 23 item investigator-designed survey was electronically distributed to all 303 U.S. entry-level dental hygiene program directors. This questionnaire included 23 forced-choice questions with the options to add comments to 8 of the questions. A total of 111 surveys were returned yielding a response rate of 36%. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square analyses were utilized to analyze relationships between responses and the degree earned from the dental hygiene program.
Results: All schools reported having a remediation policy; however, 13.6% of the respondents revealed this information was not readily available to students. The majority of respondents (67.8%) reported identifying students with clinical deficiencies in the preclinical semester, and 15.5% identified students in the second year, second clinical semester. Instrumentation technique was identified as the area in greatest need of remediation (81%), followed by critical thinking and problem solving skills (12%). Coordination of faculty and student schedules to conduct remediation was identified as one of the greatest challenges by respondents (25.2%). Results of this study suggest that challenges exist with the process of remediation. Some of these challenges include involving the student in remedial plan development, the academic consequences associated with remediation and scheduling time and space for remedial activities.
Conclusion: These findings indicate that respondents are well aware of the need for remediation policies in dental hygiene programs. The point in time varies when students in need of remediation are identified. Therefore, further research needs to be conducted to determine the reasons for this difference. Some reasons may include inability to grasp the foundational skills and/or the complexity of advanced instrumentation in the second year. Also, it is suggested that investigation regarding methods used to address the challenge of faculty and student scheduling for remediation sessions would be useful.
Footnotes
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Donna F. Wood, RDH, MS, is a clinical assistant professor and junior clinic coordinator in the Department of Dental Hygiene at the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry. Tanya Villalpando Mitchell, RDH, MS, is an associate professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Division of Dental Hygiene. Lorie A. Holt, RDH, MS, is an associate professor and Director of Degree Completion Studies, Division of Dental Hygiene at the UMKC School of Dentistry. Bonnie G. Branson, RDH, PhD, is a professor at the Department of Dental Public Health and Behavioral Science at the UMKC School of Dentistry.
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This study supports the NDHRA priority area, Professional Education and Development: Investigate the extent to which new research findings are incorporated into the dental hygiene curriculum.
- Copyright © 2014 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association