International Journal of Experimental Dental Science

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VOLUME 7 , ISSUE 1 ( January-June, 2018 ) > List of Articles

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Dental Students’ Perception of Competencies related to Biomedical Sciences in the Dental Curriculum

Yegane Guven, Sule Batu, Sevgi Turan, Emine Karsli

Keywords : Biomedical sciences, Competency, Dentistry, Descriptive research, Students’ evaluation

Citation Information : Guven Y, Batu S, Turan S, Karsli E. Dental Students’ Perception of Competencies related to Biomedical Sciences in the Dental Curriculum. Int J Experiment Dent Sci 2018; 7 (1):18-22.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10029-1169

License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Published Online: 01-03-2010

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2018; The Author(s).


Abstract

Aim: A dentist should be empowered to have knowledge of basic biological, medical, technical, and clinical sciences to distinguish the difference between normal and pathological conditions. The aim of this study was to describe the perception of dental students about competencies related to biomedical sciences in dental curriculum. Materials and methods: A 26-question questionnaire was administered to fifth-year students who were the first group to complete the new integrated dental curriculum, to measure the extent to which the students had competences with biomedical science information, which were classified as “have knowledge,” “have competence,” and “have familiarity” according to the Profile and competences for the graduating European Dentist—update, 2009. A Likert-type 5-point scale was used (1 = not much, 5 = a great deal) to evaluate the answers. The opinion of the students about qualification of education was also assessed with six questions. Results: Fourteen questions related to “have knowledge” (Q1–17) of biomedical science subjects were rated somewhat, two rated them much, and one scored somewhat and much as equal on the Likert scale. Four questions related to “have competence” (Q18–24) were rated much, and three were rated somewhat. Students rated “have familiarity” with “pharmacology in general medicine” and “awareness of environmental issues relevant to dental biomaterials’ use” (Q 25, 26) as somewhat. Most of the students approved of integrated education (60.7%). Conclusion: While planning and developing the curriculum aims to meet the practical needs of your future dentist, the importance of training based on competence should be taken into consideration.


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