Comparative Study of Attitudes towards Communication Skills Learning between Medical and Dental Students in Saudi Arabia

Background: Communication skills (CS) learning is a core skill in medical and dental education. The comparison of attitudes towards CS between dental and medical students based on the taught curriculum (problem-based learning vs. traditional teaching) in Saudi Arabia awaits investigation. Aims: (1) To assess the attitudes of both undergraduate dental and medical students towards communication skills (CS) learning and (2) to compare the attitudes towards CS between Medical and Dental students in relation to sociodemographic and education-related characteristics. Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional study, using an online survey, invited 260 conveniently sampled Taibah university medical and dental undergraduate students. The survey collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, education-related factors, and CS using Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) that assess positive and negative attitudes (PAS, NAS). Data analysis included descriptive statistics and the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: Of the distributed questionnaire 91% responded (145 dental and 91 medical students). There were, overall, non-significant scores’ differences between medical and dental students on PAS (Medicine Median 51 vs. Dentistry Median 50, p = 0.059) and NAS (Medicine Median 32 vs. Dentistry Median 32, p = 0.596). Older medical students, those at clinical levels and those who reported they need to improve their communication skills and student whose parents were not doctors, tended to score statistically significantly (p = 0.032, 0.017, 0.034, and 0.004, respectively) on PAS compared with dental students; on the other hand, medical students with doctor parents scored significantly high in NAS compared to dental students (p = 0.015). Conclusion: Demographic and education-related characteristics underpinned medical student positive attitude towards CS compared to dental students. Although medical and dental students showed no differences in self-rating their attitudes towards (CS). Different factors influence medical and dental students’ attitudes towards CS learning.

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Knowledge, Awareness and Perception of Facial Cosmetic and Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Among Dental and Medical Undergraduate Students: Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.17970 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hatan Mortada ◽

Hassan Mortada ◽

Abdulelah Tarek BinYamin ◽

Shifa Sameer Nagadi ◽

Naif M. Bafaraj ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Medical Students ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Maxillofacial Surgery ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Medical Undergraduate ◽

Medical Undergraduate Students

BACKGROUND Facial cosmetic and maxillofacial Surgery is primarily a surgical specialty of dentistry concerned with the management of diseases of the jaws, mouth, face and neck regions. Its the only branch of dentistry to be to be strongly linked with other medical branches. It is indeed common knowledge that many medical professionals and the general public have a very low awareness of OMFS. Surveys conducted among graduating medical students show that they have very limited exposure to OMFS without even understanding the career pathway. OBJECTIVE This multicentric study aimed to investigate and assess the awareness, knowledge, and perception of facial cosmetic and oral maxillofacial surgery among dental and medical undergraduate students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS The data of this cross-sectional study were obtained from medical and dental undergraduate students of different universities in Saudi Arabia, between September and December, 2019. The questionnaire was formulated after a pilot study was done to assess validity, and clarity of questions. It consisted of 23 variable that were divided into 2 sections: (a) demographic information (b) questions related to facial cosmetic and maxillofacial surgery. ethical approval was granted by the Research Ethics Committee at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Data were considered significant at P<.05. All analyses were performed using SPSS, version 24. RESULTS Total of 412 dentistry students and 452 medicine & surgery students included. About 36% dental students and 35% medical students have been previously exposed to rotation of surgical specialties. A significantly higher percentage of dental students (80.6%) have heard about Facial Cosmetic & Maxillofacial, p <.001. Among the specific Facial Cosmetic & Maxillofacial surgeries, ‘fractures of the jaw and face’ was known by most of the dental (77.7%) and medical (63.7%) students. The mean knowledge score was higher among the dentistry students compared to medicine & surgery students ( 8.88 ± 4.47 vs 8.78 ± 4.40). CONCLUSIONS Level of knowledge and awareness about facial cosmetic and maxillofacial surgery among medical and dental students was fair. This study ascertains the need for an effective educational program to increase the awareness, which will directly enhance its success and the optimal management being delivered to our patients.

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Association of severity of depressive symptoms with sleep quality, social support and stress among Pakistani medical and dental students: A cross-sectional study

Global Psychiatry ◽

10.2478/gp-2019-0019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 211-220

Author(s):

Ahmed Waqas ◽

Aqsa Iftikhar ◽

Zahra Malik ◽

Kapil Kiran Aedma ◽

Hafsa Meraj ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Medical Students ◽

Sleep Quality ◽

Severe Depression ◽

Dental Students ◽

Poor Sleep ◽

Poor Sleep Quality ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Medical And Dental Students

AbstractObjectivesThis study has been designed to elucidate the prevalence of stress, depression and poor sleep among medical students in a Pakistani medical school. There is a paucity of data on social support among medical students in Pakistan; an important predictor of depressive symptoms. Therefore, this study was also aimed to demonstrate the direct and indirect impact of social support in alleviating depressive symptoms in the study sample.MethodsThis observational cross-sectional study was conducted in Lahore, Pakistan, where a total of 400 students at a medical school were approached between 1st January to 31st March 2018 to participate in the study. The study sample comprised of medical and dental students enrolled at a privately financed Pakistani medical and dental school. The participants responded to a self-administered survey comprising of five parts: a) demographics, b) Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), c) Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), d) Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and e) Perceived Stress Scale-4 (PSS-4). All data were analysed using SPSS v. 20. Linear regression analysis was used to reveal the predictors of depression.ResultsIn total, 353 medical students participated, yielding a response rate of 88.25%. Overall, poor sleep quality was experienced by 205 (58.1%) students. Mild to severe depression was reported by 83% of the respondents: mild depression by 104 (29.5%), moderate depression by 104 (29.5%), moderately severe depression by 54 (15.3%) and severe depression by 31 (8.8%) respondents. Subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, daytime dysfunction and stress levels were significantly associated with depression symptoms. Social support was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms in the regression model (Beta = -0.08, P < 0.09); however, it acted as a significant mediator, reducing the strength of the relationship between depressive symptoms and sleep quality and stress.ConclusionsAccording to our study, a large proportion of healthcare (medical and dental) students were found to be suffering from mild to moderate depression and experienced poor sleep quality. It is concluded that social support is an important variable in predicting depressive symptomatology by ameliorating the effects of poor sleep quality and high stress levels.

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Oral Hygiene Practice And Perceived Oral Malodour Among Dental And Medical Undergraduate Students Of Bahria University Medical And Dental College

Journal of Bahria University Medical and Dental College ◽

10.51985/jbumdc2018057 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 08 (04) ◽

pp. 221-225

Author(s):

Beenish Fatima Alam ◽

Hira Raza ◽

Shizma junejo ◽

Marium Azfar ◽

Tuba Saleem ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Oral Hygiene ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

Chi Square ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Medical Undergraduate ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Medical Undergraduate Students

Objective: To determine the differences of self-perception of halitosis and oral hygiene practices among the medical and dental undergraduate students. Methodology: A cross-sectional study conducted over duration of 9 months amongst the medical and dental undergraduate students of Bahria University Medical and Dental College. The questionnaires were distributed to 298 students. Questionnaire employed for this study was adopted and modified from the study conducted by Khalid Almas et al. Descriptive statistics were checked by means of percentages and frequency for all variables. Chi-square test was applied to check significant difference among the responses given by the medical and dental undergraduate students. Results: The response rate for the survey was about 85%. 55% of dental and 17 % of medical students were able to smell their breath. About having examination by dentist about 73% of medical students agreed as compared to 53% of dental students. Both medical and dental students preferred having examination done by the dentist. For management of halitosis, dentist was preferred by 62% of the dental students, while 97% of the medical students did not agree. 62% of the dental students preferred using traditional medications, while 82% of the medical students preferred using self-medications for treatment. Conclusion: The results suggest that there is not a high level of agreement among dental and medical students concerning the detection and management of halitosis. Although large percent of the respondents claimed to be aware of dentistry, our findings revealed low level of knowledge and attitude to Dentistry by the medical undergraduate students. Efforts should be made towards closing this knowledge gap to attain effective oral health.

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Awareness of oral cancer and potentially malignant oral disorder among final year medical and dental undergraduate students of Chitwan Medical College, Nepal

Journal of Chitwan Medical College ◽

10.3126/jcmc.v9i1.23778 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 20-26

Author(s):

Sushil Subedi ◽

Bijayata Shrestha

Keyword(s):

Oral Cancer ◽

Early Detection ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Dental Students ◽

Fisher Exact Test ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mortality And Morbidity ◽

Medical College ◽

Potentially Malignant ◽

Medical And Dental Students

Background: Oral Cancer (OCA) is a common malignancy in South East Asia and the burden of the disease is increasing. OCA is usually preceded by Potentially Malignant Oral Disorder (PMOD). The early detection of these diseases may limit the high mortality and morbidity. The objectives of this study were to assess the awareness of burden, associated risk factors, early detection and prognosis of OCA and OPMD among final year medical and dental students.. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted among final year Medical and Dental undergraduate students of Chitwan Medical College, Nepal in April 2017 using a pre tested self-administered questionnaires. All the final year students present at their respective classes (Dental= 50 and Medical=75 students) responded to the questionnaires after giving informed consent. Data entered in SPPS 20 software was analyzed using Pearson Chi Square test and Fisher exact test. Results: Dental students had better awareness concerning PMOD. Yet, the dental students did not differ significantly from their medical counterpart in most of the responses related to OCA. Surprisingly, more Dental students had misconception that OCA is not preventable and early detection is difficult. Few of both groups were confident in having sufficient knowledge in OCA prevention and detection. Only 18.6% of Medical students had examined PMOD and few students of both groups had examined OCA. Conclusions: This study revealed the deficient aspect in the knowledge concerning OCA and OPMD among Medical and Dental students indicating the need to emphasize on these aspects of medical education.

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Tomorrow’s doctors and dentists in Malaysia: empathic or indifferent?

European Journal for Person Centered Healthcare ◽

10.5750/ejpch.v5i2.1287 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 205 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Muneer Gohar Gohar Babar ◽

Syed Shahzad Hasan ◽

Lee Ping Lim ◽

Phei June Lim ◽

Nik Mohd Mazuan Nik Mohd Rosdy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

First Year ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Dental Surgery ◽

Empathy Score ◽

Empathic Communication ◽

Student Version ◽

Medical And Dental Students

Objectives: This study compared the empathic behaviour of first year to final year dental and medical students in Malaysia and explored whether academic training of dental and medical students increases their subjective empathic tendencies. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 1020 first year to final year (fifth-year) undergraduate medical and dental students using a validated, self-administered Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Care Provider Student Version (JSE-HPS) questionnaire. The data were collected from first year to final year (fifth-year) students enrolled in Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree programs at 2 government-funded universities and one private university. Results: Dental students had a significantly higher total mean empathy score than medical students (84.11 versus 81.96, p < 0.05). However, medical students had a narrow actual score range (59.35 - 133.35) than dental (22.05 - 133.35) students. Males (Medical: 82.57, Dental: 84.97) and students of Malay origin (Medical: 82.52, Dental: 85.11) were more empathic than females and students of other ethnic origins. The results also indicate that third-year medical students (mean: 82.95) and fourth-year dental students (mean: 86.36) were more empathic than students in other professional years.Conclusions: We recommend the use of some form of active training and assessment to assist in the development of empathy in medical and dental students. Medical and dental schools should place more emphasis on teaching empathic communication.

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Empathy and attitude toward communication skill learning as a predictor of patient-centered attitude: a cross-sectional study of dental students in Korea

BMC Medical Education ◽

10.1186/s12909-021-02674-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Minjung Lee ◽

Jungjoon Ihm

Keyword(s):

Communication Skills ◽

Online Survey ◽

Communication Skill ◽

Patient Centered Care ◽

Dental Students ◽

Skill Learning ◽

Reactivity Index ◽

Patient Centered ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Centered Care

Abstract Background Enhancing medical students’ practice of patient-centered care is a goal of medical schools. In addition to exploring the demographic and academic factors of the students, it is necessary to identify other attitudes and perceptions that may influence the student’s patient-centered attitude and inclination toward communication skill learning. This study aimed to assess patient-centered attitudes among dental students in Korea and identify the association between the students’ characteristics and empathy, communication skill learning attitude, and patient-centered attitude. Methods Data were collected via a cross-sectional online survey, and 312 dental students were included in the analyses. The study participants completed the Patient–Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS). Analyses were performed using independent samples’ t-tests, hierarchical multi-variable regression, and ANOVA with a post-hoc Tukey test. Results The students tend to be moderately patient-oriented toward the sharing subscale of PPOS score (M = 3.78, standard deviation [SD] = 0.54) and slightly more patient-centered toward the caring subscale of PPOS score (M = 4.41, SD = 0.52) of patient-centered attitudes. Being a female and a shorter academic period in dentistry were associated with attitudes toward patient-centered care. Empathy and positive attitude toward learning communication skills were also related to a patient-centered attitude, and among aspects of empathy, “empathic concern” had the greatest significant impact on patient-centered attitude. Conclusions Gender, academic period, empathy, and attitudes on learning communication skills were important influencing factors of patient-centered attitudes. Patient-centered attitude can and must be taught. Education programs should focus on enhancing empathy, emphasizing positive attitudes on learning communication skills, and conducting follow-up educational sessions to prevent students from becoming less patient-centered with an increase in duration of their academic period.

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Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Communication Skills Attitude Scale among medical students in Liaoning province, China: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020931 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (9) ◽

pp. e020931 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yang Zhang ◽

Gurong Jiang ◽

Yihan Sun ◽

Xia Zhao ◽

Xiaosong Yu

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Attitude Scale ◽

Chinese Version ◽

Liaoning Province ◽

Future Research ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional

ObjectivesThe aims of this study were to develop the Chinese version of the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS-Ch) in order to test the psychometric properties of the modified instrument.DesignA cross-sectional study was conducted in September 2016 to evaluate the attitudes of Chinese medical students towards communication skills learning using CSAS at China Medical University.ParticipantsThe study recruited 510 fifth-year medical students by cluster sampling.MethodsCronbach’s α coefficients were calculated for the entire questionnaire and for the subscales to evaluate the internal consistency of the CSAS-Ch. In order to determine the structure underlying the CSAS, the scale was factor analysed using maximum likelihood extraction and the oblique rotation method.ResultsOf the 510 medical students, 492 (96.5%) completed the questionnaire. Cronbach’s α coefficient for the CSAS scale was 0.897. Exploratory factor analysis showed that the four-factor structure accounted for 59.8% of the variance and produced an acceptable fit to the data.ConclusionsThe modified CSAS-Ch can be used to evaluate attitudes towards communication skills. Further Future research for improving the teaching methods for communication skills should explore the relationship between medical students’ attitudes and the demographic characteristics.

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Knowledge of basic life support among Medical and Dental students: A comparative study

10.51131/ijpccr/v1i1.2 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 2-6

Author(s):

AM Amrutha ◽

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Basic Life Support ◽

Life Support ◽

Age Groups ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Life Saving ◽

Life Threatening ◽

Medical And Dental Students

Basic life support (BLS) is the medical procedures and skills which are used to save the victim from life-threatening emergencies until medical care is provided at the hospital. BLS procedures include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), bleeding control, artificial ventilation and basic airway management. Fatal medical emergencies may occur at any time. However, there are no set standards introduced in India to date. These life-saving maneuvers can be given through the structured resuscitation programs, which are lacking in the academic curriculum. The present study assessed the level of awareness toward basic life support (BLS) among medical and dental students. A cross-sectional study was carried out among dental and medical students in 2019. The study participants were people of the age group between 18-25 years. A convenient sample size of 250 was studied. A total of 250 subjects of age groups 18-25 years were analyzed in the study. The majority of students were not aware of BLS, with medical students fairing slightly better than dental students. The present study demonstrates poor knowledge among medical and dental students regarding BLS and showed the urgent need for continuous refreshing courses for this critical topic. Keywords: Knowledge; basic life support; medical students; dental students

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Challenges and Barriers Toward Medical Research Among Medical and Dental Students at King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2021.706778 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Safar Abadi Alsaleem ◽

Muhammed Alhussain Y. Alkhairi ◽

Mohammed Atiah A. Alzahrani ◽

Mohammed Ibrahim Alwadai ◽

Saad Saleh A. Alqahtani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Medical Research ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Intensive Training ◽

Research Activities ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Research Population ◽

Medical And Dental Students

Background: Medical research is a systematic method to obtain new knowledge, reduce diagnosis problems, discover the latest or best treatment for a disease, and also used for disease prevention.Objective: The study aims to assess the challenges and barriers to conduct medical research among medical and dentistry students and determine the reasons that hinder the conduct of the study.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the research population consisted of medical and dental students affiliated with King Khalid University in Saudi Arabia in 2020. The study followed a descriptive approach based on quantitative analysis. The Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) program (V. 16.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used for data analysis.Results: A total of 327 students participated in this study, and the response rate was 100%. Among them, 61.5% were females. In this study majority (63.3%) had a moderate attitude toward conducting medical research and the average was 56.17. The majority (53.8%) had a reasonable behavior toward conducting medical research, and the average was 29.06. Lack of time, skills, funding, facilities, and limited access to medical journals and related databases were the significant barriers found. Most of the students had positive attitudes, except that they are not awarded on their research, do not attend the sessions, and do not speak their thoughts. A significant relationship between demographic characteristics (age, level, and Grade Percentage Average), attitudes & perceived barriers toward research was found (<0.05).Conclusion: The majority of the students demonstrated a positive attitude toward and moderate behavior of research. However, most are not awarded on their research, do not attend the sessions, and do not speak their thoughts. Intensive training and adequate support in research activities of medical and dental students at the undergraduate level may help reduce these challenges and barriers toward research.

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Awareness Regarding Vitamin D Amongst The Medical And Non-medical Students Of Karachi

Journal of Bahria University Medical and Dental College ◽

10.51985/jbumdc2019011 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 09 (03) ◽

pp. 197-201

Author(s):

Asma Dahar ◽

Tahira Assad ◽

Hafiza Touseef Sayyar

Keyword(s):

Vitamin D ◽

Medical Students ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Mean ◽

Graduate Trainees ◽

Male Subjects ◽

Medical And Dental Students

Objective: To assess the awareness regarding Vitamin D amongst medical and non-medical students. Study Design and Setting: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the period December 2016-June 2017 on a sample size of 388 subjects. Methodology: Undergraduate medical and dental students that are in their 3rd or 4th year, house officers, post graduate trainees and graduate medical students were included in the study. Undergraduate and graduate students from non-medical institutes were also included. The participants were assessed on the basis of a questionnaire which contained 15 closed ended questions. Results: The age of participants in this research varied from 21 to 35 years with the mean age of 24. Male subjects were 25 % but the females were predominant in this study, calculating 75%. Medical subjects were 70.4% (n= 273) and Nonmedical subjects were 29.6% (n= 115). Undergraduates were 79.4% (n=308) and Graduates were 20.6% (n=80). An overall of 75% of the medical subjects have satisfactory knowledge as compared to 25% of the non-medical subjects. Conclusion: There is a lack of awareness regarding vitamin D among non-medical students. Awareness of vitamin among medical students was also not up to the mark

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