Patient safety education in Umm Al-Qura dental school: A comprehensive analysis of curriculum content and student confidence

Background: Patient safety (PS) is a critical component in dental education, yet it is not clear how dental schools include PS education in their curricula. Aim: To assess how PS topics are presented in the current Umm Al-Qura undergraduate dental (UQUDENT) curriculum and to investigate the self-perceptions of dental students regarding the PS confidence they have attained from their dental program. Method: The UQUDENT curriculum was mapped using keywords developed from the WHO PS manual. Courses contained intended learning outcomes (ILOs), and lecture topics were identified and ranked based on the level of PS content. In addition, dental students and interns were asked to fill in a modified version of the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey. Results: A total of 73.2% of the courses included ILOs or topics related to PS. Keywords related to the teamwork topic were the most common (60.9%), followed by patient engagement (24.3%), medication safety (12.2%), and infection control (9.8%). None of the courses included items on overall PS concepts, understanding systems, or quality improvement in relation to PS. Dental students were most confident in their learning regarding clinical safety and effective communication. They were least confident in what they learned about teamwork with other health professionals. There were no statistically significant differences in PS domain scores between classroom and clinical learning. Conclusion: The UQUDENT curriculum covers many aspects of PS. However, the PS content should be explicitly taught and assessed. Areas such as interprofessional education, clinical risk management, learning from errors, and teamwork should be augmented.