DENTAL STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS REGARDING PRACTICAL AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS AND THEIR CAREER ASPIRATIONS

There is some evidence that dental students regard clinical skills as more important than management skills. It would therefore be valuable to investigate whether management skills are perceived to be relevant and necessary for their career aspirations. This study aimed to identify students' perceptions regarding the most important skills (other than clinical skills) they have to learn in the dental curriculum and to relate these perceptions to their future career aspirations. The study was conducted in the academic year 2015-2016 by means of an anonymous questionnaire among second-, third-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-year dental students at the Faculty of Dental Medicine, Ovidius University of Constanta. From the desire to improve the quality of dental education and consequently the need for graduates possess adequate and needed competences to face the challenges of the labor market, the faculty leadership requested from the psychologists from the University Center for Counselling and Career Guidance, to develop and interpret the results of a questionnaire. Clinical skills are generally considered extremely important. Leadership, communication and management skills contribute to the success of practicing as dental health professionals. Most students indicated that they would like to improve themselves by participating in continuing education courses for updating the working techniques if afforded the opportunity. Also, the results have emphasized the importance that the dental curriculum to relate with the future career aspirations. The development of management skills is therefore becoming crucial for dentists to manage their practices successfully and this will contribute to an increasing engaged workforce. (C) 2017 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.uk