The emerging dental workforce: why dentistry? A quantitative study of final year dental students' views on their professional career

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dental graduates are joining a profession experiencing changes in systems of care, funding and skill mix. Research into the motivation and expectations of the emerging workforce is vital to inform professional and policy decisions. The objective of this research was to investigate final year dental students' perceived motivation for their choice of career in relation to sex, ethnicity and mode of entry.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Self-administered questionnaire survey of all final year dental students at King's College London. Data were entered into SPSS; statistical analysis included Chi Squared tests for linear association, multiple regression, factor analysis and logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A response of 90% (n = 126) was achieved. The majority were aged 23 years (59%), female (58%) and Asian (70%). One in 10 were mature students. Eighty per cent identified 11 or more 'important' or 'very important' influences, the most common of which were related to features of the job: 'regular working hours' (91%), 'degree leading to recognised job' (90%) and 'job security' (90%). There were significant differences in important influences by sex (males > females: 'able to run own business'; females > males: 'a desire to work with people'), ethnic group (Asians > white: 'wish to provide public service', 'influence of friends', 'desire to work in healthcare', having 'tried an alternative career/course' and 'work experience') and mode of entry (mature > early entry: 'a desire to work with people'). Multivariate analysis suggested 61% of the variation in influences is explained by five factors: the 'professional job' (31%), 'healthcare-people' (11%), 'academic-scientific' (8%), 'careers-advising' (6%), and 'family/friends' (6%). The single major influence on choice of career was a 'desire to work with people'; Indian students were twice as likely to report this as white or other ethnic groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Final year dental students report a wide range of important influences on their choice of dentistry, with variation by sex, ethnicity and mode of entry in relation to individual influences. Features of the 'professional job', followed by 'healthcare and people' were the most important underlying factors influencing choice of career.</p

The future of the profession - a survey of dental school applicants

Purpose: To gather background information about applicants to the dental undergraduate course, and ascertain the factors involved in their decision to study dentistry.\ud \ud Method: Applicants attending for interview at Dundee and Manchester Dental Schools completed anonymous questionnaires. The useable response rate was 94% (n = 436).\ud \ud Results: There were equal numbers of male and female applicants to the two schools as a whole. Although there was a much broader ethnic mix in the applicants to Manchester, the overall proportion of minority ethnic groups was considerably greater than in the UK population as a whole. Seventy-five per cent came from professional backgrounds, although marked differences were apparent between ethnic groups. A quarter had family relations who were dentists, and 30% were related to doctors. Over half (53%) decided to apply within the last year, with popular motivating factors including a general interest in dentistry, a desire to help people and to work with their hands. Dentistry was the first choice of career of 89%, with medicine the most popular alternative.\ud \ud Conclusion: Valuable information was gathered from these prospective dental students regarding their backgrounds and the decision process involved in their career selection. This will prove beneficial when developing the recruitment process and allow appropriate tailoring to the target audience