Why Final Year Dental Students Choose Dentistry
Author Information
Author(s): Jennifer E Gallagher, Resmi Patel, Nora Donaldson, Nairn HF Wilson
Primary Institution: King's College London Dental Institute
Hypothesis
What motivates final year dental students to choose dentistry as a career?
Conclusion
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.
Supporting Evidence
- 90% response rate from final year dental students.
- 61% of the variation in influences explained by five factors.
- Top influences included job security, regular working hours, and a desire to work with people.
Takeaway
Most dental students choose their career because they want to help people and have job security, but different factors matter more to different groups.
Methodology
Self-administered questionnaire survey of final year dental students at King's College London, with statistical analysis using SPSS.
Potential Biases
Potential bias in self-reported data and the demographic skew towards Asian students.
Limitations
The study may not be representative of all dental students in the UK due to the specific demographic profile of the respondents.
Participant Demographics
The majority of respondents were aged 23 years (59%), female (58%), and Asian (70%).
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.004
Confidence Interval
95% CI 1.1 to 5.3
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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