Page 69 - Demo

Self-efficacy of undergraduate dental students674DiscussionFor this study, all students of two successive years of graduation from two universities in two European countries with, in total, three endodontic programmes were invited. The participation rates were satisfactory (Draugalis et al. 2008); and the internal consistency of both the Danish and the Dutch versions of the Endodontic General Self-Efficacy Scale appeared to be good in this study (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.878 and 0.872 respectively), and similar to what has previously been reported (Baaij & Özok 2018a). The diverse sample provided data that seemed generalizable. The participants’ comments indicated that they appreciated the endodontic education they received. Most of the students were satisfied with the amount of lectures, literature and simulated clinical training. Nearly half of the students wanted more tutorials to discuss literature and/or clinical cases, and more feedback from their teachers, but this may probably reflect the considerable variability in students’ learning preferences (Divaris et al. 2008). Students appreciated the supervision by endodontists (ACTA) or teachers with special interest and knowledge in Endodontics (AU), as became clear from their comments. Supervision by teachers with advanced knowledge and skills in Endodontics is advised by the ESE guidelines (European Society of Endodontology 2013), and increasing numbers of treatments under their supervision increases self-efficacy (Baaij & Özok 2018a). Almost all students in this study would like to have had performed more root canal treatments on patients during their undergraduate dental training. The ADEE and ESE guidelines state that students should be competent to perform root canal treatment on uncomplicated anterior and posterior teeth (Cowpe et al. 2010, European Society of Endodontology 2013); and according to the ESE guidelines, students should gain adequate clinical experience in the treatment of anterior, premolar and molar teeth (European Society of Endodontology 2013). The precise meaning of the phrase ‘adequate clinical experience in the treatment of anterior, premolar and molar teeth’ used in the ESE guidelines may be elusive, but it might be concluded that many students in the present study sample did not achieve that (Table 4). For students, opportunities to gain clinical experience depend on the available patients and the types of treatments they need. Clinical experience and requirements of a mandatory number of procedures vary widely between undergraduate programmes globally, and there are even programmes that have no such requirements at all (Gatley et al. 2009, Seijo et al. 2013, Tanalp et al. 2013, Murray & Chandler 2014, Alrahabi 2017). The arguments for quantitative Annemarie Baaij.indd 67 28-06-2023 12:26