Assessment of the Development of Clinical Competence in Pediatric Dentistry with the Objective Structured Clinical Examination

Abstract

Introduction: Dentistry’s clinical competence involves domains that have been evaluated in combination, and it is difficult to identify which are better developed in the formative process.
Aim: To assess the development of clinical competence’s domains in dental students in Pediatric Dentistry subject. Method: A pre-post study was performed in the Faculty of Dentistry at UNAM, Mexico City. Clinical competence was assessed before and after the fourth-grade Pediatric dentistry course with an Objective Structured Clinical Examination that consisted of 18 six-minutes stations, with rubrics from 4 to 20 criteria in 4 categories. Student’s t-test for paired samples was used to identify changes in the clinical competence and seven domains.
Results: 120 and 110 students participated in the pre- and post-assessment, respectively. 75% of students who participated pre, they also realized post. An improvement in clinical competence was observed (Pre-x= 43.7, Post-x= 53.5; p<.0001). The domains mainly developed were: treatment plan (Pre- x= 39.9, Post-x=53.2) and technical skills (Pre-x= 49.4, Post-x=65.4).
Conclusions: The domains’ development assessment allows us to identify, in depth, the competences that are adequately developed and those that are not. The dentists’ professional training mainly focuses on the know-how of technical-procedural skills. However, rethinking the educational strategies is required to develop the other clinical competence’s domains in an equitable manner.