Clinical anxieties among dental students

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Medical Education
• Psychology

Background:

• The transition from preclinical to clinical dental education presents unique stressors for students.
• A new curriculum at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, meant Second and Third Year students were in the same cohort, allowing for a unique comparative analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the perceived stresses and anxieties dental students face during the transition from preclinical studies to clinical teaching.
• To identify specific clinical situations that cause the most anxiety among dental students.

Main Methods:

• Anxiety questionnaire administered to 120 Second and Third Year dental students.
• Data collected from students within the same academic cohort due to a new curriculum.

Main Results:

• Highest general anxieties related to incorrect diagnoses, patient harm, medical emergencies, and infection risk.
• Specific high-stress situations included surgical procedures, temporomandibular joint issues, and failed local analgesia.
• Second-year students exhibited greater anxiety than third-year students concerning inferior alveolar nerve blocks and managing poor oral hygiene.

Conclusions:

• Dental students perceive significant stress transitioning to clinical environments, with specific procedural anxieties.
• While general anxiety levels showed no significant gender or year differences, specific skill-based anxieties varied between academic years.
• Targeted support and curriculum adjustments may be beneficial for mitigating student anxiety during clinical training.