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The use of PBL to facilitate the development of professional attributes in second year dental students
1Department of Adult Oral Health, Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, Turner Street, London, UK. a.k.pau@qmul.ac.uk
Objectives:
To investigate dental students' perception as to whether PBL can facilitate the development of professional attributes.
Design:
A cross-sectional survey of second year dental undergraduates in a UK dental school.
Method:
At the end of a PBL module, all students were asked to complete a fully structured questionnaire. Data were collected on socio-demographics, aspects of the PBL experience and the extent to which students perceived that PBL had facilitated the development of professional attributes.
Results:
The response rate was 96%. The frequency distributions of the PBL experience and development of professional attributes were skewed to the positive. Non-white students, compared to white students, rated significantly more highly the extent to which they thought PBL had facilitated the development of professional attributes. Differences between male and female students, and mature and less mature students were not significant. Students who rated the PBL experience positively were significantly more likely to rate highly the extent to which they thought PBL had facilitated the development of professional attributes.
Conclusions:
The factors that affect the relationship between ethnicity and development of professional attributes need further research. To enhance the development of professional attributes, teachers of PBL need to ensure that students find the learning experience worthwhile and stimulating.
