Using significant event analysis in dental and medical education

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Dental Education
• Professional Development

Background:

• A new professional development teaching strand was implemented at the University of Otago's School of Dentistry.
• Final-year dental students were tasked with writing "thought-provoking episode reports" (TPERs).
• These TPERs served as the foundation for group discussions in a professional development course.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline the main content themes of dental students' TPERs.
• To compare these themes with those from similar reports written by medical students at the same university.
• To explore interpretations of similarities and differences in student experiences.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of fifty-one dental student TPERs.
• Comparison of themes from dental TPERs with themes from medical student TPERs.
• Qualitative thematic analysis of student-written reports.

Main Results:

• Dental student themes included "difficult" patients, conflicting advice, friends as patients, belittlement, and maintaining professional standards.
• Medical student themes encompassed patient suffering, belittlement, uncertainty, errors, complaints, student roles, treating friends/family, causing distress for learning, and mentoring issues.
• Both groups demonstrated commitment to high standards of care, but thematic differences were significant.

Conclusions:

• Personal experience is valuable for student discussion in professional development.
• Formal professional development programs are essential for both dental and medical students.
• A "hidden curriculum" likely influences both dental and medical education.