Dental clinical teaching: perceptions of students and teachers

The objective of this study was to explore perceptions of dental student clinicians and clinical teachers about dental clinical teaching to provide primary data for dental researchers and educators. Student focus group data provided background for development of a questionnaire that explored three themes related to clinical teaching. Twenty-one teachers and forty-five student respondents completed the twenty-five-item questionnaire in 2003. In the theme of the teacher/student relationship, no statistically significant differences were seen between teacher and student group perceptions. In the theme of educational theory applied in dental clinical teaching, a statistically significant difference was seen between teacher and student groups in the value of preclinical instruction in senior clinical years and in the value of a clinical log book. In the theme of skills required for clinical dental practice, a statistically significant difference was seen between teacher and student groups in the value of a critical appreciation of evidence-based practice as one of the skills. The study overall indicates that the dental clinical learning environment supports close perceptual conformity between students and clinical teachers in regard to what each group considers to be "good practice" in clinical teaching. The findings of this study indicate that some techniques that have been advocated to enhance clinical learning, such as evidence-based teaching methods, require further investigation.