Admissions criteria predictors of dental hygiene graduates' job satisfaction

The relationship of a dental hygiene program's admissions criteria to its graduates' subsequent job satisfaction was examined. One hundred thirteen subjects who had graduated from an associate degree-granting dental hygiene program between the years 1977 and 1986 responded to a mailed questionnaire that obtained demographic information and job satisfaction measures. The admissions criteria were collected from records on file at the dental hygiene program. Responses to the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) were tabulated to obtain a general job satisfaction score and to obtain selected job satisfaction subscale scores on variety, compensation, advancement, and achievement. It was hypothesized that there would be no relationship between the admissions criteria and the selected job satisfaction scale scores. A total of five stepwise multiple regression analyses was performed, with each of the five satisfaction scale scores as the dependent variable and the admissions criteria entered as independent variables. No variables were entered into a regression equation, as no correlations were significant at p less than .05. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the general job satisfaction percentile score as the dependent variable and year of graduation as the independent variable was conducted. When combined as groups, those who graduated in the first five years (1977-81) expressed statistically significant lower general job satisfaction (p = .0072) than the graduates from 1982-1986. The analysis of the admissions criteria and job satisfaction scores must be looked at cautiously, as the sample was limited to graduates from a particular dental hygiene program.