The impact of service-learning on two groups of South African dental students

Service-learning has become an important component in the education of medical and dental students around the world. Dental students at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, provide dental services to rural communities via the Phelophepa train or a Public Oral Health Facility (POHF). The Phelophepa train is a mobile primary health care facility offering dental, pharmacy, nursing, and medical services provided by health professions students. The objective of this study was to determine the impact this experience with service-learning has had on dental students. Final-year dental students in 2008 and 2009 participated in the study by completing a self-administered questionnaire. There was a 100 percent response rate (N=55) on the demographic questions and a 98 percent response rate (N=54) on the opinion questions. Students on the Phelophepa train performed more extractions and examinations than those at the POHFs. Most students (95 percent), both on the train and at the clinics, reported that their clinical skills and efficiency had improved, and 96 percent felt more aware of the communities' needs. Almost all the students (96 percent) reported that the experience had helped them define their personal strengths and weaknesses. Complaints they mentioned included large numbers of patients (87 percent), long working hours (60 percent), and equipment being inadequate (48 percent) or not working (40 percent). This program positively impacted these students and enhanced their personal growth and social responsibility by exposing them to the needs of rural and urban communities in South Africa.