Teaching dental students about patient communication following an adverse event: a pilot educational module

Adverse events are an important but understudied area in dentistry. Most dentists will face the issue of an adverse event several times in their clinical careers. The authors implemented a six-hour pilot educational module at one dental school to improve fourth-year dental students' knowledge and confidence in communicating with patients about adverse events. Based on results from the twenty-nine students who completed both the pre- and posttests, the module significantly increased the students' knowledge of the key concepts involved in adverse events. However, the module did not improve the students' confidence that they would be able to implement these communication skills in clinical situations. Based on these results, this article discusses how future educational efforts can be modified to better prepare students for the communication challenges associated with adverse events.