Power of Peers: Students' Perceptions of Pairing in Clinical Dental Education

Prior studies have identified many benefits of peer mentoring in higher education, but the subject has not been widely examined in dental clinical education. Students at Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Arizona are paired with a partner for the duration of the clinical phase of education. The initial vision behind pairing was to train students in a realistic four-handed, efficient general practice model. The aim of this study was to assess the students' perceptions of the peer mentoring component of pairing third- and fourth-year dental students in the clinical phase of their education. A survey was developed to seek answers to three questions: 1) Did the students perceive that the peer mentoring supported principles of adult learning? 2) Did the students feel they were prepared to enter into the peer learning relationship? 3) What were the students' perceptions of peer mentoring in their clinical education? Data were collected through an online survey delivered to third- (n=114) and fourth-year (n=104) students at the completion of the 2014-15 school year. The 19-question survey had a 61% response rate. The benefits of pairing were found to go far beyond the initial vision of promoting a general practice model. The majority (70.1%) of responding students perceived that it added to the educational experience, and 68.5% frequently/always agreed that the mentor-mentee relationship motivated them to learn. Although the students expressed many benefits of pairing, 29.3% identified a need for more focused training prior to entering into the mentor-mentee relationship.