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Assessing students' confidence in interpreting dental radiographs following a blended learning module
Camila Pacheco-Pereira1, Anthea Senior1, Jacqueline Green1
1Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Objective:
This study assessed senior dental hygiene (DH) students' self-reported confidence in interpreting dental radiographs following the introduction of a blended learning (BL) module for radiology interpretation. The assessment of students was conducted five months prior to graduation.
Methods:
A BL oral radiology module was designed. In order to capture the context, descriptions and differences of students' experience and confidence, a qualitative research approach was selected. Data were captured using a semi-structured interview process and analysed using phenomenographic methods.
Results:
Sixteen students were interviewed. Blinded transcripts were analysed, and the main themes relating to confidence were extracted and arranged into categories. The categories were coded as to how confident (low, medium or high) each of the students felt specific to varying contexts and complexities of radiographic interpretation.
Conclusion:
Predominately, the BL model had a positive impact on DH students' confidence in the interpretation of radiographic findings. However, when asked about their level of overall confidence in interpreting dental radiographs, students still did not describe themselves as confident for all potential findings on radiographs at this point in their education. The students highlighted the importance of having patient history details and clinical assessment findings included in the interpretation exercises and expressed a desire to collaborate with other professionals when interpreting radiographs.
