Graduating dental hygiene students' attainment of the CDHA baccalaureate competencies: Students' self-ratings

In 2015 the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association published the first Canadian Competencies for Baccalaureate Dental Hygiene Programs . To date there is no scientific evidence to support that graduates from baccalaureate programs have gained these abilities.

To explore the confidence levels of graduating dental hygiene baccalaureate students in their ability to demonstrate the national baccalaureate competencies.

This article examines the preliminary frequency data from the first year of a 3-year longitudinal study involving the graduating students within the University of British Columbia dental hygiene baccalaureate program. An online, anonymous survey was conducted with these students to rate their confidence level based on a 5-point scale ranging from not confident to confident in the national competencies that include 13 domains with 110 associated subcompetencies.

Seventeen of the twenty-two graduating students responded to the survey for a 77% response rate. The competency areas in which they expressed the highest confidence were collaboration (100%), clinical therapy (100%), oral health education (90%), disease prevention (86%), professionalism (82%), and integration of knowledge (80%). The areas in which they expressed the least confidence were policy use (20%) and advocacy (11%) where some respondents were not confident, somewhat confident or unsure.

These data provide the faculty with important insights to support curriculum revisions, particularly in the policy use and advocacy domains. The data also contribute to a broader national discussion about the baccalaureate competencies and an exploration of the subcompetencies that may be beyond the scope of baccalaureate education.