Contemporary dental student professionalism: moving towards a macro-level perspective

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Sociology of Health
• Professionalism Studies

Background:

• Defining and assessing dental student professionalism is crucial but challenging due to diverse academic perspectives.
• Current approaches struggle to foster meaningful progress in monitoring and eliciting dental student professionalism.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a contextualized, sociological assessment of dentistry and dental professionalism.
• To enhance understanding of dental student professional development by examining socio-cultural demands.

Main Methods:

• Sociological analysis of the UK dental education system.
• Examination of socio-cultural pressures impacting UK dental students' lives and interactions with education.

Main Results:

• A nuanced understanding of dental professionalism emerges when considering socio-cultural contexts.
• Socio-cultural demands shape dental students' experiences within the UK dental education system.

Conclusions:

• A sociological perspective is vital for advancing the study of dental professionalism.
• Dental educators can become more responsive to student professional development by understanding these socio-cultural influences.