Why do we need this? Perception and integration of basic and clinical sciences by dental hygiene students

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Dental Hygiene
• Curriculum Development

Background:

• Integrating basic sciences into clinical curricula is crucial for understanding physiological processes in patient care.
• Traditional curricula separate basic science and clinical courses, hindering students' ability to apply foundational knowledge.
• This study investigated student perceptions of science integration and its impact on clinical knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine dental hygiene students' perceptions of integrating foundational sciences into their program.
• To evaluate the extent of integration between foundational sciences and clinical oral medicine/pathology knowledge.
• To assess how knowledge integration differs across student year levels.

Main Methods:

• Anonymous surveys were administered to second- to fourth-year dental hygiene students at the University of Alberta.
• A graded measure of knowledge integration was completed by third- and fourth-year students.
• Content analysis of descriptive comments and statistical comparisons were used.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in perceptions of science integration were observed between student year cohorts.
• Student comments highlighted the benefits of integrating clinical and foundational science knowledge.
• No significant differences were found in the measured integration of foundational science and clinical knowledge between third- and fourth-year students.

Conclusions:

• Further research is needed to explore faculty perceptions of curricular integration.
• Strategies to facilitate faculty-level curricular integration require further investigation.
• Student feedback indicates a perceived benefit to integrated science education in health professions programs.