Residents' and faculty's experience and satisfaction with TOACS in dental residency program

Dental residents are often required to demonstrate competency in knowledge, patient care, interpersonal, and communication skills. Task-Oriented Assessment of Clinical Skills (TOACS) is known to have a better educational impact. This study aims to evaluate the experience, satisfaction, and perceived educational value of TOACS among dental residents and faculty members.

This exploratory study was conducted using a cross-sectional study design with a purposive sampling technique. A self-structured face validated questionnaire was designed based on the literature to record the experiences and satisfaction of the dental faculty and the residents. Faculty who were not experienced in conducting TOACS were excluded from the study. Descriptive analysis was done for demographic variables and results were reported as numbers and percentages. Fisher's exact test was applied to see the association among the participants' responses as per the residency level.

Twenty-three residents and seven faculty members participated in our study. Most of the residents agreed that TOACS improved their clinical skills and helped them identify weak areas. On applying Fisher's Exact test, we did not find any significant difference in the residents' opinions as per the residency level. We did not find any significant difference in the satisfaction level of the residents who were assessed using TOACS in their undergraduate studies (p-value = 0.47). All the faculty members agreed that TOACS identifies the developmental needs of students, and they are satisfied with these exercises.

Considering the constraints of a small sample size and purposive sampling, this study conlcludes that most residents who participated in this study stated that TOACS improved their clinical skills and assisted them in identifying areas of weakness. Therefore, TOACS has a good educational value for the clinical education of postgraduate dental residents.