Evaluation of the effect of early clinical exposure on professional attitude of dental students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in 2011-2012

Learning dentistry could have many tension and anxieties like encountering to a strange clinical environment. Early clinical exposure (ECE) is supposed to control these stresses. ECE program is an increasingly widespread component of educational curriculum. This study aims to determine the effect of early clinical exposure on the attitude of dental students’ towards dental education and profession.

An analytic study was performed on all 72 dental students studying basic science at Faculty of Dentistry of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences consisted of a short term course of introduction to clinical environment in academic year of 2011-2012. Every 12 students attended in an one day ECE course from 8 AM to 1 PM. Students ' attitude towards dental profession and education were assessed by a questionnaire included 25 items before and after the course. For data analysis descriptive paired-t-test was used.

All students completed the questionnaires. Student's attitude towards dental education and profession was evaluated. Mean score of student's attitude before and after exposure to clinical environment were 94.6 and 100.5 respectively. Significant differences were found in the student's attitude before and after the course (P=0.001)

Based on the results of this study, we found a positive effect of early clinical exposure on attitudes of first and second year dental students. Demographic variations had an effect on the student's attitude. Therefore; we suggest that early clinical exposure should be added to educational curriculum of dental students.