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. 2021 Mar 8;21(1):151.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02584-0.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on dental education: online experience and practice expectations among dental students at the University of Jordan

Susan Hattar  1 , Abeer AlHadidi  2 , Faleh A Sawair  2 , Islam Abd Alraheam  3 , Ahmad El-Ma'aita  3 , Fouad Kadim Wahab  3
Affiliations

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on dental education: online experience and practice expectations among dental students at the University of Jordan

Susan Hattar et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: The quarantine associated with the COVID-19 pandemic forced dental schools to suspend their clinical training and to shift to distant learning methods. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of quarantine on the self-perceived preparedness of dental graduates and to explore the efficacy of online education from students' perspectives.

Methods: The questionnaire distributed to dental students comprised of two main sections. The first part covered the online education experience, and the second part measured the level of self-perceived preparedness for a range of cognitive, communication and professional skills.

Results: The survey yielded a response rate of 72%. The majority of students (77%) agreed that they missed educational experiences as a result of the lockdown. More than half of them felt less motivated to follow-up with distant e-learning and believed that online assessment is not a good method for evaluation. A high percentage of the students (66%) thought that online group discussions had a positive value while 67% preferred online lectures compared to theatre lectures. Majority of students particularly 5th year (78.7%) (p < 0.001) stated that the quarantine increased their collaboration with their colleagues. According to 87% of students, the experience most negatively affected was their clinical training. In general, students showed satisfactory self-perceived preparedness related to a range of attributes and professional skills.

Conclusions: The data showed that students partially appreciated the online system, whereas they did not consider it a substitute for face to face clinical practice. The overall self-perceived preparedness level was promising; however students had reservations regarding independent practice following graduation.

Keywords: COVID-19; Dental education; Online learning; Preparedness.

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Conflict of interest statement

There were no financial or professional interests that affected the study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Experiences mostly affected by quarantine
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Dental subspecialties most negatively affected by quarantine
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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