Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec 27;24(1):1537.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-06563-z.

An assessment of clinical reception training using standard patient and dental simulator in prosthodontic dentistry for dental undergraduates: a historical control trial

Yitong Yao #  1   2 , Guihong Yang #  1   2 , Xueling Li  1   2 , Yanshan Li  1   2 , Jing Zhou  1   2 , Yun Hong  1   2 , Ling Yang  3   4 , Yu Zhao  5   6
Affiliations

An assessment of clinical reception training using standard patient and dental simulator in prosthodontic dentistry for dental undergraduates: a historical control trial

Yitong Yao et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: Clinical reception training plays a crucial role in developing undergraduates' clinical thinking and competence. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical reception training conducted by standard patients (SPs) and dental simulators among undergraduate students.

Materials and methods: In the first week of the internship, sixty-five 5th-year undergraduate students were divided into two groups: SP group, which received traditional theoretical training along with clinical reception training, and control group that only received traditional theoretical training. After 2 weeks and 8 weeks of training, all students were assessed with real patients by experienced prosthodontists using Mini-CEX assessment score sheets. Statistical analysis was performed using independent-samples T test or repeated-measures ANOVA (P < 0.05).

Results: The total performance of interns in the SP group was superior to that of the control group, particularly in history taking, physical examination, and doctor-patient communication (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of clinical judgement, medical record, and overall capabilities. Both groups showed improved results after 8 weeks compared to those obtained after 2 weeks.

Conclusion: Integrating SPs and dental simulators into clinical reception training can effectively enhance undergraduate students' ability in history taking, physical examination, and doctor-patient communication. This training method effectively aids in mastering the reception process and is recommended for wider implementation in dental undergraduate education.

Keywords: Clinical reception training; Dental simulator; Prosthodontic dentistry; Standard patient; Undergraduate student.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The need for ethics approval was exempted by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University on October 9, 2022 (No. KQEC-2022–98 − 01). No biomedical, clinical or biometric data were obtained, and all methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations in ethical declarations. Informed consent was shown along with the questionnaire before the survey. Informed consent was obtained from all participants and all of were over 18 years old. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Clinical reception training procedure
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Flow chart of the study
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Comparison of the performance of the SP group and the control group (*: P < 0.05)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Changes of performance in the SP group and the control group (*: P < 0.05)
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Changes of performance in the SP group between the day of training and 2 weeks after training (*: P < 0.05)
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
The general perceptions of students on clinical reception training
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Students’ comments on improvement of their history-taking skills after training
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Students’ comments on improvement of their clinical examination skills after training
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
Students’ comments on improvement of their medical record writing skills after training
Fig. 10
Fig. 10
Students’ comments on improvement of their consultation skills after training
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jokstad A, Ørstavik J, Ramstad T. A definition of prosthetic dentistry[J]. Int J Prosthodont, 1998; 11(4). - PubMed
    1. American Dental Association. Specialty definitions: Definitions of recognized dental specialties[J]. 2016.
    1. Cowpe J, Plasschaert A, Harzer W, et al. Profile and competences for the graduating European dentist–update 2009[J]. Eur J Dent Educ. 2010;14(4):193–202. - PubMed
    1. Field JC, Walmsley AD, Paganelli C, et al. The graduating European dentist: contemporaneous methods of teaching, learning and assessment in dental undergraduate education[C]//European. J Dent Educ. 2017;21:28–35. - PubMed
    1. Atherley A, Dolmans D, Hu W, et al. Beyond the struggles: a scoping review on the transition to undergraduate clinical training[J]. Med Educ. 2019;53(6):559–70. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources