Assessment of communication skills and self-efficacy levels in general and postgraduate dentistry students in ۲۰۲۰: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Physician-patient communication is the most prominent part of medical art. The ability of the healthcare professional team to communicate appropriately can influence the patient's experience as well as the patient's overall health. The objective of the present study was to examine the communication skills and self-efficacy levels in general and postgraduate dentistry students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.METHODS: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on general students (۴th year to ۶th year) and postgraduate dentistry students at School of Dentistry, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences from ۹.۹.۲۰۲۰ to ۹.۲۳.۲۰۲۰ in the academic year ۲۰۲۰/۲۰۲۱. A pilot-tested, communication skill and self-efficacy assessment questionnaire was distributed to the participants. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were verified and confirmed. Moreover, a demographic questionnaire with questions on basic demographic information was included at the beginning of the questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and Spearman correlation coefficient via SPSS software.RESULTS: The overall response rate on the survey was ۵۷%. In total, ۸۵.۴% of the participants were general dentistry students, ۳۸.۲% of whom were fourth-year students. The grade point average (GPA) was ۱۶.۰۹ ± ۱.۶۱. Most of the students scored above average in various areas of communication skills. No significant difference was found between general and postgraduate students except in the field of closure. A positive correlation was found between self-efficacy and all fields of communication skills including introduction and reception (r = ۰.۴۸۶), medical history (r = ۰.۵۹۱), clinical checkup (r = ۰.۶۷۳), closure (r = ۰.۴۲۳), and patient (r = ۰.۵۰۷).CONCLUSION: The results showed a significant correlation between self-efficacy and all field s of communication skills among general and postgraduate students. Well-designed training courses addressing communication skills are recommended in both general and postgraduate dentistry practice. Since self-efficacy and communication skills are inter-correlated, enhancing students' self-efficacy can improve the dentist-patient communication.

Keywords:

Communication skills , Dental student , self-efficacy