Challenges Of Realizing Clinical Education, Knowledge Transfer, And Facilitators Of Knowledge Transfer From Pre-Clinic To Dental Clinics: The Endodontics Dentistry Group

Background: In Health Professions Education, coordination between what is learned and what is used in the clinic is essential (۱۸). The present study aimed to investigate the challenges of knowledge transfer from pre-clinic to dental clinics. Methods: In the current qualitative-quantitative investigation, dental students of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences were examined in the endodontics department. A semi-structured interview was resorted to collect data. Concurrently with conducting the interviews, data analysis was done based on the method proposed by Lundman and Graneheim. To ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data, the validity, verifiability, and reliability criteria were assessed according to the opinions of Linclon and Gouba. Results: After coding and prioritization, the results of the study unravel the nine challenges of realizing clinical training as support issues, poor study, poor clinical skills, lack of patients, poor educational planning, student stress, poor communication between students and professors, student under-work, and professors' unnecessary strictness. The challenges of transferring knowledge from the pre-clinical phase to the clinical phase in the present study were lack or shortage of training equipment, weakness in covering the practical educational needs, differences between dentistry and the actual clinical field of the patient, weakness in covering principles of practical work, stress in contact with the patient, weakness in practical training (skills), weak training in the treatment plan, and weak physical presence of professors for training. In addition, the results of the present study revealed that there was no significant difference in most of the questions on the challenges of realizing clinical education, knowledge transfer, and facilitators from the pre-clinical phase to the clinical phase according to gender, grade point average, and academic semester. Conclusion: Dental students of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences encounter many challenges in transferring knowledge from pre-clinic to clinics, which can be reduced with careful planning.

Keywords:

Pre-clinical phase , Clinical phase , Dental education , Endodontics group.