Designing and Implementation of a Course on Successful Dental Practice for Dentists

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to design, implement and evaluate the efficacy of a comprehensive course on non-clinical competencies that dentists must possess for a successful dental practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this interventional before-after study an expert panel of five academic staff members and five general practitioners derived the topics for a course on successful dental practice, and aggregated them in the form of a two-day course. It was held for 46 randomly selected dentists in January 2010, at the School of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The participants completed an anonymous questionnaire asking about their self-perceived need to receive training in each of the proposed topics and their self-assessed knowledge about each topic before and after attending the course. RESULTS: Participants gave a higher priority to the necessity of training on “ergonomics and professional health” and communication skills in post-test compared to pre-test (P<0.05). The self-assessed knowledge of dentists improved significantly after attending the course in seven domains: ergonomics and occupational health, workplace design, documentation principles and IT applications in dentistry, national rules and regulations of dental practice, medical emergencies, dental ethics and communication skills (P<0.05). More than 70% of the participants were completely satisfied or satisfied with practical implication of the course, conformity of the contents with the title and course settings. CONCLUSION: The designed course seemed to be successful in revealing the need of participants for further education. Considering the high satisfaction rate of the attendants, this course can serve as a model for continuing education purposes.