Using discussion groups as a strategy for postgraduate implant dentistry students to reflect

S Koole; P Fine; H De Bruyn

doi:10.1111/eje.12148

Using discussion groups as a strategy for postgraduate implant dentistry students to reflect

Eur J Dent Educ. 2016 Feb;20(1):59-64. doi: 10.1111/eje.12148. Epub 2015 Apr 4.

Authors

S Koole¹, P Fine², H De Bruyn^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dental School, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
² Department of Continuing Professional Development, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, London, UK.
³ Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Odontology, School of Dentistry, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.

PMID: 25845515
DOI: 10.1111/eje.12148

Abstract

Introduction: More than undergraduates, postgraduate students have the day-to-day clinical experience to reflect upon. Nevertheless, reflection in postgraduate dental education is less well studied. Hence, the purpose was to investigate the attitude towards reflection and the content of reflections in postgraduate implant dentistry education in the UK and Belgium.

Materials and methods: To investigate the attitude towards reflection, a questionnaire was administered to the 10 postgraduates at UCL Eastman Dental Institute (EDI) and 6 postgraduates at Ghent University (UGent). Additionally, students were invited to attend two reflective sessions (60-90 minutes). The sessions' audio recordings were transcribed and analysed using a thematic approach.

Results: In total, 16 postgraduate implant dentistry students participated. Although the majority reported prior experience with reflection, there was variation in the provided definitions of reflection. EDI students agreed with reflection being beneficial for professional development/clinical reasoning and were positive about discussing clinical experiences in groups, but were divided about individual/group reflections. Their UGent counterparts were more indecisive (=neutral), but were positive about discussing clinical experiences. Thematic analysis identified recurring themes as individual learning process, learning and clinical experiences, attitude towards implant dentistry and course programme. EDI postgraduates' reflections focussed on specific clinical situations, while UGent postgraduates' reflections described general considerations.

Conclusion: Although students/professionals often report to reflect, it is not clear whether/how they actually reflect, due to the all-purpose word reflection has become. A strategy, using group discussions along with supervision/guidance in how to reflect, demonstrated to expand clinical reasoning into reflections about postgraduate students' clinical actions and professional growth.

Keywords: implant dentistry; postgraduate education; reflection.

MeSH terms

Adult
Belgium
Dental Implantation / education*
Education, Dental, Graduate*
Female
Group Processes*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Surveys and Questionnaires
United Kingdom