Medical and Dental Students’ Perception of Interdisciplinary Knowledge, Teaching Content, and Interprofessional Status at a German University: A Cross-Sectional Study

Berit Hackenberg, Maximilian-Niclas Schlich, Haralampos Gouveris, Christopher Seifen, Christoph Matthias, Guglielmo Campus, Thomas Gerhard Wolf, Muthuraman Muthuraman and James Deschner ()
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Berit Hackenberg: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
Maximilian-Niclas Schlich: Department of Periodontology and Operative Dentistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
Haralampos Gouveris: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
Christopher Seifen: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
Christoph Matthias: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
Guglielmo Campus: Department of Restorative, Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
Thomas Gerhard Wolf: Department of Restorative, Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
Muthuraman Muthuraman: Neural Engineering with Signal Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (NESA-AI), Department of Neurology, University Clinic Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
James Deschner: Department of Periodontology and Operative Dentistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Although oral health is considered a key indicator of overall health, dentistry is still neglected in medical education at the university level. Interprofessional education (IPE) is an important tool to promote collaboration among health care providers and to reduce barriers to access in health care. In this cross-sectional study, medical and dental students at Mainz University, Germany, were surveyed regarding their perception of interdisciplinary knowledge, teaching content, interprofessional standing, and attitudes toward IPE. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to identify associated statements. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to understand how sex, study progress, and prior education might influence student attitudes. In total, 426 medical students and 211 dental students were included in the study. Dental students rated their interdisciplinary knowledge higher than medical students. The relevance of IPE as assessed by the students correlated significantly with their motivation to continue IPE after graduation. Both groups of students valued the other discipline but rejected a combined graduate program. Students with prior professional training valued the synergy of medicine and dentistry more the students without prior training. Interprofessional knowledge and interest in IPE was higher among dental students. Understanding students’ attitudes toward IPE is an important prerequisite for adapting university curricula to strengthen students’ attitudes and motivation.

Keywords: curriculum; dental students; interprofessional education; knowledge; medical students; perception; teaching (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2022:i:1:p:428-:d:1016385

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