Journal of dental hygiene : JDH
-
Purpose: Research indicates that geriatric education continues to be inadequate across the health professions and graduates are unprepared to care for the increasing numbers of older adults. The purpose of this study was to explore dental hygiene practitioners' perspectives regarding whether their dental hygiene education prepared them to treat older adults in community and institutional settings. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological study design was utilized to conduct in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of dental hygienists currently providing care for older adult patients in alternative practice settings. ⋯ Common themes related to dental hygiene practice emerged from the qualitative data included: adapting patient care to alternative settings; emotional toll on the practitioner; physical challenges; outcome goals for treatment; need for hands-on clinical experience in alternative settings as dental hygiene students; and working as part of an interprofessional team. Conclusion: Participants generally agreed that they were not prepared to care for dependent older adults in alternative settings as part of their dental hygiene education. Clinical experiences working with older adults in alternative settings, as part of the dental hygiene clinical curriculum, are needed to prepare graduates to care for this growing population.
-
Purpose: Commission on Dental Accreditation standards for dental and dental hygiene programs include interprofessional education (IPE) experiences within the curriculum; an initial step in the acquisition and application of IPE is for students to perceive it as relevant. The purpose of this study is to identify dental and dental hygiene students' attitudes regarding IPE following the completion of a novel interprofessional course involving health professional students from six different degree programs. Methods: Faculty members from the Schools of Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing, and Pharmacy designed a one-hour, required course focusing on collaborative practice, roles and responsibilities, teamwork, and communication. ⋯ Conclusions: Sample sizes from the six healthcare programs varied and serve as a limitation for this study. Findings suggest that dental hygiene students may perceive greater benefit from IPE because they see themselves as collaborative practitioners. while dental students may self-identify as leaders of the oral healthcare team. Further research is warranted to examine students' perceptions of IPE to determine the potential impact and success of these curricular activities.