Prioritiesfor Choosing the Postgraduate Course Indentistry and its Related Factors

Ahmad Jafari^1,2, Zahra Sharifi³ and Yahya Baradaran Nakhjavani^4*

¹School of Dentistry, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran. ²Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. ³School of Dentistry, International Campus of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. ⁴Department of Paediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, International Campus of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: Health system has long been affected by social, economic and cultural factors. The present study attempted to take steps to investigate the motivations of the participants in the dental post-graduate examinations and the factors influencing their selection of place and field of study. In this cross-sectional study, data related to a number of applicants was collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions related to demographic and socio-economic status, participants’ choice of specialty courses in which the applicant has an interest, motivation behind applying for specialty course, and selection of the field of study. Chi square test was used for data analysis. In this study 377 people (57% males) participated in the trial by filling out the questionnaires in the academic year of 2014-2015. Resultsillustrated that there was a significant relationship between students’ choice of study and gender (P <0.001). Study of the causes influencing the of choice of place of study showed that females considered the most important factor to be family circumstances (36%) and the instructors of the dental schools (28%), while for male students the latter one (27%) was the most important cause (P = 0.016). Students of both sexes considered the number of patients to be the least important reason for choosing a specific place of study. The study of the reasonsforpursing the academic career and their relation to sex of participants proved that there was a significant difference between the reasons and sex (P = 0.01). Results showed that changes in economic, political and social factors had many effects on the public health. Careful planning may reduce the negative effects of such phenomenon.

KEYWORDS: Postgraduate; Specialties, Dental; Qualification; Dental Education; Dental Students; Careers; Graduate; Dental Practice Patterns

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