Perceived competency at graduation among dental alumni of the University of the West Indies

The aims of this study were to describe levels of self-rated competency of dental graduates from the University of the West Indies (UWI) and to investigate relationships with gender and the effect of curriculum change. A thirty-two item self-reported postal questionnaire was sent to UWI dental alumni (1994-2002). The questionnaire included twenty-eight competencies that could be rated on a 5-point scale: 1 (not at all competent) to 5 (very competent). Overall preparedness for practice could also be rated from 1 (not at all prepared) to 5 (very prepared). The response rate was 77.4 percent, with a mean age of 29.3 years. Items with the highest mean scores were taking an adequate medical history (4.49), recognizing and treating dental caries (4.46), oral examination (4.36), and giving dental health education (4.35). Those with the lowest rating were designing and undertaking clinical research (2.29), dealing with practice management issues (2.52), designing and delivering crown and bridge work (3.33), and recognizing pathologic occlusions (3.33). Overall preparedness for practice was rated as 3.27. Female graduates rated four competencies significantly higher than males. Graduates exposed to the new curriculum perceived greater overall preparedness for general dental practice, suggesting the change to a competency-based curriculum was effective