Clinical Anxiety among Final Year Dental Students: The Trainers and Students Perspectives

ABSTRACT

Background: The dental clinical setting; which is a significant learning environment for undergraduate dental students; may induce anxiety; which may adversely affect the clinical performance. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the factors provoking clinical anxiety in dental students from the trainers and students perspectives. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 6 th (final) year dental students of University of Benin and their clinical trainers between January and March 2012 using the 38-item modified Moss and McManus clinical anxiety questionnaire. Results: Of the 67 participants; 32 (47.8) were 6 th year dental students while 35 (52.2) were clinical trainers. According to the students; the top clinical anxiety provoking situations were inability to meet requirements before exams; inability to pass the final exams; dealing with psychiatric patients; coping with uncooperative children; getting infected by patients; fracturing a tooth during extraction; extracting the wrong tooth; discovering calculus by the supervisor after scaling; accidental pulp exposure; inadvertently hurting patients and using the high speed hand piece. There existed concordance on the top two clinical anxiety provoking situations reported by the students and their clinical trainers. However; measuring blood pressure; taking pulse; presenting in the clinic; handling a syncopal attack; and accidental pulp exposure were statistically significant contrasting clinical anxiety provoking situations from dental students and trainers perspectives. Conclusion: Data from this study revealed that clinical trainers share largely the same perspectives with the dental students on the clinical anxiety provoking situations with slight variations. Fostering a supportive learning environment conducive to dental student learning by strengthen efforts to minimize clinical anxiety is a necessity