ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Since the field of health professions education (HPE) is an emerging trend in the country, educationists face considerable challenges in their workplaces while proposing any changes in the existing systems of academic institutions. The challenges affect the quality of work, hinder innovation, and create a dysfunctional work environment, non-conducive for both personal and professional progress. The study was conducted to explore the various kinds of challenges faced by educationists while bringing changes to the existing systems of academic institutions in Pakistan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A qualitative exploratory research design was used to explore the challenges faced by health professions educationists in Pakistan during their efforts to bring about changes in the existing systems and structures. Thirteen health professions educationists working in various academic institutions of Pakistan were interviewed through one-to-one semi-structured interviews from March to May 2022. The data obtained were analyzed through manual thematic analysis, and themes and subthemes were identified. RESULTS: Four themes emerged after qualitative data analysis explaining the predominant challenges faced by educationists. These included challenges related to faculty and staff, institutional constraints, challenges from leadership, and stakeholders' apprehension. CONCLUSION: Challenges are inevitable at every workplace but the field of health professions education in Pakistan faces significant challenges in institutions, leading to hindrance in positive developments and innovations in the field. Educationists should be skilled at recognizing the predominant challenges in the workplace and be equipped with strategies to manage conflicts to achieve productive results and to promote the long-overdue reforms in the field.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Dental undergraduate students encounter anxiety in their professional years of study, the impact of which is reflected on their overall performance. Various coping techniques are advocated that help individuals to deal effectively with the adverse effects of anxiety. OBJECTIVE/AIMS: The objectives of this study were to determine the level of anxiety encountered by dental undergraduate students during clinical rotations, the clinical procedures precipitating it and the number of different coping strategies (problem solving, social seeking support, and avoidance) used by students for anxiety management. METHODS: A descriptive, questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study was conducted on the third and fourth-year undergraduate dental students from six colleges of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. A total of 353 students were included in the study, and their participation in the study was anonymous and voluntary. The administered questionnaire consisted of three parts: Part 1: Moss and McManus Scale (MMM) for anxiety-provoking situations; part 2: Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) for the level of anxiety, and Part 3: Coping Strategy Indicator Scale (CSI scale) to determine the frequency of coping strategies used by students. The data were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. RESULTS: A majority of participants (96.3%) felt mild to moderate levels of anxiety in the clinical settings. Students felt more anxious about getting infected by the patient (62%), extracting the wrong tooth (46.5%), and getting a wrong diagnosis (43.1%). A significant number of participants (47%) used problem-solving mechanisms to overcome their anxiety. CONCLUSION: Mild to moderate levels of clinical anxiety prevailed in most dental undergraduate students. The top clinical situations precipitating anxiety were getting infected by patients and extracting the wrong tooth. Measures should be taken to encourage a vigorous, confidence-enhancing environment for students. This will reduce their levels of clinical anxiety along with training and foster healthy coping strategies to deal with unavoidable anxiety.