Flipped clinical training: a structured training method for undergraduates in complete denture prosthesis.

PURPOSE: To design and implement flipped clinical training for undergraduate dental students in removable complete denture treatment and predict its effectiveness by comparing the assessment results of students trained by flipped and traditional methods. METHODS: Flipped training was designed by shifting the learning from clinics to learning center (phase I) and by preserving the practice in clinics (phase II). In phase I, student-faculty interactive session was arranged to recap prior knowledge. This is followed by a display of audio synchronized video demonstration of the procedure in a repeatable way and subsequent display of possible errors that may occur in treatment with guidelines to overcome such errors. In phase II, live demonstration of the procedure was given. Students were asked to treat three patients under instructor's supervision. The summative assessment was conducted by applying the same checklist criterion and rubric scoring used for the traditional method. Assessment results of three batches of students trained by flipped method (study group) and three traditionally trained previous batches (control group) were taken for comparison by chi-square test. RESULTS: The sum of traditionally trained three batch students who prepared acceptable dentures (score: 2 and 3) and unacceptable dentures (score: 1) was compared with the same of flipped trained three batch students revealed that the number of students who demonstrated competency by preparing acceptable dentures was higher for flipped training (χ2=30.996 with p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The results reveal the supremacy of flipped training in enhancing students competency and hence recommended for training various clinical procedures.

Professional and personal enhancement: a pragmatic approach in dental education.

PURPOSE: Students of health education are often offended by the transitions and challenges they face while encountering diverse people, ideas and academic workloads. They may be offended because of reasons not only related to their societal background but also to their basic competence in managing transitions. In the Asian scenario, students enter the first year of professional education in their late teen age along with the definition of self which was created by their parents. There are different issues that arise in this age group that may positively shape or negatively affect the personalities of students. They need to achieve a sense of balance between personal and professional traits on their own. Several students are often unable to cultivate the expected required qualities, which leads to an abject state of mind and hinder their progress. We identified the most common personal and professional hurdles in the lives of dental students and we provided experiential solutions to overcome the hurdles by using a sociable approach through an integrated, continuing education program. METHODS: Designing and implementing a cohesive, amalgamated and inspiring personal and professional enhancement action program for dental students. RESULTS: Feedback from students reflected that the needs and expectations of students vary with academic phase. In addition students expressed that this program series inculcated some positive skills, and overall, they are satisfied with the utility of the program. CONCLUSION: Personal and professional enhancement of students in accordance with individual needs as well as with expected requirements needs a committed administrative action plan. Our results in this context are encouraging and can be considered for application in dental institutions.