Sweden: Dentist training at Malmö University stands out in comparison

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In a survey on the quality of education at the four dental schools in Sweden, Malmö University was ranked the highest. (Photograph: fotoinfot/Shutterstock)

By Dental Tribune International

日. 13 十一月 2016

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STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Polling Swedish graduates from the country’s four dental schools, in Stockholm, Malmö, Umeå and Gothenburg about the perceived quality of their education, a new survey has found that, compared with their peers, students in Malmö were the most satisfied with both the theoretical education and practical skills training at their alma mater. One aspect, however, was rated as requiring improvement in all of the schools: dental leadership.

In the recent poll, 434 newly graduated dentists from Umeå University, Karolinska Institutet, the University of Gothenburg and Malmö University rated the quality of their education. For example, participants were asked why they had chosen that particular dental school and how useful various aspects of their training had proved to be in their work as a dentist after graduation.

For some questions, the responses varied widely between the dental schools. For example, when asked about the extent to which the graduates thought they were prepared to practise independently as a dentist after basic clinical training, 59 per cent of the Malmö-educated dentists responded with “to a very large extent”. In contrast, only 9 per cent of the Gothenburg, 10 per cent of the Stockholm and 37 per cent of the Umeå graduates gave the same answer.

Moreover, Malmö graduates were the only group who felt equally confident about their acquired practical skills and theoretical knowledge. In the three other dental schools, participants uniformly rated their theoretical knowledge as being better than their practical skills.

In the evaluation of specific areas of education, about 80 per cent of the participants—from each school—stated that skills training in diagnosis, prevention, disease treatment and oral rehabilitation was good or very good. In comparison, leadership training was rated rather poorly, with only 44 per cent of the respondents overall rating it as good or very good.

The Framtidens tandläkare [Future Dentists] survey has been conducted triennially since 2001 on behalf of the Swedish Dental Association as part of its efforts to enhance quality and patient safety in oral health care in the country. Representing a valuable source of information about the state of dental education in Sweden, the survey is thus aimed at helping dental faculties and departments to develop and improve basic dental training.

The complete results can be accessed here.