Students’ Self-Reported Confidence Level Post Completion of General Surgery and General Medicine Module: Preliminary Study in UiTM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24191/cos.v13i1.10517Keywords:
general surgery and general medicine, student confidence, students’ self-reported, clinical competence, undergraduate dental curriculumAbstract
Objectives: There is a paucity of information about the self-confidence levels of third-year dental students in the General Medicine and General Surgery (GMGS) module. Hence, this study aimed to measure the self-assessed confidence of third-year dental students in the GMGS module.
Methodology: Dental students from the Faculty of Dentistry, UiTM, were recruited at the beginning of Year Four to participate in this study. The calculated sample size was 46. A questionnaire consisting of 26 items was adopted, modified, and distributed through the Google Forms platform. The questionnaire had three parts: demographic characteristics, clinical skills, and cognitive skills. Data from respondents were tabulated in Excel and analysed using SPSS (Version 30) with descriptive statistics and item correlation.
Results: Responses were provided by 59 students (15 men and 44 women, 25.42% and 74.58%, respectively). The mean score was slightly higher in men compared to women (92.67% vs. 89.16%). However, the independent t-test showed no significant difference between men and women. The results showed that students’ confidence in their clinical skills mostly ranged from “average” to “good,” with four components showing a low percentage of “very poor” responses. Meanwhile, the cognitive and behavioural attitudes of students showed better results, with higher responses in each component, more “very good” responses, and no “very poor” responses.
Conclusion: The students’ level of confidence in their clinical skills might be due to having just entered their clinical years. Therefore, further research is required to link students’ clinical skill performance results to their confidence responses. Furthermore, this preliminary study resulted in a new questionnaire tool, which can be implemented nationally and internationally for comparing students’ responses.
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