Abstract
Objective: In the Netherlands, the Individual Health Care Professions Act (IHCP Act) allows dental students, amongst other non-qualified individuals, to work under certain conditions in a dental practice. The aim of the study was to determine how many dental students have part-time employment in dental practice and which professional tasks they carry out. We also asked the dental students their opinion about the IHCP Act.
Material and methods: All the enrolled dental students at the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA) in the Netherlands received a questionnaire by e-mail. Within 1 month, two reminders were sent.
Results: The response was 44% (427 students). Of the responding students, 71% had paid employment in addition to their study. Twenty-five per cent of all students worked in a dental practice, usually 8 h a week. Study year and age were positively related to working part-time in dental practice. Activities frequently performed were providing chair side assistance, giving oral hygiene instruction, fluoride applications, scaling and root planning. The self-reported knowledge about the IHCP Act was positively related to study year and working in a dental practice. Hardly any information about the requirements of the IHCP Act with regard to delegation of tasks was provided by the employer.
Conclusion: Many Dutch dental students work in a dental practice, taking over a variety of tasks. Although the self-reported knowledge about the IHCP Act was relatively high, many dental students expressed the need for more detailed information about the legal aspects of their tasks.
Material and methods: All the enrolled dental students at the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA) in the Netherlands received a questionnaire by e-mail. Within 1 month, two reminders were sent.
Results: The response was 44% (427 students). Of the responding students, 71% had paid employment in addition to their study. Twenty-five per cent of all students worked in a dental practice, usually 8 h a week. Study year and age were positively related to working part-time in dental practice. Activities frequently performed were providing chair side assistance, giving oral hygiene instruction, fluoride applications, scaling and root planning. The self-reported knowledge about the IHCP Act was positively related to study year and working in a dental practice. Hardly any information about the requirements of the IHCP Act with regard to delegation of tasks was provided by the employer.
Conclusion: Many Dutch dental students work in a dental practice, taking over a variety of tasks. Although the self-reported knowledge about the IHCP Act was relatively high, many dental students expressed the need for more detailed information about the legal aspects of their tasks.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 151-154 |
Journal | European journal of dental education |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2010 |