Evaluation of clinical communication skills of dental undergraduate students: a three-perspective approach / Puteri Nurul Adila Mohd Khairuddin

This study is aimed to assess the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) dental student clinicians’ communication skills in four domains; caring and respectful, sharing information, tending to comfort, and interaction with team members, from three complementary perspectives; dental student clinicians’ self-assessment, patients’ feedback, and clinical instructors’ evaluation. Objectives: The objectives of the study were [1] to assess the dental student clinicians’ performance in communication from the patient’s view, self-rated and clinical instructor’s view, [2] to assess dental student clinicians’ performance in relation to patients’ socio-demography factors [3] to assess the dental student clinicians’ performances in relation to their socio-demography factors and [4] to find the correlation between the three perspectives; patients, dental student clinicians and clinical instructors. Methodology: The research was a cross-sectional study conducted using a modified-communication tool developed by the University of Manitoba; Patient Communication Assessment Instruments (PCAI), Student Communication Assessment Instruments (SCAI) and Clinical Communication Assessment Instruments (CCAI). A total of 432 questionnaires consisting of 176 patient assessment (PCAI), matching 176 students’ self-assessment (SCAI) and 80 clinical instructor assessment (CCAI) were administered. The PCAI were randomly given using random sampling technique. Three calibrated clinical instructors used CCAI to assess the dental student clinicians. Results: The response rate was 100% with 432 questionnaires answered.