A randomised controlled trial of the effect of outreach placement on treatment planning by dental students
M Smith1, M A Lennon2, A H Brook3, F A Blinkhorn4, A S Blinkhorn5 & P G Robinson6
Abstract
Undergraduate dental students' curricula are being supplemented with primary care placements.
Objective To compare the effect of outreach placement and traditional hospital-based training alone on students' treatment planning ability.
Design Randomised controlled trial.
Setting Four existing primary care placements in England during 2004.
Subjects and methods At follow-up the fourth-year students took a history from a standard 'patient' then recorded a treatment plan. Interview skill was scored. The history and plan were assessed by clinicians blind to the intervention.
Intervention Five-week block outreach placements for 25 of 49 students.
Main outcome measures Interviewing skill, quality of dental and social histories, the appropriateness of planned treatments and the consideration of wider issues.
Results The two groups were similar in the scores for interviewing and taking a dental history. The outreach group scored higher for capturing a social history (outreach mean 4.4, SD = 2.1, n = 22 and hospital 2.8, SD = 1.9, n = 23; p = 0.01) and for developing an appropriate treatment plan (5.6 [SD = 2.1] and 3.9 [SD = 2.3]; p = 0.01). There were no differences in scores relating to the wider issues.
Conclusion Dental outreach training was significantly more effective than traditional training alone in improving students' ability to capture relevant points of social history from a patient and to consider them when planning treatment.
- Outreach Programme Evaluator, Department of Oral Health and Development, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Claremont Crescent, Sheffield, S10 2TA
- Outreach Programme Manager, Department of Oral Health and Development, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Claremont Crescent, Sheffield, S10 2TA
- Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Oral Health and Development, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Claremont Crescent, Sheffield, S10 2TA
- Clinical Director of Dental Services, Lance Burn Health Centre, Churchill Way, Salford, Manchester, M6 5AU
- Professor of Oral Health, School of Dentistry, The University of Manchester, Higher Cambridge Street, Manchester, M15 6FH
- Professor of Dental Public Health, Department of Oral Health and Development, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Claremont Crescent, Sheffield, S10 2TA
Correspondence to: M Smith1 e-mail: michael.smith@sheffield.ac.uk
