Fatemeh Sadat Sajadi^1,, Maryam Salahi², Ali Mohamad Salahi³

Introduction: Evaluating the students’ attitude towards clinical training, the authorities can prioritize their educational needs and consequently improve the quality of clinical education programs. The aim of this study was evaluation of Kerman dental students’ attitude towards clinical education in different departments. Method: In this cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study, 90 dental students of Year 3- 5 at Kerman School of Dentistry were enrolled by census. Data was collected by using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to cover three areas including clinical learning opportunities (6 questions), scientific activities learned (7 questions), and student-instructor interaction (8 questions). Descriptive and analytical tests were used and SPSS Software 19 was employed with the significance level set at 0.05. Results: The mean ± SD age of participants was 32.6±1.3, 43.3% of which were male and 56.7% were female. The average scores of 76.7% of them were14-17. The mean ± SD score of students’ attitude towards clinical education was 2.93±0.64. The results revealed no significant difference between sex, the average scores and in different academic years with students’ attitudes about clinical education in different departments. Conclusion: Kerman dental students have relatively positive attitude towards clinical education in this college. However, improving the facilities and equipment in some departments can help enhance the clinical education quality.

clinical training, dental students, attitude