Journal of Oral Research (Jun 2014)
Research training in dental undergraduate curriculum in Chile.
Abstract
Research plays a central role in professional training in dentistry. There is a clear recommendation to include a minimum training in biomedical research at undergraduate level. In Chile, there is no standardized curriculum structure including research training for undergraduate students. Objective: To describe the presence of research courses in the undergraduate dental curriculum in Chile during 2014. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study. The curriculum for all Chilean universities teaching dental careers and updated during 2014 were analyzed. Results: The dental curriculum for twenty Chilean universities was analyzed. On average, each university has 4.05±2.06 research courses (semesterly) from which 1±0.92 are thesis courses. In the private universities, these numbers were 4.64±1.91 and 1.18±0.87 respectively. Meanwhile, these numbers were 3.33±2.12 and 0.78±0.97 respectively in the traditional universities. Sixty percent of universities have thesis or research project courses. Conclusion: There is a disparate presence of research courses in the undergraduate dental curriculum in Chile, with a higher presence in private institutions. However, this does not actualize a greater scientific production by them.
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