MedEdPORTAL (Apr 2014)
A Case Study on the Design and Development of an Interpersonal Skills Rubric for First-Year Dental Students Enrolled in a Preclincal Technique Course
Abstract
Abstract Introduction Dental education has historically focused on developing and enhancing technical skills. Interpersonal skills such as professionalism, communication, and organization are often not formally and objectively evaluated during dental school. The purpose of this project was to design and test a rubric to assess, quantify, and track the development of interpersonal skills in a population of first-year dental students enrolled in a preclinical technique course, with the belief that well-developed interpersonal skills are essential to the competent practice of dentistry. Methods The interpersonal rubric is a two-page document that measures nine skills on a four-point scale. These skills include professional behavior, preparedness and organization, communication, self-assessment, critical thinking, time-management, teamwork and rapport, response to feedback, and foundational knowledge and engagement in learning. This rubric was designed to be administered to students participating in a preclinical technique course at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. This course consisted of 60 hours of lectures, seminars and online self-study, and 180 hours of laboratory study in clinically simulated conditions. Results The instrument was piloted on a small scale (students, N = 32; faculty N = 3) in the Preclinical Fixed Prosthodontics course in 2011-2012, on a larger scale in the same course in 2012-2013 (students, N = 141; faculty N = 12), and fully implemented in a redesigned multi-disciplinary first-year preclinical technique course in 2013-2014 (students, N = 143; faculty N = 12). An independent and collective review of student and faculty responses by the authors revealed consistent positive support for the use of the rubric for its intended purpose. Student participants appeared more positive than faculty and welcomed the detailed feedback, especially in areas needing improvement. Discussion We found this rubric to be very useful in measuring interpersonal skills in first-year dental students enrolled in a preclinical technique course. The rubric helps emphasize the importance of these skills and how they relate to the practice of dentistry. Students have reported that they appreciate being informed of their appropriate and inappropriate behaviors early in their careers and well in advance of the onset of patient care. Overall, feedback from students and faculty who participated in the implementation stage was positive.
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