ISSN : 0376-4672
Each college of dentistry in Korea is examining and reorganizing its own curriculum to prepare students for the practical examination of the National Dental Licensing Examination. Conducting an assessment of students’ competency of communication skills with standardized patients is the first attempt for the examination. Yonsei University College of Dentistry carried out the evaluation of communication attitude, communication written exam, and communication skills practice with standardized patients for Third year predoctoral students. The purpose of this study is a) to find out the relationship between the variables measured in communication skills education and b) to make a new basis for the application of communication education and evaluation in dentistry. Based on the results of the study, the following suggestions for the operation of a dental communication curriculum can be drawn: First, the communication classes and the practice with standardized patients should be based on the wide support of the school. In addition, the patient-dentist interaction (PDI) should be practiced in the same way as practically possible by predoctoral students. Moreover, a space is required to allow predoctoral students to practice PDI. Second, the communication score given by the standardized patients was the most influential on the total score of PDI. This indicates that the communication practice with the standardized patients for the practical examination of the National Dental Licensing Examination is a meaningful process in the course of its communication education.
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