title: The correlation of student performance in preclinical and clinical prosthodontic assessments.
abstract: Tracking student performance in preclinical and clinical courses can be helpful in developing and refining a curriculum. Our objective was to correlate student performance on three fixed prosthodontic examinations taken by eighty junior dental students. Examinations included a knowledge-based objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), a manual skills exercise completed on a typodont (Typodont), and a competency casting exam (Casting CE) on a patient. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the OSCE and Typodont exam scores, as independent variables, were not statistically significant predictors (P=0.07; P=0.87, respectively) of Casting CE exam performance, which was the dependent variable. Correlations were weak for the OSCE (r=0.21) and nearly nonexistent for the Typodont exam(r=0.03) when compared to the Casting CE. Our results indicate a weak correlation between an OSCE-based knowledge exam measuring students' knowledge of critical errors in preparations and castings and a competency exam involving the preparation of a full veneer crown. Results also indicate virtually no correlation between a typodont preparation examination designed to provide a measure of students' clinical skill and a clinical competency exam involving the preparation of a full crown.
authors: Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, D-3212, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0758, USA. Don.Curtis@ucsf.edu
authors: Donald A
authors: DA
authors: Curtis
authors: Samuel L
authors: SL
authors: Lind
authors: Sheila
authors: S
authors: Brear
authors: Frederick C
authors: FC
authors: Finzen
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003162:Competency-Based Education; D003442:Crowns; D000044:Dental Abutments; D003735:Dental Casting Technique; D003801:Dental Veneers; D003779:Denture Design; D003830:Denture, Partial, Fixed; D003833:Denture, Partial, Temporary; D004497:Education, Dental; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D009048:Motor Skills; D011476:Prosthodontics / Q000193:education*; D013335:Students, Dental; D019231:Tooth Preparation, Prosthodontic