title: A national survey of UK final year students' opinion of undergraduate oral surgery teaching.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A national survey was undertaken to establish a baseline of our final year students' perception of how their undergraduate oral surgery education has equipped them for key areas of general dental practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Questionnaires were distributed to the 13 UK schools with final year students, towards the end of the academic year in 2009. The questionnaires were completed anonymously and were optically scanned.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 632 questionnaires were returned, which represents 66% of the students of the graduating year. The majority (83%) of the respondents perceived that the teaching in oral surgery had given them sufficient knowledge to undertake independent practise. Most respondents (99%) felt confident to perform forceps exodontia, but confidence in the various aspects of surgical exodontia was lower. A majority (83%) had experience of an outreach scheme performing forceps exodontia (75%) and surgical exodontia (16%) in this environment. Twenty per cent indicated a desire to undertake a career in oral surgery, 6% in oral and maxillofacial surgery and 35% in another speciality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This survey suggests that the majority of the students perceive that the oral surgery education has prepared them well for key areas of general practice. It also suggests that there is, however, a need to provide further improvement in the delivery of surgical skills and knowledge.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oral Surgery and Medicine, University of Dundee Dental School, Dundee, UK. m.macluskey@dundee.ac.uk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Macluskey
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Durham
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authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cowpe
authors.forename: St J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Crean
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authors.lastname: Dargue
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authors.lastname: Dawson
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authors.lastname: Freeman
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authors.lastname: Jones
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authors.lastname: McDouagh
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McHanwell
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marley
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Myrddin
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Millsopp
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oliver
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Renton
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authors.lastname: Taylor
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authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thomson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003479:Curriculum; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology*; D013515:Surgery, Oral / Q000193:education*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom