title: Prediction of practical performance in preclinical laboratory courses - the return of wire bending for admission of dental students in Hamburg.
abstract: Although some recent studies concluded that dexterity is not a reliable predictor of performance in preclinical laboratory courses in dentistry, they could not disprove earlier findings which confirmed the worth of manual dexterity tests in dental admission. We developed a wire bending test (HAM-Man) which was administered during dental freshmen's first week in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The purpose of our study was to evaluate if the HAM-Man is a useful selection criterion additional to the high school grade point average (GPA) in dental admission. Regression analysis revealed that GPA only accounted for a maximum of 9% of students' performance in preclinical laboratory courses, in six out of eight models the explained variance was below 2%. The HAM-Man incrementally explained up to 20.5% of preclinical practical performance over GPA. In line with findings from earlier studies the HAM-Man test of manual dexterity showed satisfactory incremental validity. While GPA has a focus on cognitive abilities, the HAM-Man reflects learning of unfamiliar psychomotor skills, spatial relationships, and dental techniques needed in preclinical laboratory courses. The wire bending test HAM-Man is a valuable additional selection instrument for applicants of dental schools.
authors.affiliation: Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kothe
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Center for Experimental Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Moleculare Cell Biology, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hissbach
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Center for Experimental Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Moleculare Cell Biology, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hampe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001077:Aptitude Tests; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004497:Education, Dental; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009969:Orthodontic Wires; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Wire-bending test; prediction of preclinical study success; student selection dentistry