Inserção no mundo do trabalho odontológico: percepção de graduandos em odontologia sobre habilidades adquiridas e expectativas

Abstract

The aims of the present study wereto evaluate the perceptions of dental students regarding the skills acquired during their undergraduate course to begin their professional activities and identify aspects of the professional plans. Student’s from the tenth semester of two higher educationinstitutions answered a self-administrated questionnaire addressing the skills stipulated in the Brazilian National Dental Curriculum Guidelines and their plans for beginning their professional careers. One hundred three of the 132 questionnaires were answered. Most students (n = 87; 84.46%) planned to begin their careers in a private and/or public clinic as a service provider and planned to continue their studies in specialization and/or improvement courses (n = 72; 69.89%). Most students felt confident regarding clinical skillsrelated to basic care procedures(> 70%), but much less confident regarding specialized procedures. With regard to general skills, the students reporteddifficulties in terms of leadership and management (42.71%). They are not fluent in any foreign languages (28.15%) and have realistic expectations of financial gains. They understand the job market well, perceive the need to continue their studies, are confident with regard to some acquired general and clinical skills and perceive that others are insufficient. Reconsidering the mode of teaching, the teaching-learning process and evaluation methods could be a way to potentiatethe National Dental Curriculum Guidelines.