Newly Joined Undergraduate Dental Students’ Opinions on the Qualities of a Professional: A Qualitative Research

Background: It is important for the teachers to be aware of the preexisting notions regarding professionalism among the newly joined dental students to emphasize on imbibing the right qualities to them. This study aimed to explore the opinions of newly joined undergraduate dental students about the...

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Main Authors: Lamea Afnan, Ravi V Shirahatti, Preetha J Shetty
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_253_23
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author Lamea Afnan
Ravi V Shirahatti
Preetha J Shetty
author_facet Lamea Afnan
Ravi V Shirahatti
Preetha J Shetty
author_sort Lamea Afnan
collection DOAJ
description Background: It is important for the teachers to be aware of the preexisting notions regarding professionalism among the newly joined dental students to emphasize on imbibing the right qualities to them. This study aimed to explore the opinions of newly joined undergraduate dental students about the qualities of a professional and compare those with the qualities of a professional as elaborated in the literature. Methodology: Secondary data were retrieved from the orientation program for newly joined dental undergraduates. A qualitative thematic analysis was carried out and themes were generated. A comparison was made with the standard healthcare bodies defining the qualities of a professional. Results: The themes generated include “goal orientation and decision-making,” “attitude toward learning and dealing with failures,” “knowledge and experience,” “positive relationship with the profession,” “relationship with others,” “display positive attitudes/attributes” “ethics and morals,” and “faith (religious and nonreligious).” Most of these matched with those described by the standard healthcare bodies. Conclusion: The results of our study provide a basis for measuring entry-level ideas about professionalism and could be used to facilitate learning about professionalism and monitor its development throughout their education. Furthermore, educational methods requiring the exchange of ideas about professionalism, like conducting a group discussion among the students, could facilitate in teaching professional qualities.
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publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
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series Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry
spelling doaj-art-c1505f737d75453b8f89b8ac520dbbcd2025-08-20T02:57:20ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry2319-59322350-04842025-01-01231758110.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_253_23Newly Joined Undergraduate Dental Students’ Opinions on the Qualities of a Professional: A Qualitative ResearchLamea AfnanRavi V ShirahattiPreetha J ShettyBackground: It is important for the teachers to be aware of the preexisting notions regarding professionalism among the newly joined dental students to emphasize on imbibing the right qualities to them. This study aimed to explore the opinions of newly joined undergraduate dental students about the qualities of a professional and compare those with the qualities of a professional as elaborated in the literature. Methodology: Secondary data were retrieved from the orientation program for newly joined dental undergraduates. A qualitative thematic analysis was carried out and themes were generated. A comparison was made with the standard healthcare bodies defining the qualities of a professional. Results: The themes generated include “goal orientation and decision-making,” “attitude toward learning and dealing with failures,” “knowledge and experience,” “positive relationship with the profession,” “relationship with others,” “display positive attitudes/attributes” “ethics and morals,” and “faith (religious and nonreligious).” Most of these matched with those described by the standard healthcare bodies. Conclusion: The results of our study provide a basis for measuring entry-level ideas about professionalism and could be used to facilitate learning about professionalism and monitor its development throughout their education. Furthermore, educational methods requiring the exchange of ideas about professionalism, like conducting a group discussion among the students, could facilitate in teaching professional qualities.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_253_23dental studentsnewly joinedprofessionalismqualitative researchqualities of a professional
spellingShingle Lamea Afnan
Ravi V Shirahatti
Preetha J Shetty
Newly Joined Undergraduate Dental Students’ Opinions on the Qualities of a Professional: A Qualitative Research
Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry
dental students
newly joined
professionalism
qualitative research
qualities of a professional
title Newly Joined Undergraduate Dental Students’ Opinions on the Qualities of a Professional: A Qualitative Research
title_full Newly Joined Undergraduate Dental Students’ Opinions on the Qualities of a Professional: A Qualitative Research
title_fullStr Newly Joined Undergraduate Dental Students’ Opinions on the Qualities of a Professional: A Qualitative Research
title_full_unstemmed Newly Joined Undergraduate Dental Students’ Opinions on the Qualities of a Professional: A Qualitative Research
title_short Newly Joined Undergraduate Dental Students’ Opinions on the Qualities of a Professional: A Qualitative Research
title_sort newly joined undergraduate dental students opinions on the qualities of a professional a qualitative research
topic dental students
newly joined
professionalism
qualitative research
qualities of a professional
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_253_23
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AT ravivshirahatti newlyjoinedundergraduatedentalstudentsopinionsonthequalitiesofaprofessionalaqualitativeresearch
AT preethajshetty newlyjoinedundergraduatedentalstudentsopinionsonthequalitiesofaprofessionalaqualitativeresearch