SCIENCE + TECH
ORIGINAL RESEARCH REPORTS
Predicting success in dental school
A L EXA N D RA H OW E L L Georgia ’19 ASDA Vice President
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EVEN BEFORE STARTING dental school, I knew I loved education research. During my last two years of college at the University of Georgia, I served as a teaching assistant for the introductory biochemistry course and conducted research on how students think. We developed free-response exam questions and then analyzed students’ problem-solving skills through think-aloud interviews. These interviews revealed prominent misconceptions of simple biological concepts that were held by both beginner and advanced undergraduate students. At the time, I thought that this research was purely extracurricular with nothing to do with my future career in dentistry. Nevertheless, I had the opportunity to get my feet wet in dental academia early on through the ADEA Academic Dental Careers Fellowship Program (ADCFP) in its inaugural year at my school. Through this program, I began to understand the need for dental education research and thought of a future career in dental academia. Through ADCFP, I worked with D1s in their introductory biochemistry course by leading review sessions and developing study guides. My faculty mentor, Dr. Regina Messer, and I explored qualities in D1 students that led them to be successful in dental school. We also wondered about certain
VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9
SCIENCE + TECH
statistics that are used for applicants during the admissions process and whether or not these “predictors of success” actually correlate to dental school success. We hoped that we could give insight to admissions committees by making recommendations on which statistics to focus on when considering applicants. To investigate these correlations, we collected de-identified data from three previous graduating classes at The Dental College of Georgia. The main quantitative data we used in our assessment included undergraduate overall GPA, science GPA and DAT scores. One of the other miscellaneous variables we included was the number of previous applications. To assess dental school success, we used first-year GPA and fourth-year GPA. Since the first year of dental school is mainly focused on a didactic science curriculum and the fourth year is focused on clinic, we hoped that we could capture the two major aspects of dental school education through these two values. Once we ran the statistics for all of the variables, we analyzed the p-values to determine which correlations were statistically significant. We were surprised to see that there were only three statistically significant predictors for first-year success: DAT Total Science, DAT Perceptual Ability and the Undergraduate Overall GPA. For fourth-year success, only two predictors remained: DAT Perceptual Ability and Undergraduate Overall GPA. Given the structure of the curriculum, the importance of perceptual ability, for example, makes sense in the clinical environment of fourth year. Finally, we found that dental school success was not affected by how many times a student had applied in the past. In other words, there does not seem to be a correlation between higher number of applications and a lower probability of success in school. On the contrary, higher number of applications could simply be an indication that the student has a high work ethic and devotion to the profession. While this education research is limited to a small subset of graduating classes at my own school, similar analyses could be made at other schools as well to aid admissions committees in making the
OCTOBER 2018
Success can look different for each student — dynamic and multifactorial. best judgments on potential new students. The challenge in this type of assessment, however, lies in the idea that there are a variety of variables that make a student “successful,” some of which cannot be measured numerically. One recent study published in the April 2018 Journal of Dental Education (JDE) reported “weak associations” between predental statistics and first-year GPA, finding that dental school success seemed to be reliant on factors unrelated to predental statistics. Meanwhile, a study published in the May 2018 JDE found that predental GPAs and DAT chemistry scores at a Canadian dental school proved to be useful indicators for success. Further research is still needed to determine true predictors of success, but more is understood on the best ways to vet DMD/DDS candidates with each new analysis. With a more accurate assessment of each candidate, dental schools benefit by predicting candidate performance and candidates benefit by being assessed on a scale that is more in line with their true capacities. Defining the true predictors of success could also allow predental students to focus on developing those characteristics, allowing for greater preparation before applying to dental school. In the future, I would like to assess qualitative variables for students such as time management, patient satisfaction and hand skills. Success can look different for each student — dynamic and multifactorial. While we might not be able to grasp the exact qualities that predict success, investigating these factors is imperative in the realm of academia to select the best applicants and guide students who might be preparing for a career in dentistry. #
ADA Success Good choices now. Great dentists later. Complimentary one-hour programs presented by ADA dentists or other subject matter experts who will come to your dental school. Select any of the following: • Leadership & Ethics in Dentistry • Managing Debt & Wealth • State of the Dental Profession • Practice Management for All Dentists • Understanding Employment Agreements • Finding a Job Request a program at
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