Predictors of student success in an entry-level baccalaureate dental hygiene program.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure the utility of various predictors used by the Old Dominion University Gene W. Hirschfeld School of Dental Hygiene baccalaureate degree dental hygiene program in selecting dental hygiene students who are most likely to graduate and be successful in passing the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE). The following factors were examined: grade point average (GPA); science GPA; final grade in various prerequisite courses; final grade in first-year dental hygiene courses; academic setting where prerequisite courses were completed; multiple attempts to achieve a passing course grade; and admissions criteria points (ACP). METHODS: The sample selected for study consisted of the academic records of dental hygiene students admitted to the program from 1998 to 2002 (n = 235), who would have been eligible to take the NBDHE from 2000 to 2004. Data were analyzed using multiple logistic regression to determine success as measured by graduation (n = 146). With NBDHE as the criterion variable, data were analyzed using the multiple linear regression to determine successful entry into the profession (n = 130); significance was predetermined at the 0.05 level. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed that final course grade in oral pathology was a significant predictor of successful graduation (P = 0.0008). Variables that predicted NBDHE success were final course grade in oral pathology, final course grade in oral anatomy and histology, and the ACP rating (P < .0001, P < .0001, and P = .0245, respectively). There was no statistically significant relationship for other variables. CONCLUSION: Final grades in oral pathology and oral anatomy and histology can significantly predict graduation and NBDHE success at this institution, suggesting that educators look to improving student performance after admission to the program to improve the likelihood of success. Additionally, when this institution's admission variables were combined into a cluster of variables (ACP), they proved significant at predicting success.

Cultural adaptability of dental hygiene students in the United States: a pilot study.

PURPOSE: Dental hygiene students should prepare to competently provide services to culturally diverse patients; therefore, this study was conducted as a baseline to determine the cross-cultural adaptability of dental hygiene students. METHODS: The sample consisted of 188 dental hygiene students attending four culturally diverse dental hygiene programs (N = 108) and four non-culturally diverse dental hygiene programs (N = 80). The culturally diverse programs randomly selected were located in the southwest, southeast and mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S., and the non-diverse programs were located in the northwest, northcentral, central, and southern regions of the U.S. Any dental hygiene program with students representing four of the five ethnic categories (Caucasian, African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander) with a culturally diverse student enrollment of 40% or greater, was considered a culturally diverse program; any dental hygiene program enrolling students from only one ethnic category was considered a non-culturally diverse program. Participating students completed the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI), a 50 item instrument that measures and individual's cultural adaptability and its four research dimensions; emotional resilience, flexibility/openness, perpetual acuity, and personal autonomy. The instrument does not target one particular cultural, rather it is culture general, meaning the inventory is proficient in assessing all cultures. RESULTS: The unpaired t-test revealed a statistically significant difference, at the 0.05 level, in the overall, emotional resilience, flexibility/openness, and perceptual acuity between the two dental hygiene groups. Data analyses revealed the overall score of the dental hygiene students was lower than the CCAI norm group, which consisted of individuals with cross-cultural experience. The culturally diverse group scored higher than the non-diverse group in emotional resilience but scored lower than the non-diverse group in flexibility/openness and perpetual acuity. There was no statistically significant difference between the culturally diverse and non-culturally diverse groups in the dimension of personal autonomy. CONCLUSION: Results of the study led to the conclusion that dental hygiene students attending culturally diverse and non-culturally diverse programs possess some qualities such as personal autonomy and self-identity needed for cultural adaptability. The overall CCAI scores were lower than the CCAI norm group suggesting students need cross-cultural education and training. For this reason, it is important that dental hygiene curricula incorporate cross-cultural educational strategies and peer and patient cross-cultural encounters to enable students to develop competency in providing cross-cultural health care.