RESUMO
Introduction: University training for committed and specialized human resources is not provided only through specialized skills training; graduates in any field need high quality soft skills for fulfilling the requirements of the community, so the proper integration of such skills into the curriculum of that profession is essential. Given the significance of soft skills in the success and quality of dentistry and lack of attention to soft skills training in basic sciences courses, the present study aimed to identify the requirements of the process-oriented integration of soft skills training in basic sciences courses of dentistry. Methods: The present qualitative study employed a semi-structured interviewing technique for data collection. The research population consisted of 39 basic sciences faculty members at Isfahan and Mazandaran Universities of Medical Sciences and education experts selected by a purposive sampling technique. The content analysis method was used to analyze the data. Results: For the process-oriented integration of soft skills in basic sciences courses, the current study identified four central requirements: providing background conditions (provision of socio-cultural contexts in society; development of educational and evaluation platforms in pre-university courses), providing professionalism (development of professionalism in the doctoral course of basic medical sciences; improvement in the model of faculty members), providing conditions for changing the curriculum (modification of curriculum and objectives in the basic sciences courses in dentistry; development of the attitude and knowledge of basic science faculty members towards soft skills training), and providing conditions for university pedagogy (provision of interactive and communication conditions; benefitting from diverse and appropriate learning activities; development of faculty members' pedagogical abilities). Conclusion: Medical sciences curriculum planners can integrate the soft skills of dentistry in the basic science courses of the field by providing the conditions for the identified requirements.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Soft skills are the key indicators of success and quality of performance in various professions, including the dental profession. The skills are the main tools for enhancing the quality of technical work in Dentistry. Hence, the aim of this study was to identify and prioritize the soft skills in dental profession. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study employed a mixed methods research. In the qualitative phase, the dental skills were identified using a semi-structured interview with faculty members and dental students. In the quantitative phase, the soft skills were prioritized with Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). The data analysis was using Expert Choice software. RESULTS: The results showed that the dental profession to improve the quality of performance needs to 29 soft skills in six categories. In professional ethics, work ethics (with weight of 0.212) and responsibility (0.188); in artistic skills, handicrafts (0.616); in cognitive skills, decision-making ability (0.290) and spatial thinking (0.249); in communication skills, verbal/nonverbal communication and listening (0.266), and patience (0.240); in individual characteristics, stress management (0.381) and self-esteem (0.260); and finally, in management skills, time management (0.481) are among the most important soft skills in dental profession. CONCLUSION: Identify and prioritize the soft skills can help to improve the quality of performance the dental profession. Therefore, it is recommended to integrate these skills into the dentistry curriculum. Moreover, by increasing the number of studies the essential backgrounds for developing soft skills in dentistry education will be provided.