Stress among dental students transitioning from remote learning to clinical training during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A qualitative study

• Autor(a) principal: Garcia, Patricia Petromilli Nordi Sasso [UNESP]
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Ferreira, Franciele de Souza [UNESP], Pazos, Júlia Margato [UNESP]
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jdd.13030; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/240372
• topic: dental students; distance learning; psychological stress

Objectives: To identify dental students’ perceptions of stress over returning to in-person clinical training after remote learning required from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: This was a qualitative observational study. The sample was composed of undergraduate students (n = 47) in the final year of São Paulo State University, School of Dentistry, Araraquara program. The data were collected using a questionnaire created in Google Forms. The data was analyzed using the discourse of the collective subject technique. Results: More than half of the students (63.8%) reported experiencing stress in the transition from remote learning to clinical training. According to the students, the main causes of this stress were fear of COVID-19 infection or contamination (31.5%) and insecurity in their clinical treatment skills after having gone so long without training (25.5%). Half of the students surveyed (51.1%) exhibited at least one stress-related symptom. For most of the students (70.2%), remote learning was insufficient to prepare them for returning to in-person clinical activities. Performing laboratory pre-clinical activities prior to clinical training was the suggestion most frequently cited by the students (25.5%), as a way to avoid some of the stress associated with their return to in-person learning. The main coping strategies adopted by the students upon their return to in-person learning were making the most of their clinical training, planning cases, and studying relevant topics before treating patients (48.9%). Conclusion: The dental students perceived high levels of stress during the transition from remote learning to clinical training.