Abstract

SOUSA, Jiogleicia Elciane de; MACIEL, Lais Karam Braga  and  ZOCRATTO, Keli Bahia Felicíssimo. The role of graduate education in Dentistry and the reason for choosing the profession: perceptions of graduating students. RFO UPF [online]. 2013, vol.18, n.3, pp. 277-283. ISSN 1413-4012.

Career choice usually occurs at the end of high school. This decision may be influenced by many factors including status, financial return, and professional vocation. Objective: to identify the role of graduate education in Dentistry, and the main reasons why students from private institutions choose the course, as well as to compare the response profile of private institutions of the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 2013. Subjects and Methods: a structured questionnaire was applied on a sample of 184 graduating students attending the last year of Dentistry school. The questionnaire included questions about professional training, reason for choosing the course, and continuing education. Data were analyzed by analytical statistics and the chi-square test (α=0.05). Results: most of the students chose Dentistry by vocation, and wanted to continue their studies. Specialization was the most desired. Statistically significant difference was noted among institutions, and it was associated to the performance in academic careers (p = 0.03), and to the security of participating in selection processes (p = 0.01). Among extracurricular activities, the internship was the most attended. Conclusion: professional vocation was the main reason that led students to choose Dentistry as a profession, and they found education offered by Schools sufficient.

Keywords : Students; Career choice.