Critical thinking skills among the oral medicine postgraduate students of Tamilnadu and Puducherry - A pilot study

Background: Critical thinking is the mental process of active and skillful perception, analysis, synthesis and evaluation of collected information through observation, experience, and communication that leads to a decision for action. Critical thinking applies to dentists in the process of solving t...

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Main Authors: Sarvathikari Ramasamy (Author), N G Mogeshvaar (Author), G K Divyapriya (Author)
Format: Book
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications, 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z.
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Summary:Background: Critical thinking is the mental process of active and skillful perception, analysis, synthesis and evaluation of collected information through observation, experience, and communication that leads to a decision for action. Critical thinking applies to dentists in the process of solving the clinical conditions of patients and making crucial decisions for diagnosis and intervention. Aim: To assess the critical thinking skills (CTS) among oral medicine postgraduate students of dental colleges in Tamilnadu and Puducherry. Methodology: A convenience sampling method was used. The clinical scenario-based validated self-designed structured questionnaire was administered. The questionnaire was prepared using Google forms and the link was sent through WhatsApp among Oral Medicine postgraduate students. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: A total of 49 responses were obtained. The participants who obtained the score >5 were considered to be high-level critical thinkers and those who obtained a score ≤5 were considered to be low-level critical thinkers. High-level critical thinkers among first, second, and third year postgraduates are 2 (12.5), 7 (43.8), and 7 (43.8). Similarly, low-level critical thinkers are 12 (36.4), 10 (30.3), and 11 (33.3) respectively. The association between the years of course and critical thinking skills were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The subjects with higher critical thinking score were less among oral medicine postgraduate students. Therefore, it is essential to pay more attention to improving critical thinking in clinical practice.
Item Description:0972-1363
10.4103/jiaomr.jiaomr_37_20