Assessing Professionalism in Dental Education: A Multi-Domain Approach across Classroom-Based, Preclinical, Clinical, and Remediation Curricula.

Abstract

Professionalism is a cornerstone of dental education, encompassing the ethical principles, behaviors, and attitudes expected of dental practitioners. Its multifaceted nature manifests uniquely across various domains of the dental curriculum, including classroom-based, preclinical, clinical, and remediation settings. Effectively assessing professionalism within these diverse contexts presents significant challenges, necessitating a structured, multi-contextual assessment approach. This paper explores current methodologies for assessing professionalism in each educational domain, identifies existing challenges, and proposes strategies to enhance measurement practices, ultimately advocating for a standardized framework to ensure consistent and comprehensive evaluation throughout dental education.