Factors Influencing The Selection Of Dental Nursing As A Profession

Objective: To provide a current description of dental nursing students and to assess the reasons for choosing the dental nursing career. Methods: Between 2008 and 2009, a questionnaire survey was administered to 85 dental nursing students from 3 Colleges of Health Technology undergoing external clinical posting in University of Benin Dental Clinic. The questionnaire requested information on age, gender, place of residence, type of school attended, previous employment, reason for choosing dental nursing as a career, career plans, parents' highest level of education and parents' occupations. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 23 ± 4.4 years and the male: female ratio of was 1:7.5. Three-quarter (75.3%) of the respondents attended government secondary school and 87.1% were products of mixed school. Teaching was the commonest job among 27.1% of the respondent that had previous employment. Three-quarter (75.6%) of the respondents attested that their education was being sponsored by their parents. Caring for the health of others was the main reason for pursuing dental nursing career. The decision to study dental nursing was taken by 44.7% of the respondents after their secondary education and 50.6% were influenced in their choice of the career with parent being a strong force. More than half (56.5%) plan to work in Teaching hospital on completion of their training. The educational backgrounds of parents varied widely with mothers being reported to have less formal education than fathers. Three-quarter (75.3%) and one-third (35.3%) respondents' mother and father were traders respectively. Conclusion: The study findings provide relevant information on the students' characteristics, factors influencing the selection of dental nursing career and will serve as a template, on which changes in the social composition of dental nursing students can be compared with over time.