Attitudes and trends of primary care dentists to continuing professional development: a report from the Scottish dental practitioners survey 2000.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the current and intended continuing professional development activity of dentists in general and community practice.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey by postal questionnaire.

METHODS: A semi-structured questionnaire was sent to all general practice and community dentists identified from the dental practices division as being in practice in Scotland. The issues addressed included personal demographics, current working patterns and job satisfaction, training and professional development and finally career and working intentions.

RESULTS: Of the 1,917 questionnaires sent to general dental practitioners (GDPs), 1,357 were returned useable (70% response rate); 212 of the 283 questionnaires to community dental practitioners (CDPs) were returned giving a 75% response rate. Of the responders, 89% of GDPs (1,188) and 95% of CDPs (178) reported participating in some form of CPD in the preceding year. One sixth of GDPs (211) and one third of CDPs (62) had a further qualification. Short courses such as Section 63 were very popular with over 90% of GDPs, but more than half the respondents did not think that further qualifications would enhance their career prospects. The most commonly identified barriers to further qualifications were heavy clinical commitments (78%), with 73% citing the substantial cost with no additional benefit. Over a third of GDPs under the age of 30 indicated they intended to sit a postgraduate qualification, but this fell to 12% for those aged over 30. The number of dentists identified on a career break was low (18).

CONCLUSION: Two years before implementation of the General Dental Council's mandatory revalidation scheme, over 90% of Scottish primary care dentists reported active participation in continuing professional development. Future initiatives must be sufficiently sophisticated to fulfil the educational needs of different age groups, and to focus on part-time and career break dentists as well as full-time practitioners. It is important to establish career pathways in dental primary care. Part-time modular courses such as Masters degrees in primary care based dentistry may be one solution. An increased number of part-time posts for primary care dentists in secondary dental care may increase the skill base and also increase service provision in secondary care establishments. These pathways should create an opportunity to adequately reward those who continue to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for a technically demanding healthcare profession.