Continuing professional development programs for general dentists in Isfahan province, Iran: Interests, priorities, and obstacles

Continuing professional development (CPD) is a life‑long learning process for all health‑care members including dentists to improve their knowledge and skills in their profession and provide the best quality services. This study aimed to assess the needs, priorities, and obstacles of attending dentists in these programs in Isfahan province, in 2020.

This descriptive‑analytical cross‑sectional study was performed on general dentists in Isfahan province. Data were collected through a three‑part questionnaire, online and on paper; it included demographic information, prioritization of seven disciplines, and scoring of 33 dental subfields, as well as obstacles limiting participation in the CPD programs. This questionnaire was developed and validated by researchers. Statistical analysis was carried out through Mann–Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis, and Chi‑square tests, and a significance level of 0.05 was considered.

Of 326 dentists (90.5% response rate) participating in this study, 157 were (48.2%) female, and most of them were in the high work experience group (45.1%). The highest mean scores standard deviation related to the dentist’s interest and needs, among the seven dental disciplines, belonged to practice management (6.68 [2.9]), oral and dental reconstruction (6.29 [2.55]), and pediatric dentistry (6.291 [2.87]). On the other hand, lack of time (70.6%), inefficient teaching methods and organization (65%), and irrelevant topics (58.6%) were the most common obstacles limiting dentists in the CPD programs.

Based on the results of this study, dentists in Isfahan province reported more interest and need to participate in some fields of CPD courses including practice management, pediatric dentistry, and oral and dental reconstruction. Thus, a system for continuing education based on dentists’ needs and preferences is highly suggested.