Background: New dental schools have been established to train dentists in many parts of the world. This study\r\nexamines the future dental workforce from the first dental school in the United Arab Emirates [UAE]; the aim of this\r\nstudy was to explore the short and long-term career aspirations of the final year dental students in the UAE in\r\nrelation to their demography.\r\nMethod: Final year dental students of the Ajman Universityââ?¬â?¢s College of Dentistry (n=87) were invited to participate\r\nin a self-completion questionnaire survey. Descriptive analysis, chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression\r\nanalysis were carried out on career aspirations using SPSS v20.\r\nResults: Eighty-two percent of students (n=71) responded, the majority of whom were female (65%; n=46). Ethnicity\r\nwas reported as: ââ?¬Ë?other Arabââ?¬â?¢ (61%; n=43), ââ?¬Ë?Emiratiââ?¬â?¢ (17%, n=12), and ââ?¬Ë?Otherââ?¬â?¢ (21%, n=15). In the short-term, 41% (n=29)\r\nexpressed a desire to work in government training centres, with Emirati students significantly more likely to do so\r\n(p=0.002). ââ?¬Ë?Financial stabilityââ?¬â?¢ (80%; n=57) and ââ?¬Ë?gaining professional experienceââ?¬â?¢ (76%; n=54) emerged as the most\r\nimportant influences on their short-term career plans. The vast majority of students wished to specialise in dentistry\r\n(92%; n=65) in the longer term; logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of specialising in the most popular\r\nspecialties of Orthodontics and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery were less for the ââ?¬Ë?Otherââ?¬â?¢ ethnic group when compared\r\nwith ââ?¬Ë?Emiratiââ?¬â?¢ students (0.26; 95% CI 0.068-0.989; p=0.04). Almost three-quarters of the students overall (72%; n=51)\r\nintended to work full-time. ââ?¬Ë?High income/financial securityââ?¬â?¢ (97%; n=69), ââ?¬Ë?standard of livingââ?¬â?¢ (97%; n=69), ââ?¬Ë?work/life\r\nbalanceââ?¬â?¢ (94%; n=67), and ââ?¬Ë?professional fulfilmentââ?¬â?¢ (87%; n=62) were reported by the students as the most influential\r\nitems affecting their long-term professional career choices.\r\nConclusion: The findings suggest that students aspire to make a long-term contribution to the profession and there is\r\na high level of interest in specialisation with a desire to achieve financial stability and quality of life.
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