EXPLORING DENTAL STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS OF CAREER PATHWAYS IN DENTISTRY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33279/jkcd.v16i02.1026Keywords:
Career Choice, Career Motivation, Dental Students, Dentistry Specialization, Future Career Plans, Perception.Abstract
Objectives: Globally students are often confused with respect to their career choices and the future prospects. This cross-sectional study aims to identify these issues among dental students as a cross-sectional survey study.
Materials and Methods: The sample size calculated for the study is 264, and the study was conducted at the Dow University of Health Sciences campuses for the duration of 8 months. Data collected via a custom-made questionnaire were input into SPSS, and chi-square was used to interpret and compare different motivational factors.
Results: The results indicate that 64.7% males and only 47% females had made up their minds regarding their prospects in dentistry; the majority of respondents (35.3% males and 44.1% females) stated they chose dentistry as a way of serving the community. The study also reported the inclination of male respondents to pursue further studies abroad.
Conclusion: This study concluded that most of the participants feel they are in the right place. Personal interest and desire motivated them to choose dentistry, and most want to pursue postgraduate study, particularly overseas, and the majority prefer practising the profession as a private dentist or in state-owned hospitals.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Khawaja Hammad Uddin, Hassan Baber, Ambreen Murtaza, Muhammad Hamza Khan, Ahmed Babar Dar, Misbah Rehman Malik, Mahzul Kaif , Bilquees Saba, Ayesha Akram
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