Impact of Dental Students’ Faculty Group Leader, Intended Postgraduate Training, and Clinic Schedule on Their Clinical Performance: A Retrospective Study at a U.S. Dental School

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dental students’ faculty group leader in clinic, intended postgraduate training, and clinic schedule on their clinical performance. This retrospective study used de-identified transcript data from the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine Classes of 2013, 2014, and 2015, a total of 238 students. The impact factors analyzed were the assigned faculty member who served as clinical group leader and mentor; area of students’ intended postgraduate training; and variations in timing of students’ summer clinic assignments and vacations. Clinical performance, consistent with the school’s graduation criteria, was measured with summative assessments (completion of competencies); completion of care for patients assigned (case completions); and overall patient encounter rate. The results showed that group leader assignment correlated with significant differences among students in completion of cases (p=0.001), competencies completed (p