Critical success factors for dentists in the United States

¶ … Dentistry

In recent years, the investment individuals must put into an education has been called into question for a number of professions, given the increasing cost of graduate school. The average debt of dental school students upon graduation is $221,173, according to the ADEA. However, the job prospects for dentists in the U.S. are growing at a rate faster than average for other occupations, at a projected rate of 20-21%, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (Dentists, 2013, BLS). This suggests that dentistry can be a potentially lucrative and promising profession for the right candidates.

This proposed study will determine critical success factors for success in the field of dentistry. Given that dentists have to incur a high level of graduate school debt but face bright prospects in terms of their potential career success, determining the critical personal success factors in the profession is vitally important. Character traits, demonstrated performance record in undergraduate and graduate school, internship experiences, business experiences, and personal expectations and ambitions will all be assessed.

Scope

1. What formative experiences are present in the histories of successful dentists?

2. What character traits do successful dentists exhibit?

3. How to the expectations and careers of successful dentists align?

Methods

Ten dentistry school graduates will be the focus of the study, all recent graduates of no more than five years from an accredited dentistry school (both public and private schools of dentistry will be considered). The interview subjects will be assessed regarding the credentials of their undergraduate and graduate institutions; GPA; experiences prior to going into dentistry; and character traits. They will also be asked about their original goals, failure or ability to meet their goals, and financial and professional success post-graduation. Semi-structured interviews will be administered to all participants, to elicit further experiential knowledge of the attributes and experiences that contributed to their success or lack of success in the profession.

Solution

I hope that the information accrued over the course of my study could be used by potential graduates when making decisions about going to dentistry school and the vocational decisions they make before and after graduation.

Conclusion

Although this research study will be preliminary and investigative, deploying a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, it may point to a direction of future, more extensive research that can aid both graduates and dentistry schools in vocational decision-making.