Students’ perspective of need for leadership development program in dental education

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore dental student’s attitudes toward leadership development and their perceptions of the importance of leadership skills for dentists. Materials and Methods: A 33-item questionnaire with a combination of both closed- and open-ended items (31 closed-ended items and 2 open-ended items) was administered to 862 students from three dental institutes in South India. Results: Majority of students agreed that it is important for dentists to have leadership skills and they can be learned. Most reported that they expect to assume a leadership role in their dental practice (50.9%). Over one- third (35.4%) anticipate participating in leadership roles in dental associations, 27.4% in academic dentistry, and 17.1% in military dentistry. Approximately two-thirds of respondents strongly agreed (39.4%) or agreed (27.1%) that they would be interested in participating in a leadership development program if offered at their school. Most of the students (92.3%) had not participated in any leadership program. Conclusion: Majority of the students had a positive attitude toward the development of leadership among dentists and were ready to take a leadership role in the future. This study implies the need for leadership development program to improve the leadership skills of dental health workforce.