Table 5 Representative examples of categorized free text responses from students
Categories and codes | Praise (n = 42) | Criticism (n = 32) | Suggestions (n = 37) |
|---|---|---|---|
Idea of the course | |||
Nursing home visits | “The visit to the nursing home was very good.” | ||
Concept of the course | “I think the idea of the project is very good and important.” | ||
Good supplement to common dentistry studies | “A good complement to the everyday university life.” | ||
Organization and structure | |||
Multi-semester approach | “Working for more than one semester was very exciting.” | “It’s difficult to combine the fourth, sixth and eighth semester in one course.” | |
eLearning resource | “The group at Moodle is well structured.” | ||
Timeframe | “Unfortunately, it’s not possible to combine it with all timetables because of the time.” | “The weekly lectures should rather be bi- or tri-weekly, and can then also be longer” | |
Nursing home visits | “Unfortunately, the implementation (medical treatment, etc.) in the nursing homes is very limited.” | “More practical training!” | |
Courses | “Good organization!” | “Fewer lectures - instead teach more regarding oral health in old age!” | “Fewer lectures, more seminars for preparation for the nursing home visits!” |
Supervision | |||
Faculty motivation | “The lecturers were motivated; they also explained many things in the nursing home.” | ||
Faculty support and supervising | “I always felt very well supervised.” | ||
Accessibility | “The tutors were always accessible.” | ||
Learning experience | |||
Theoretical knowledge | “The training course of the foundation was great!” | “Too little new knowledge gained from the lectures.” | “Fewer lectures, more seminars!” |
Practical training | “Good handling with the patients; you gain experience how difficult it can be to treat patients.” | “Because of being six persons per patient, it wasn’t possible to learn much, to question the patient, nor to establish a relationship.” | “More preparation for the nursing home visits, e.g. a role-playing game.” |
Experience with older patients | “The project itself is great - and the patients were mostly very pleased.” | ||
Psychosocial skills | “A good complement to the everyday university life, especially supporting the social and communicative characteristics as well as working with more than one semester, melded together.” | ||