Abstract:

The rapid progress of science and technologies in the 21st century is changing the approach to the issues in the preservation and enhancement of human health. This also entails changes in healthcare specialists’ activity, as psychological and social health problem-solving functions are increasingly being emphasized alongside the therapeutic ones. A large proportion of healthcare specialists’ professional activity consists of problematic situations whose solutions demand more than only biomedicine-oriented competence, as the psychosocial, managerial, and pedagogical competences become highly important (Stutsky, 1995).

The best higher education programs in medicine, education science, and other fields are of a multidisciplinary character, integrating theoretical and practical activity, promoting independent learning and problem solving, stimulating students to formulate and emphasize the causes of their actions, providing the students with conditions for group work and involving them into activities through which socially significant moral and competence issues are being tackled (Barnett, 1990). At the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, students not only acquire knowledge in odontology, but also participate in educational and research activities.

The aim of the study was to reveal the students’ attitudes towards the peculiarities of the professional education and training of odontologists at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences.

The analysis of the peculiarities of the professional education and training of odontologists showed that students regarded odontology, communication, and socio-psychological competences as important in their professional activity, while scientific, managerial, and educational competences were seen as less important.

The study showed that one-third of the students thought that they would not acquire sufficient knowledge and skills required for their future professional activity. The students indicated that they acquired sufficient knowledge and skills in the fields of disease diagnostics and treatment, qualification improvement, and disease prevention. However, less than one-half of the students stated they would be able to organize teamwork, and only the minority of them thought they would be capable of doing educational or research work.

Keywords:

Competences, higher education, knowledge, professional education and training, student.