A Multicenter Survey Evaluating the Professional Field Exploration Internship for Dental Students at German Dental Schools

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Background/Objectives: The revised German Licensing Regulations for Dentists (ZApprO) introduced a mandatory professional field exploration (PFE) internship in dentistry, but neither a standardized specification nor cross-institutional data on its delivery are available. This study compared how the internship is implemented across German dental schools. Methods: In a cross-sectional, nationwide online survey (SoSci Survey; November 2024–January 2025), coordinators at all 30 German dental schools were invited to complete a questionnaire adapted from established instruments in human medicine and dentistry. Data were analyzed descriptively. Results: Twenty-three of 30 dental schools responded (76.7%). Delivery was heterogeneous: university-internal at 39.1% of sites, external at 21.7%, and combined at 39.1%. The median duration specified in the local curriculum was 3.0 semester hours per week (Semesterwochenstunden, SWS; 1 SWS = 45 min per week during one semester). Group-based teaching was used at 52.2% of sites (median group size, 9; range 2–15). Learning objectives were assigned at 60.9% of sites and, where assigned, were based on the National Competence-Based Catalogue of Learning Objectives for Dentistry (NKLZ) at 76.9% (10/13). Interdisciplinary teaching (medical/dental/clinical) was rated predominantly positively. Conclusions: The PFE internship is implemented heterogeneously, with no dominant model and inconsistent use of learning objectives, supporting standardization and inter-university exchange.