Beyond labs: unveiling dynamics of dental students’ transition from pre-clinical to clinical training in a Saudi dental school

Objective To assess the factors affecting the transition of dental students from pre-clinical to clinical courses in an outcome-based curriculum. Methods This cross-sectional study surveyed dental students in the third and fourth academic years of the Bachelor of Dental and Oral Surgery (BDS) program at the College of Dentistry, Jouf University. Ethically approved and powered by the G Power software, the study employed a modified questionnaire validated through a pilot test to assess five domains. Likert scale responses were analyzed using SPSS v.25, revealing insights into clinical workload, patient interaction, and learning experiences. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the impact of clinical skill application, workload, transition to clinics, and patient interaction on learning experience as well as CGPA. The Mann-Whitney U test compared the ranks of two independent samples, making it less sensitive to outliers and more suitable for data with non-normal distributions. Results In this study, the response rate of the participants was 70%. A total of 44 dental students in their third and fourth years of the program completed the survey. The multiple regression analysis showed that the predictors collectively explained 36.1% of the variance in the learning experience (Adjusted R 2 = 0.361). “Transition to Clinics” had a significant positive effect on learning experience (β = 0.292, p = 0.012), “Workload” (β = −0.203, p = 0.393) and “Patient Interaction” (β = 0.443, p = 0.168) were not significant predictors. The Mann-Whitney U test revealed no significant gender differences in transition to clinics, workload, patient interaction, application of clinical skills, and learning experience (U = 33.09 to −40.33, p > 0.05), but a significant difference in transition to clinics between third- and fourth-year students (U = 31.56 to −43.24, p < 0.05). Conclusion The results of this study demonstrate that the transition to clinical training can be intricate, and that multiple elements have an impact on this process. It is crucial to have support systems that facilitate the transition into the clinical learning environment.