Page 9 - The Dental Workforce in Malaysia

Preface

The dental workforce globally is facing unprecedented change as a
result of multiple influences. Malaysia, a high-middle-income country,
has expanded the number of dental schools in the last decade to ensure
that there are a sufficient number of health workers to meet the needs
and demands of the population. As the volume of dentists entering the
workforce has increased, concerns about the long-term implications of
these policies and how this expensively trained dental workforce will be
utilised in the future are emerging. There is a need for research informed
action in relation to understanding workforce influences, and examining
their potential implications and the shape of the future workforce in
relation to population need. An understanding of the motivation of current
dental students for choosing to study dentistry and their subsequent career
expectations may assist with harnessing and retaining their skills.
This is the first book in a series of three planned to be published
concerning the dental workforce in Malaysia. The aim of this series
is to present findings on motivation and short- and long-term career
expectations of dental students in the selection of dentistry as a
professional career in relation to individual (demographic and socio-
economic factors) and school characteristics and make recommendations
for the future in relation to serving the population. Senior dental students
from 11 schools were invited in early 2013 to complete a questionnaire
survey of the Gallagher Motivation Instrument (GMI) to examine career
motivation and expectations. Univariate and multivariate analyses of the
responses, including confirmatory factor analysis of career motivation,
were undertaken followed by descriptive analysis of their career
expectations.
Three hundred and fifty six final year dental students (83%) across
eight schools (73%) responded, comprising 66% of final years in Malaysia
in 2013. Five motivational factors were reported with ‘academic’ factors
emerging as students’ main motivation to study dentistry. There were
some differences in motivation by school sector; either public or private