Career Satisfaction of Medunsa Dental Graduates in Compulsory Community Service

Little is known about the effect that Compulsory Community Service (CCS) has on the level of career satisfaction experienced during this time by recent graduates. Objectives: The aim of this study was to measure and describe the level of career satisfaction of the 2003 Medunsa dental graduate group after almost completing their year in CCS. This group was previously studied at the termination of their undergraduate studies during 2003. Methods: The dentists were requested to complete a questionnaire containing a modified version of the previously used Dentist Satisfaction Survey (DSS)as well as other measures of career satisfaction.The DSS contains 54 statements measured on a 5 point Likert scale. Surveys were faxed to 33 dentists that could be contacted.Twenty one dentists returned the quesionnaires. Results: The average scores for the various subscales contained within the DSS were calculated and compared to the resonses of the previous study.The greatest differences occurred in the Staff, Income, Practice Management and Professional Relations subscales.The subscale measuring Respect (respect that a professional deserves) dropped from an average of 4.2 on the Likert scale to 3.1 in the current survey.The subscale measuring the contribution of Patient Relationships had the highest average score of 3.7. Conclusions: This group of dental graduates have generally shown a drop in the level of career satisfaction during the year of CSS. Analysis of the open-ended responses should shed light on the possible causes and solutions.