EXPERIENCE OF UNDERGRADUATES FROM 3 LONDON DENTAL SCHOOLS AND TRAINERS FROM THE SOUTH EAST OF ENGLAND ON INTERVIEWS FOR VOCATIONAL-TRAININGIN 1996

Objective To assess the current perceptions, motivations and expectati ons of trainers and vocational dental practitioners (VDPs) of vocation al training (VT) interviews. Design Questionnaire based study Setting General practice study carried out in 1996. Subjects Undergraduates fr om three London dental schools and vocational trainers from south-east England. Main outcome measures Perceptions, motivation and experience s were assessed by a questionnaire. Results 111 questionnaires were po sted to trainers with 72 (65% ) returned. 108 (70%) were returned from the dental schools after 155 were posted. Graduates employed in hospi tal training posts, armed forces and community dentistry were eliminat ed from the results. Most trainers (74%) had previous experience of VT and 89% of trainers thought that a CV was important for their choice of VDPs. However, only 11% of trainers sought references before interv iewing. 34% of VDPs preferred jobs close to their dental school but 75 % considered location to be vital to their choice. 67% of VDPs made 10 or more applications and 57% visited 10 or more practices for intervi ews. 78% of VDPs considered that either genderism or racism was likely to or possibly influenced the trainers choice. However, the converse was not true, 62% of trainers considered it unlikely that the VDPs wer e influenced by their gender or race. Conclusions Trainers and VDPs ha ve different perceptions concerning the protocol of interviews for VT.