Dental vocational training: identifying and developing trainer expertise.

Aims: The aims of the study were two fold: to determine the influence of trainer expertise on the Vocational Training (VT) experience, particularly in terms of providing Vocational Dental Practitioners (VDPs) with positive role models; and to ascertain if it is possible to identify attributes of expertise that can signpost a successful path for new/less expert trainers.

Participants: Thirty-five VDPs and each of their Vocational Trainers participated in the study. All training took place in the South East of England.

Design: The participants were followed through the 12 months of their VT year. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with both trainers and VDPs on two occasions, during the year and once VT had been completed. It was also possible to observe practice sessions and VT Study Day teaching. The descriptive analysis of the training partnerships has been previously described. The original data were revisited through a constant comparative analysis of the interview transcripts and observation notes.

Results: The influence of training expertise is identified and discussed as is the VDP view of the trainer as a role model. Attributes of training expertise are highlighted and presented as a guiding path for new/inexpert trainers.

Conclusion: The training expertise of a trainer has a significant influence on the VT experience for both trainer and VDP. Expertise has the potential to be harnessed and used to good effect in VT.