Perceptions of Dental Students and Fresh Graduates Regarding the Role of Soft Skills in Successful Patient Management
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Background: Soft skills are essential for effective dental care because communication, empathy, active listening, teamwork, and time management influence patient cooperation, satisfaction, and treatment experience. Objective: This study assessed perceptions of dental students, house officers, interns, and early-career dentists regarding the role of soft skills in successful patient management. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted over five to six months among participants from dental colleges, institutes, and teaching hospitals in different cities of Pakistan. Eligible participants included third- and fourth-year BDS students, house officers, dental interns, and early-career dentists. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed in SPSS version 27 using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 230 completed responses were analyzed. Most participants reported partial knowledge of soft skills (60.9%), while 27.0% reported complete understanding and 11.7% were unaware. Communication was the most frequently recognized soft skill (90.0%), followed by time management (50.9%), teamwork (45.2%), and leadership (22.2%). Nearly all participants considered soft skills as important as clinical skills (98.7%), and 95.2% identified empathy as important for patient cooperation and satisfaction. Only 22.2% reported formal soft-skill education. Conclusion: Dental students and early-career dentists strongly recognized the clinical importance of soft skills, but formal training exposure was limited. Structured integration of soft-skill training into dental curricula may strengthen patient-centred care
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