The Opinion Of Dental Technology Students About The Educational Qualification Degree ‘Professional Bachelor’

The transformation of semi higher medical education into university-college education is a step towards its harmonisation with the European educational framework. The Dental Technician specialty is a regulated profession from the Health Care field of studies, which incorporates treatment-restorative and medical-technical activities. The training lasts three years with the only possibility of regular form of education. The educational qualification degree has been a professional bachelor since 2008. The horarium is determined by the Uniform State Requirements. The practical training has a leading role and includes various practical studies and activities as well as undergraduate internship. The purpose of the research is to study the opinion of students specializing in Dental Technology and their attitude to changes regarding the educational qualification degree. In order to achieve the goal literary sources, normative documents and curricula have been studied. An anonimous survey was conducted in March 2024. The target of research are 86 dental technology students in their study stage – 65 students from Medical University-Varna and 21 students from Medical University-Plovdiv. Graphical and comparative analyses have been used to present and interpret data. The following conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of the research results and the studied sources: the majority of the students support the change regarding the educational qualification degree and the increase of the duration of the educational process (three and a half academic years); more than half of the respondents share the opinion that the change in the educational qualification degree is a prerequisite for future development; the increase of the duration of the education will lead to better practical training in the specialty; opportunities for better professional realisation and competitiveness on the labour market; the research data can be useful to the Ministry of Education to initiate the change in the educational qualification degree.