SCIENCE The Practice of Dentistry and Wholeness An Alumni Survey Johnny Ramírez, William Hooker, J. S. Kim Loma Linda University School of Dentistry is in the process of evaluating its mission and the curricular components designed to fulfill that mission. Since the establishment of the school in 1951, the aim has been to integrate religion, spirituality and dentistry by the personal example of the teachers in classroom and clinic. The purpose of this survey was to learn how wholeness is practiced and what it means to our alumni. Sample Description The survey was mailed in January 1998 to all 2,670 alumni of the School of Dentistry. There were 489 respondents, 18.3% of the total alumni population. This sample is best described as self-selected and pseudo-random, where all subjects had equal access and equal options for responding. Some respondents preferred not to answer certain questions in the questionnaire. The nearly 500 responses gives a very high statistical power of analysis. The sample represents all graduating classes of the school. There is a statistically significant correlation between gender and decade (p<0.001). A significantly larger number of female respondents are from the more recent decades. Respondents by Decade   1957-67 1968-77 1978-87 1988-97 Total Male 72 106 110 66 354* Female 2 3 12 43 60 Missing         73 * There were two male respondents who did not indicate the year of graduation. Alumni Finances "Paying off my student loans [was the] greatest satisfaction," said a graduate. Concern with managed care, student loans, retirement planning, and other financial issues seems to occupy a good segment of the energies of our alumni. Those who responded seem to be coping well. The alumni, as demonstrated in this study, are a financially secure group of people. The great majority own their practices and do not owe debts for educational expenses, office equipment, or capital improvement. As expected, the older graduates are more likely to have attained financial and retirement security (both p<0.001). Financial Commitments/Security Financial Questions Yes No Owe Student Loans 27.2% 72.5% Owe Office Equipment 31.1% 68.9% Owe Capital Improvement Loans 24.4% 75.6% Attained Financial Security 39.3% 60.7% Attained Retirement Security 21.9% 78.1% Life Satisfaction "Listening to an 85 year-old grandmother say, 'You restored my face' (based on her picture and much creative restoration) was a source of satisfaction" to one alumnus. Taking care of patients' pain, doing esthetic procedures, seeing patients as people and not as a set of teeth, receiving a thank you note after a difficult task: many such testimonials were shared. These are some of the things that bring happiness and satisfaction to our alumni. A few questions dealt with life satisfaction and related issues. Happiness and life satisfaction are aims we all share. A part of this satisfaction comes from how we view the job we do. Are our graduates happy with their work? More recent graduates agree with the statement, "I enjoy going to work every day," and this was statistically significant when compared to earlier graduates (p<0.005). This means that younger, more recent graduates are more satisfied with their work than earlier, more distant graduates. The vast majority of our graduates (81%) expressed that they either agree or strongly agree with the statement "I enjoy going to work every day." No statistically significant differences in the level of agreement were found when looking at gender. Male and female graduates all seem to express the same level of agreement. We have a happy, emotionally comfortable alumni body. Although all alumni surveyed seem to have a statistically high level of happiness in life, recent graduates exceed earlier ones in reporting enjoyment in their dental practice. As presented in the next section, the earlier graduates were more satisfied with their religious beliefs and involvement than more recent graduates. Satisfaction and Participation with Religious Issues "Religion is a structure-–God wants us to be free to choose. There are no black and white answers to this world today." These were the words of an alumna expressing her view of what religion at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry meant to her. Several alumni expressed their appreciation for having time to reflect as part of their dental school education, "having a chance to discuss difficult issues." Others said that religion at Loma Linda gave them a chance to "relax as part of a demanding curriculum." Some alumni particularly appreciated the chance to learn more about various doctrines and biblical themes. There also was a segment that believed religion classes were "a waste of time," as bluntly written by one alumnus. Satisfaction, Participation and Happiness with Religious Issues   Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree 5. Satisfied with current values and beliefs 58% 35% 4% 3% 1% 6. Search for opportunity to share values and beliefs 25% 63% 12% 8% 2% 7. Dental work is indicative of spirituality 39% 41% 11% 6% 4% 12. Satisfaction from participating in church 42% 35% 11% 3% 7% 13. As a dentist want to be instrument of God 60% 29% 5% 3% 3% Although there was a variety of views regarding religion classes and the role of religion at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, the vast majority of alumni expressed commitment to religion and spiritual issues far greater than society at large. Satisfaction with life in general seems to be related to their beliefs about personal religious life. The expressed agreement with the statement, "I derive satisfaction from participating in my church or faith community," was statistically significantly greater with older graduates than with more recent ones (p<0.004). All other religious variables were not found to be significantly different across gender and year of graduation. This study sample seems to be made up of very committed individuals who actively participate as members of various religious communities. Our sample shows 76% deriving personal satisfaction from their church involvement. This religious commitment is manifested in several ways. According to question six, 79% of the respondents search for "respectful opportunities to share" their values and beliefs. To question number seven, "How I do my dental work (i.e. crown margins) is indicative of my spirituality," 80% expressed agreement. Of the study respondents, 90% see themselves being an "instrument in the hands of God." Personal Satisfaction   Enjoy going to work Emotional comfort /happiness 5=Strongly Agree 30% 33% 4=Agree 51% 49% 3=I'm Not Sure 10% 11% 2=Disagree 8% 6% 1=Strongly Disagree 1% 2% TOTALS 100% 100% Community Involvement To the question of what brought them the most satisfaction, many answered, doing volunteer work. Our graduates are involved with their communities and derive satisfaction from that. Many times this involvement began with participation in mission trips to Mexico and other places while still students at the School of Dentistry. Our alumni seem to be significantly less involved with community organizations than with religious organizations. While 77% stated that they derive satisfaction from church or religious involvement, only 49% stated that they are active members of local civic organizations. The degree of involvement with local civic groups is associated with age. Older graduates are significantly more active in local civic or volunteer organizations (p<0.001). More than half of the respondents (67%) expressed agreement that mission trips had had a positive influence on them. "Christian teachers and the Students in Mission Service (SIMS) trips," were the two most valued elements about Loma Linda University School of Dentistry. These SIMS missionary trips greatly impacted their spirituality. Conclusions One clear conclusion from this survey seems to be the very high degree of religious/spiritual commitment of our graduates. This commitment did not come from a biased sample from a religious set of respondents. There is no total agreement on the role of religion at the School of Dentistry and how these religious and spiritual values are to be integrated. The non-statistical, open-ended section of the study clearly opens the door to a variety of interpretations about how to best answer this question. It is refreshing that a strong segment of our alumni took time to answer this questionnaire and express their ideas. We are listening and promise to prayerfully respond. Through this process we aim to contribute to the advancement of wholeness-related care at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry. For the full text of this report, please contact Dr. William Hooker, associate dean for student affairs, LLU School of Dentistry, Loma Linda, CA 92350. Email: <bHooker@sd.llu.edu> Johnny Ramirez, EdD, is professor of theology, psychology, and culture in the Faculty of Religion, Loma Linda University. William Hooker, PhD, MFCC, is associate dean for student affairs and associate professor in the School of Dentistry, Loma Linda University. J.S. "Jay" Kim, PhD, is associate professor of biostatistics in the Schools of Dentistry and Public Health, Loma Linda University. University | Medical_Center | LLU&MC_home | Search | Employment | News_&_events | Academics | Our_mission | Admissions | Registration | Research | Alumni | Student_resources All contents copyright © 2001 Loma Linda University. All rights reserved. Revised March 1, 2001 Send comments and questions to webmaster@univ.llu.edu  URL: http://www.llu.edu

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