Abstract:
Objective: To measure and evaluate the different facets of non-verbal
communication among educators in undergraduate medical and dental
classrooms.
Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted from April 2023 to
February 2023 at Shifa College of Dentistry and Shifa College of Medicine,
Islamabad-Pakistan. A stratified random sample of 242 students from Bachelor of
Dental Surgery (BDS) and Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)
programs was targeted, with 229 respondents (response rate 94.6%). Data were
collected using a structured, pre-validated questionnaire comprising five
subscales-proxemics, kinesics, oculesics, chronemics, and vocalics-rated on a 5-
point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS (v26.0).
Results: Of 229 students, 150 (34.5%) were MBBS and 79 (35.5%) were BDS
students; 149 (65%) were male and 80 (35%) were female students. Chronemics
received the highest rating (median=4.67), followed by vocalics (median=4.33),
while proxemics and oculesics were rated lower (median=4.00). Younger
students, female students and MBBS participants showed a greater preference
for kinesics. Gender comparisons indicated that female students rated both
kinesics and oculesics higher than their male counterparts, albeit with small effect
sizes, and significant variation in kinesics was noted among different academic
years (p=0.049).
Conclusion: This study demonstrated the significant impact of non-verbal
communication in medical and dental education classrooms. Chronemics,
vocalics and kinesics emerged as the preferred facet. Younger students, female
students and MBBS students showed a greater preference for kinesics. These
findings emphasize the need for educators to tailor their non-verbal
communication to meet the diverse needs of students in dynamic learning
environments.
