Self-awareness: Leadership practice for the dental hygiene student.

Purpose: An evolving healthcare system requires a well-prepared and diverse oral health workforce. Research indicates leadership development (LD) enhances professional attributes and fosters team collaboration. The Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) recognizes the importance of institutional leadership practices. However, little is known about LD in dental hygiene (DH) education. This pilot study aimed to evaluate self-reported leadership behavior in self-awareness and confidence following an LD seminar. Methods: This study used a convergent mixedmethods design. All senior DH students (n=24) from one Southern University participated in a half-day LD seminar. Learners were asked to complete pre- and post-programmatic surveys with Likert-scale items to measure self-awareness and leadership behaviors and open-ended questions exploring leadership perspectives. A DiSC personality assessment evaluated personal traits, followed by a hands-on interactive LD seminar. Descriptive statistics analyzed Likert responses, and an inductive coding process identified emergent themes. The Office of Human Research Ethics reviewed the study and determined it was exempt. Results: Of the 24 DH students, 91.7% (n=22) completed the survey. Open-ended responses supported perceptions regarding LD being essential to their curriculum and profession. Findings revealed that 100% (n=22) of participants felt the workshop helped them assess their professional values and increased self-awareness. Ninety-one percent (n=20) felt the workshop helped identify leadership capabilities. Results revealed learner confidence increased in defining leadership self-awareness (p=0.0074). Conclusion: The participants recognized the importance of LD and found it applicable to their professional development. This study provides insight into designing effective LD programs to foster leadership skills and collaboration among teams.