Abstract

Introduction: By 2025, all Chilean dental specialties programs must be accredited, so that this allows graduates to register their degree and work professionally. In this respect, professors were evaluated based on their level of academic production. This was a significant effort to meet the current accreditation criteria. Objective: To identify the perception that professors of specialty programs at dental schools in Santiago de Chile possess about the current requirements of academic production. Methods: An exploratory and qualitative study was carried out by means of conducting an active interview with a flexible questionnaire on 18 professors of dental specialties from universities representative of the national reality. The data were processed using a qualitative software, and descriptive content analysis was carried out. Results: The main aspects of the professors' perception about the assessment of the different production indicators and the factors that modified their compliance were identified. The most relevant indicators for professors were those related to clinical and teaching experience, with an emphasis on the clinical and practical nature of their programs. The main obstacle to the fulfillment of academic production was the lack of protected time for scientific research. Conclusions: The professors perceived difficulties in meeting current academic production requirements, mainly due to the absence of protected time for scientific research. Although support mechanisms existed at the institutional level, more tools are still needed to protect academic working hours and enhance research performance. © 2020, Editorial Ciencias Medicas. All rights reserved.