Last Saturday I received my white dental lab coat, a sign of the health profession, and was "sworn in" to being the best dentist I can be. This ceremony was pretty cool, with dean's and student's giving speeches. It was probably one of the most touching ceremonies I've been to and I know will be unforgettable. We do the white coat ceremony as soon as you start school (instead of before the third year), because they believe that as soon as you start school you are in the dental profession. I think that is a neat idea since we really are working our way towards being a dentist even when we are taking courses in the classroom.
After the white coat ceremony, we started classes on Monday. Monday, we had two different classes. Oral Medicine is a class we take throughout the next six months and is mostly focused on completing a case study. We also had Dental Sciences, which is also a class we take throughout the next six months. We were able to go to the cadaver lab and have a review over anatomy terms.
These classes are set up differently than most of my classes, because usually we will take one class at a time for four to ten days, take an exam, and move on to the next course. That being said, I took Histology & Embryology Tuesday through Friday. We had three-four hours of lecture a day, covering the equivalents of a whole semester course in just four days. We had lab each afternoon, where we used a program on our iPads to look at tissues and all the different cells, structures, and aspects on microscope slides. It's a pretty cool program, and a lot easier to use than a microscope. Along with this course, we had a "quiz" on Thursday, that I would compare to a midterm. It was very detailed and specific over information we had learned the two days prior. To finish up the course we have a lab practical on Monday, over all the tissues we looked at in lab, and a final on Tuesday. Then, on Wednesday we move onto our next course. As you can see, there isn't really enough time to really learn everything as well as you want, and certainly not enough time to procrastinate.
I have been struggling to get enough studying in. It's hard, because a way that works for me is to make a study guide. But, by the time I have made a study guide, I don't have time to study it. Therefore, I have to find a new technique to be able to study the material, learn it, understand it, and remember it in less than a week. Each day we are loaded with more information, so there isn't time to wait for the next day, because by then you are just swamped with information. I think the most important thing is managing my time, and making sure I'm staying caught up. There is no time to get ahead with this much information flying at you everyday.
Although all I do is study now, I really am enjoying it. I am SO glad I chose to come here. Everyone is so supportive, and the faculty and staff go out of their way to take care of us. We got a new backpack, water bottle, and a gift card to the best restaurant around here among other things. Knowing that at other schools students are competing, and classes are too big for the professors to know the students, makes me so happy to be a student here. The main focus is to become a family, and help each other succeed. We already competed to get to dental school, now we are here and we don't need to anymore.
There are a couple other things that are unique about my school. Most schools take two full years to complete their basic sciences and take Part I of the boards. But here, we take all the sciences in six months (hence the jam-packed schedule) and we will take our boards next summer. This leaves more time for practice of the dental procedures, and experience. Also, we have a dress code of scrubs or business. The medical school doesn't have a dress code and it's kind of funny to see them or walk around them, because it's so easy to tell us apart that way. We have to go to class and have to maintain professionalism. It is a class each semester, and the deductions carry on to the next semester. So, it is most beneficial to just follow the rules. I feel so at home here and have already made really good friends. I'm so excited to get to go through dental school with them and learn and support each other.
