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Any advice for D1-4 respectively? I like learning from people's experiences
Advice for D1-4 students?
- Thread starter happy_6523
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1. Know thyself. Rule number one. That environment is one where people compare themselves to others and one where others will backstab to vie for top specialties and faculty/peer approval. It’s also a place where everyone wants to be liked, so you find a lot of weird energy in that aspect.
2. If you want to specialize, keep it to yourself. Many people will see you as their competition, so it’s important to remain low key with your endeavors. You want to make the connections first and be likable/coachable. Nobody cares about how smart you are. Trust me. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
3. Take care of you first. Many people in professional school are self preserving and will do you dirty if it means they come out ahead of the pack. So, be discerning of “friends” who always need you, who always compare themselves to you but never make themselves available to help you when you’re down.
4. Keep it professional no matter what. Dental school will start to feel like high school and you will get to know your peers very intimately quite fast. People never forget first and last impressions, and this will carry into one’s reputation outside school. People will remember unethical behavior before they remember anything good, so keep social media and interactions with peers clean.
5. Keep it light with everyone. Faculty, peers, patients and the like. Be a person who gets along with others, isn’t needy or heavy with conflict, and you’ll be fine. You don’t have to be super bubbly, super extroverted, or the life of the party. People can spot genuine people miles away, so that’s all you need to take you far. Again, you have to be likable in this world.
6. Health is wealth. Dental school wore me out. I gained a lot of weight and it took me a while to lose it afterwards. Have fun often. Call home. Talk to your friends outside school. Eat healthy as often. Keep your bills low. Do what you need to do to keep stress low.
7. Do not be afraid to fail. Failure is part of learning—in and out of school. The sooner you understand this, the easier life becomes. This mindset allows you to work at your own pace, not others’. This cuts down on you comparing yourself to others, which is better for your overall mental health.
8. Remember why you started. It’s four years of your life, but again, it’s JUST four years of your life. Life will go on without you. People will have children, people will die, relationships may change. Presidents will change office. It’s life. When you finish, you’ll cherish every day like it’s your last.
Hope all this helps! And good luck!
Sincerely,
A Recent graduate
2. If you want to specialize, keep it to yourself. Many people will see you as their competition, so it’s important to remain low key with your endeavors. You want to make the connections first and be likable/coachable. Nobody cares about how smart you are. Trust me. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
3. Take care of you first. Many people in professional school are self preserving and will do you dirty if it means they come out ahead of the pack. So, be discerning of “friends” who always need you, who always compare themselves to you but never make themselves available to help you when you’re down.
4. Keep it professional no matter what. Dental school will start to feel like high school and you will get to know your peers very intimately quite fast. People never forget first and last impressions, and this will carry into one’s reputation outside school. People will remember unethical behavior before they remember anything good, so keep social media and interactions with peers clean.
5. Keep it light with everyone. Faculty, peers, patients and the like. Be a person who gets along with others, isn’t needy or heavy with conflict, and you’ll be fine. You don’t have to be super bubbly, super extroverted, or the life of the party. People can spot genuine people miles away, so that’s all you need to take you far. Again, you have to be likable in this world.
6. Health is wealth. Dental school wore me out. I gained a lot of weight and it took me a while to lose it afterwards. Have fun often. Call home. Talk to your friends outside school. Eat healthy as often. Keep your bills low. Do what you need to do to keep stress low.
7. Do not be afraid to fail. Failure is part of learning—in and out of school. The sooner you understand this, the easier life becomes. This mindset allows you to work at your own pace, not others’. This cuts down on you comparing yourself to others, which is better for your overall mental health.
8. Remember why you started. It’s four years of your life, but again, it’s JUST four years of your life. Life will go on without you. People will have children, people will die, relationships may change. Presidents will change office. It’s life. When you finish, you’ll cherish every day like it’s your last.
Hope all this helps! And good luck!
Sincerely,
A Recent graduate
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Don't get into trouble. Nothing is worth the risk of dismissal from a school or a permanent blotch on the transcript. You would think that would be obvious, but every year people are told to leave.
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One of the best posts I've seen on SDN. Thank you.1. Know thyself. Rule number one. That environment is one where people compare themselves to others and one where others will backstab to vie for top specialties and faculty/peer approval. It’s also a place where everyone wants to be liked, so you find a lot of weird energy in that aspect.
2. If you want to specialize, keep it to yourself. Many people will see you as their competition, so it’s important to remain low key with your endeavors. You want to make the connections first and be likable/coachable. Nobody cares about how smart you are. Trust me. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
3. Take care of you first. Many people in professional school are self preserving and will do you dirty if it means they come out ahead of the pack. So, be discerning of “friends” who always need you, who always compare themselves to you but never make themselves available to help you when you’re down.
4. Keep it professional no matter what. Dental school will start to feel like high school and you will get to know your peers very intimately quite fast. People never forget first and last impressions, and this will carry into one’s reputation outside school. People will remember unethical behavior before they remember anything good, so keep social media and interactions with peers clean.
5. Keep it light with everyone. Faculty, peers, patients and the like. Be a person who gets along with others, isn’t needy or heavy with conflict, and you’ll be fine. You don’t have to be super bubbly, super extroverted, or the life of the party. People can spot genuine people miles away, so that’s all you need to take you far. Again, you have to be likable in this world.
6. Health is wealth. Dental school wore me out. I gained a lot of weight and it took me a while to lose it afterwards. Have fun often. Call home. Talk to your friends outside school. Eat healthy as often. Keep your bills low. Do what you need to do to keep stress low.
7. Do not be afraid to fail. Failure is part of learning—in and out of school. The sooner you understand this, the easier life becomes. This mindset allows you to work at your own pace, not others’. This cuts down on you comparing yourself to others, which is better for your overall mental health.
8. Remember why you started. It’s four years of your life, but again, it’s JUST four years of your life. Life will go on without you. People will have children, people will die, relationships may change. Presidents will change office. It’s life. When you finish, you’ll cherish every day like it’s your last.
Hope all this helps! And good luck!
Sincerely,
A Recent graduate
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1. Know thyself. Rule number one. That environment is one where people compare themselves to others and one where others will backstab to vie for top specialties and faculty/peer approval. It’s also a place where everyone wants to be liked, so you find a lot of weird energy in that aspect.
2. If you want to specialize, keep it to yourself. Many people will see you as their competition, so it’s important to remain low key with your endeavors. You want to make the connections first and be likable/coachable. Nobody cares about how smart you are. Trust me. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
3. Take care of you first. Many people in professional school are self preserving and will do you dirty if it means they come out ahead of the pack. So, be discerning of “friends” who always need you, who always compare themselves to you but never make themselves available to help you when you’re down.
4. Keep it professional no matter what. Dental school will start to feel like high school and you will get to know your peers very intimately quite fast. People never forget first and last impressions, and this will carry into one’s reputation outside school. People will remember unethical behavior before they remember anything good, so keep social media and interactions with peers clean.
5. Keep it light with everyone. Faculty, peers, patients and the like. Be a person who gets along with others, isn’t needy or heavy with conflict, and you’ll be fine. You don’t have to be super bubbly, super extroverted, or the life of the party. People can spot genuine people miles away, so that’s all you need to take you far. Again, you have to be likable in this world.
6. Health is wealth. Dental school wore me out. I gained a lot of weight and it took me a while to lose it afterwards. Have fun often. Call home. Talk to your friends outside school. Eat healthy as often. Keep your bills low. Do what you need to do to keep stress low.
7. Do not be afraid to fail. Failure is part of learning—in and out of school. The sooner you understand this, the easier life becomes. This mindset allows you to work at your own pace, not others’. This cuts down on you comparing yourself to others, which is better for your overall mental health.
8. Remember why you started. It’s four years of your life, but again, it’s JUST four years of your life. Life will go on without you. People will have children, people will die, relationships may change. Presidents will change office. It’s life. When you finish, you’ll cherish every day like it’s your last.
Hope all this helps! And good luck!
Sincerely,
A Recent graduate
Thank you for this. I've actually began de-conditioning myself where I need to compare myself to others. It has driven me insane and so far it has made me feel more happy and just excited for the future. Part of that came from cutting off alot of people I once considered close friends but were just stressful to be around. Hopefully with my new outlook I can think and see things clearly. I also agree health is wealth.
What’re the common reasons?
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All depends on your goals. If you want to be a GP, stay under the radar. If you want to be a specialist, you need research, brown nosing, good grades and scores on standardized tests.
From my perspective as a GP, here's what you need to know:
1. Grades don't matter. Just pass and don't fail. A DDS/DMD with a C-/D+ average is still a DDS/DMD.
2. Don't stand out in your class. Most professors should not even know you exist. This can be accomplished by always sitting in the back when you have to go to classes and not showing up for class until test time.
3. Don't rock the boat. You're not there to make social changes or rally for some cause. Get your DDS/DMD and gtfo. Being a target in dental school is BAD idea, due to the asymmetrical power relationship between admins and students.
4. Most everything you learn from dental school is useless. Learn to pass your exams, hopefully what they teach you lets you pass the boards, and actively think about how what you're learning is or isn't relevant to real practice.
5. Most great instructors/professors are part-timers with real world experience. Learn from them. Many times, these part timers are there, either because they are passionate or they want to be known as a lecturer of _______ university. The older and more successful part timers are the ones that want to be there, actually care, and made their money by being a good dentist. Younger ones that are there usually want to put something on their resume.
6. Always keep an open mind on how you can improve each process/procedure you're learning. The dental school way is usually the most inefficient way.
7. Don't be afraid of anything. Most of your screwups can be fixed. The mouth is a very forgiving environment. Unless you pull out the wrong tooth or pull one out on someone that had head and neck radiation/IV bisphosphonates, then good luck with that....
8. Always believe that you've done the procedure 1000's of times to exude confidence that your patients will pick up on.
9. Learn to talk to patients. Talking to patients is more important than clinical excellence. You're not working on typodonts, but patients with cash in exchange for your services.
10. Finish your requirements early so you can focus on other things while you're waiting for the countdown to graduation. If you have to pay for a procedure, just do it.
11. Most important things about how patients perceive you is: Don't hurt them, make sure your work doesn't fall apart, make it look nice, and be friendly/confident.
12. Most of preclinic is useless too. Just learn to pass so you can work on real patients. You'll probably never cast your own gold post or restoration in your dental life. Now, this may have changed, depending on board formats.
13. I probably say this a lot, but : STAY UNDER THE RADAR
Edit: 14. The administration is not your friend.
Good luck!
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... but don't be that guy (or girl) that holds up everyone asking stupid questions. There's always that one person. Ask on your own time.
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Cheating. Students are always looking for ways to keep up their ranks and get ahead in clinic.
What do you mean by "permanent blotch on transcript" due to cheating? Are disciplinary actions shown on transcripts?
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Yes, or included on the committee letter
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Do transcripts matter if the student isn't going to specialize?
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There are many times in life I’ve been asked “have you ever been disciplined by a school or university” yada yada on whatever application or form. For someone going straight to work, maybe it never comes up. But not many people know that’s their path from the start.
It would essentially bar you from residency, scholarships, and maybe even a license.
It’s usually the types who are gunning for residencies that take the risk to cheat and end up shooting them self in the foot.
