HELP: Am I bad at everything?

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ilyon2012

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Hey everyone!
I know this might sound dramatic, but I have been feeling very discouraged lately. I just feel like I take forever to learn anything and just wonder when I will start getting good at something.

I finished restorative (operative) dentistry at my school and it was a struggle. I struggled with handskills with drilling, then amalgam and then composite. And I know D2 year is going to be quite the challenge with fixed prosthodontics and other lab courses.

I would appreciate any advice anyone could possibly give me and if anyone would like to share their stories I would love to hear them.

I just know that being in the clinic is going to be here before I know it and I know that I will be better by then, but the thought of going into clinic at the level I am now it terrifying and I would like to know how exactly I can work at improving.

Thank you in advance!

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Practice, practice, practice... Some need more than others - and that's okay. :) In no time, you'll be seeing patient after patient after patient doing procedures just like that. You'll be fine, just practice and never give up! :)

-Fyz
 
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I was really bad at waxing. 76 first practical, 70 on second practical, failed the last practical(to be fair, I couldn't have been any more emotionally distant that day, dog died). C for the course

Then direct(composite) came. Nothing higher than 80, always in the 70s. C for the course

Then fixed came, nothing but +90s(except one failure on a 4% practical). Ended course with 89 avg

Then direct(amalgam) came. 88/85/90 on practicals. Most of my Excellent categories were my preps.


For fixed and direct(amalgam), I hardly practice for practicals anymore after the first month or two. People told me that fixed wouldn't help with hand skills with other classes, but it obviously it helped me. Taught me to be steady with my hands, taught me what to look for and what looked ideal. I think about 30 or so people failed the first practical for fixed, and I had a 90. 100 on second.


So, please don't beat your self up too much. I did and it wasn't fun. I kept comparing my self to my peers who were faster and getting better grades. Keep practicing, keep getting feedback. Its one thing to practice a lot, its another to practice and get actual feedback. Don't over do it. I practiced so much for direct composite, it wasn't even funny. I'm a lot more laid back about practice now and I honestly believed it helped me. I pretty much only practice now to see if things go wrong and how to fix them. I also started using only my high speed now and not my slow speed. Thats how much more steady I am now.
 
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