dental school

Chronicles of a Med Student: All Aboard the Financial Struggle Bus

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Chronicles of a Med Student

I remember the sheer joy of ripping open the letter that granted me a medical school spot. Everything was roses and rainbows, and I was thrilled that my dreams were coming true. This cute little fantasy carried on until I received the tuition numbers a few weeks later . . . wow. I had no money, and I was being expected to pay how much? Regardless of what you hear from other people about how doctors make enough money to quickly pay back their debt, those five digits after the dollar sign per year are still scary.

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How To Overcome Adversity in Professional School

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overcome adversity in professional school

After coming home from a long day at the library studying for my cardiology exam, I get a phone call from my sister. “Hey,” she said. “Grandmother is in the hospital. Can you come home this weekend?” Great, I thought. Not this again.
I was barely beginning to cope with the loss of my dad over eight years ago, and barely staying afloat in medical school because of it. I had failed my first medical course, anatomy, during my first year and just spent a tough summer trying to remediate it, as my other friends went off traveling or spending time at home with their families. Now, my grandmother was a piece of my childhood that I was about to lose and I had no idea how to prepare for it.

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Study Smarter, Not Harder

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Occasionally when I am browsing the online forums on SDN, I come across an unfortunate statement like this: “I studied so hard for my chemistry final and did horrible.” I’ve come across this problem for classes other than chemistry as well. A lot of people say they studied hard, but did they really? Until I really understood the other principles of studying, I didn’t realize that there is a lot more than just the act itself.
Some of the variables I’ve been able to come up with that impact studying are sometimes things we don’t analyze. A couple examples are sleep patterns, intrinsic motivation, breaks, contacting your professor, repetitive intervals, studying like it’s your job, remembering the ultimate goal and of course having fun when your not studying. I personally have to constantly remind myself to remain vigilant of everything I do and how it will impact my studying. Just remember that every test counts, so make the best possible outcome for yourself by following some of these tips.

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The Ultimate Student Loan Repayment Guide for Doctors

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$176,000.
It’s a number newly-minted physicians or those in the process of becoming a doctor should know.
No, it’s not the average salary of those in the medical field or the cost of an average physician’s home.
It’s also not something fun like the price you can pay for a new Audi R8 when you graduate from medical school (although that would be super nice.)

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Dental school the second time around: An IDP student perspective

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This article is reprinted with permission from the American Student Dental Association. It originally appeared in the Summer 2015 issue of Mouth.
Each year, dental schools across the United States graduate students who were already dentists. Coming from different backgrounds and nations, we are termed IDP, or International Dentist Program, graduates. ID Programs in the U.S. are one of the most incorporating and intensive dental programs around the globe. However, the realization of second graduation involves a different set of struggles that the traditional dental student might not be aware of.

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Refuse To Take No For An Answer: How I Got Into Dental School After 6 Tries

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reapply to dental school

By Travis Barr, DDS

This article is reprinted with permission from the American Student Dental Association. It originally appeared in December 2014 issue of ASDA News.
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For me, the road to dentistry has been more like a grueling endurance race. The ride consisted of three DAT tests, 19 drafts of personal essays and six application cycles in a row—not to mention three-and-a-half years of chair-side experience as a dental assistant, umpteen semesters of graduate courses and some intensive on-the-job training in the roles of husband and father.
I was not what you’d call an ideal candidate. I started college on a football scholarship as a defensive end in Peru, Nebraska, and I was more concerned with making weight, winning games and having a good time than I was with books and grades. Even after I transferred to the University of Northern Colorado, it wasn’t until my junior year that I started thinking seriously about my future and my academic performance. By the time I graduated the following year, I was proud of how far I’d come. I’d turned my performance around, raising my GPA from 2.0 to 3.2 and earning a biochemistry degree while holding down a full-time job and a tutoring position on campus. I had met the girl of my dreams, and I had set my sights on what seemed to be a perfect career for me: dentistry.

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5 Golden Nuggets of Advice From a 3rd Year Dental Student

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 This article is reprinted with permission from the American Student Dental Association. It originally appeared on ASDA’s blog, Mouthing Off.
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School is back in session! You know what that means? Another year of late night studying, junk food binges, red-eye lab sessions and caffeine runs to Starbucks. Each year of dental school presents its own challenges, and it never gets easier. But that doesn’t mean you should be discouraged or stressed over it. Just starting my D3 year, I do not consider myself to be a seasoned dental student. However, I do feel there are a few nuggets of wisdom I’ve acquired over the past two years of dental school that are worth sharing. They have proven to be of benefit not only to me, but also to a majority of my classmates. Here are Jay’s keys to success in dental school:

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3 Tools to Help You Prepare for Interviews

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Strong interview preparation allows you to give meaningful thought to what qualities you bring to the table and why you might be a good fit for a particular school.

Partner Blog Spotlight: 5 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Becoming a Dentist

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Mouthing Off is the official blog of the American Student Dental Association. ASDA members post three times each week on topics such as dental licensure, personal finance and student debt, dental school life and dentistry in pop culture. Mouthing Off is almost entirely student written with the occasional post by a dentist or financial expert. Whether you’re a predental trying to get into dental school or you’re a dental student looking for some career advice, Mouthing Off is a great resource to visit again and again. Here’s a taste of what you’ll find on Mouthing Off:

5 things I wish I had known before becoming a dentist

For fourth year dental students, graduation is just around the corner. In this post, the dentists who wrote “So You Want to be a Dentist?” offer some advice they wish they’d had before graduating dental school.

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De-Stress the Distress of Medical School: A prescription for stress reduction

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 “I was a little excited but mostly blorft. “Blorft” is an adjective I just made up that means ‘Completely overwhelmed but proceeding as if everything is fine and reacting to the stress with the torpor of a possum.’ I have been blorft every day for the past seven years.”
― Tina Fey, Bossypants
I believe I have spent much of medical school fairly blorft. Elevated levels of stress seem to be a universal medical student experience. Studies looking at medical students around the globe – from Pakistan and Malaysia to Greece and India – show we all struggle with elevated levels of stress1. Stress, as it is used today, was first defined in 1936 by endocrinologist Hans Selye as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change”2. That definition highlights the point that not all stress is bad – a certain level can actually be useful during medical school. Knowing the importance of Step I board scores was stressful, but undoubtedly drove me to study harder than I would have had I treated it as no big deal. However, sustained, elevated levels of stress can be detrimental to both mental and physical well-being. For example, stress levels have been found to be correlated with depression and anxiety amongst medical students3. The good news is that there are steps you can take to reduce and manage your stress.

Signs of stress

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20 Questions: Andrew Read-Fuller, DDS, MS, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

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Dr. Andrew Read-Fuller is a dentist and resident with the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Parkland Memorial Hospital/UT Southwestern Medical Center, with a focus on the broad scope of oral and maxillofacial surgery, including dentoalveolar, orthognathic, cleft and craniofacial, and cosmetic surgery, as well as facial trauma and head and neck cancer. Read-Fuller received his bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University (2005), and, most recently, he is a graduate of the UCLA School of Dentistry, where he received his doctor of dental surgery (DDS) magna cum laude (2011) and his master’s degree in oral biology (2011). He is currently active in the Resident Organization of the American Association of Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons.
Dr. Read-Fuller was active with the American Student Dental Association during his time at UCLA, serving as vice president, executive committee member and president of the UCLA chapter. He has earned numerous honors and awards, including the Dr. William S. Kramer Award of Excellence –Omicron Kappa Upsilon (2010), Pierre Fauchard Academy Scholarship (2010), California Dental Association Foundation Scholarship (2010), Webb Family Scholarship –Outstanding Leadership (2009 – 2011), UCLA Affiliates Academic & Leadership Scholarship (2008 – 2010), and ADA Foundation Academic Scholarship (2008).

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If I Had a Million Dollars (But I Don’t)

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Someday, after years of school (then more school) and residency training, we will start earning doctors’ salaries. In the meantime, finances can be tight, but there are ways to cut costs, optimize the money you do have, and maybe even bring in a little extra on the side.
There’s an old moniker you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge. It’s hard to make a budget if you don’t know what you’re spending currently. Take a few weeks and keep track, ideally a full month. Write down everything, regardless of how you pay for it – cash, check, credit card, bitcoin. . . Even if you have a 0% interest credit card and won’t be paying it off for a while, write it down. Then, consider your monthly income. If you’re ending the month in the black – congratulations! You’re on the right track. You may still want to decrease your expenses to reduce your overall loan burden. If you find your monthly cost of living exceeding your income, it is definitely worth your while to take a hard look at what you’re spending and how to cut back.

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My Most Influential Predental Experience

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This article is reprinted with permission from the American Student Dental Association. It originally appeared in June 2013 in mouthing off, The Blog of the ASDA.
As far as career choices go, dentistry has only recently come into my life. As a boy I wanted to be Batman, but over time I realized I wouldn’t have sufficient funds to run my evening escapades (not to mention, keep up the daytime billionaire guise). Then I settled upon engineering. Through engineering, I discovered my true passion for crafting and restoring balance in people’s lives. It was my desire to create that motivated me to make a life changing decision to pursue dentistry.

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20 Questions: Ruchi K. Sahota, DDS

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Currently in private practice in Fremont, California, with her dentist-mother, Ruchi Sahota got her start in dentistry via University of the Pacific, which she attended both pre-dental and, subsequently, at Arthur A. Dugoni University of the Pacific School of Dentistry, where she earned her doctor of dental surgery (DDS). After earning her degree, Dr. Sahota served a general practice residency at Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Hospital before partnering in her mother’s practice.

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20 Questions: Gurpreet S. Khurana, DMD, MBA, Author

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Dr. Gurpreet S. Khurana is a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and has been a forum moderator for the Student Doctor Network Dental Forums since 2002. He currently is in private practice in Washington, D.C.  Khurana is the author of Student Doctor Network Dental Admissions Guide, the first title available from SDN Academic Press.

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