Starting a Pre-Dental Club

[DMD-2-B]

Hi folks,

I'm thinking of starting a pre-dental club at my school.

But, being that we don't have one I don't know much about how they operate (i.e. functions, activities, objectives, etc). I definately see the need though, as my school seems to be swarming with pre-dents!

Have any of you ever started such a club at your school?

How do I get started???

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[kurt10]

Hi folks,

I'm thinking of starting a pre-dental club at my school.

But, being that we don't have one I don't know much about how they operate (i.e. functions, activities, objectives, etc). I definately see the need though, as my school seems to be swarming with pre-dents!

Have any of you ever started such a club at your school?

How do I get started???

I would advise to look at other pre dental websites and see what they do. Some of the best may be from Utah since the clubs are ginormous like BYU or UVSC

 

[Sprgrover]

I helped start one at my undergrad university. Of course you need to have a group of committed individuals willing to attend meetings and contribute to the organization. In order to be recognized by the student union (funding, etc.) we had to have a minimum number of students (I can't recall how many), hold a few meetings, and participate in several volunteer activities sponsored by the union (such as school wide clothing drives, soup kitchens, and so on). The benefits that developed were the ability to network with other pre-dental students, gain community service, share application and DAT tips, and an occasional guest speaker, such as a practicing dentist or current dental student, would drop by and give us advice and other tid-bits. That was the gist of what my pre-dental club was about and I had a good time while I was associated with it. Best of luck!

 

[Generallee]

Hi folks,

I'm thinking of starting a pre-dental club at my school.

But, being that we don't have one I don't know much about how they operate (i.e. functions, activities, objectives, etc). I definately see the need though, as my school seems to be swarming with pre-dents!

Have any of you ever started such a club at your school?

How do I get started???

Yes, I just started one with a friend at my school. It's pretty exciting. I actually never imagined that my school would have many pre-dents but they do! Unfortunately, ASDA no longer has chapters for pre-dental students so we couldn't get on the national radar. However, each individual member can join ASDA if they wanted to.

I think it is a great opportunity for you if you don't have one because the amount of networking with other pre-dents, Dentists, and dental students in your area is invaluable.

As far as starting one up, just try to find officers for the club and have meetings with them in the beginning to gather ideas for the club. We set out up front what we wanted to get out of this experience and then set out a schedule of dates for the semester.

When you start one, I think you'll be surprised how fast your club will start to grow. I only envisioned about 10 people to join our society, but we have about 20 and hopefully more.

I would recommend you network with your local dental school if you have one. Usually, you can contact the President of ASDA at that school or the President of Student Gov't and most would be more than willing to help you out.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a PM. Also, visit us on the web at:

www.csupds.com

Good luck!

 

[SuperC]

When I founded the chemistry – Biotechnology Club at the school at the school I attended, these were the steps required for me to form a club that is fully recognized by the school. This process, of course, will differ from school to school..

First, I had to find a faculty sponsor, secondly, a petition had to be signed by 50 or so students, any random students will do. Last, a constitution had to be drawn up and submitted, along with everything else, to the appropriate office. If you have to write a constitution, you usually can copy the SG’s or another club’s and make the changes that you feel necessary to accomplish your club’s goals.

The process was fairly painless. The others have discussed what to do after the club is formed, so I won’t belabor the point.

Good Luck,
-C

 

[DMD-2-B]

Thanks so much for your advice!

It's great to hear what others who've "been there" have to say, and now I have some direction.

So here's what I'm thinking so far...

I'll get in touch with the right department at my school tommorow, and find out exactly what I need to do in order to established a recognized group (i.e. petition, etc.).

Assuming I'm able to accomplish that, I suppose the next step would be finding officers and setting up regular meetings with them so we're able to manage the group efficiently.

Then we can start planning our first event - whether it be a guest speaker, volunteer event, pre-dent social, ect.

Does this sound about right?

 

[Generallee]

Thanks so much for your advice!

It's great to hear what others who've "been there" have to say, and now I have some direction.

So here's what I'm thinking so far...

I'll get in touch with the right department at my school tommorow, and find out exactly what I need to do in order to established a recognized group (i.e. petition, etc.).

Assuming I'm able to accomplish that, I suppose the next step would be finding officers and setting up regular meetings with them so we're able to manage the group efficiently.

Then we can start planning our first event - whether it be a guest speaker, volunteer event, pre-dent social, ect.

Does this sound about right?

Sounds good! Our first public meeting was an orientation so everyone could meet one another. We had food and explained the benefits of becoming a member...it was fun...if you want other ideas and such you can read our meeting minutes and such at our website www.csupds.com.

 

[Beestieboy]

While, the pre-dent club at my school has been around for a couple years, the presidency this year really wanted to do a whole lot more than just limping by. One of the big additions has been the club website. You can find the link to it in my signature. Many students have expressed how helpful that is.

Have a good talk with what entity is in charge of clubs at your school and begin comming up with ways to get your name out there. Plan some socials so the members can get to know each other and share their experiences and knowledge. Perhaps forming committtees so that every person has a job and something to do will help keep people active. The sky is the limit (or in some cases your budget is the limit) as to what you want to do.

 

[DMD-2-B]

I just wanted to let you guys know, I picked up the paper work for starting a club on Monday. My school's closed till tommorow, but once they open again, I hope to start posting for club members!

Wish me luck!