40 observation hour enough?

[natroncb]

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Title explains the question... but I have volunteered for about a year... just every other week for a couple hours at a time... I see some of you with 1000 hours +... so what is the comfort zone? I feel I was able to experience the dental profession in many aspects. Thoughts?

 

[charmstot]

Title explains the question... but I have volunteered for about a year... just every other week for a couple hours at a time... I see some of you with 1000 hours +... so what is the comfort zone? I feel I was able to experience the dental profession in many aspects. Thoughts?

On every interview that I have gone on, nobody asked me how many hours did I volunteer. However, they did ask me to talk about my experience. Just be prepared to take about what you did, don't focus too much on the number of hours.

 

[jaerob]

Title explains the question... but I have volunteered for about a year... just every other week for a couple hours at a time... I see some of you with 1000 hours +... so what is the comfort zone? I feel I was able to experience the dental profession in many aspects. Thoughts?

I think it's plenty. Like I've said before in previous posts, don't worry about those that have hundreds of hours...I don't think that's expected of you, and frankly, I think it's way overkill. You'll be fine 🙂 I have 40 hours myself if that makes you feel any better.

 

[Slash]

IMO, 20 shadowing hours should be enough. Dental schools don't want you to already be a dentist without even having attended their program. What they do want to see is well-rounded students with strong academics that have displayed an interest in dentistry as a career. Let's face it, some of the people you see with 1,000+ shadowing hours obviously work in dental offices. The majority of them were probably hired on as office assistants and occassionally stepped back and watched a procedure every now and then when they got a break from answering the phones or filing, and now they list every hour they ever spent in the dental office as "shadowing" hours. That's just BS and so unnecessary. Go shadow a dentist for 20 or so hours, ask questions, and enjoy the experience. No need to go overboard like many others do here. One thing though, keep up your grades. Grades will get you into dental school. 1000+ shadowing hours will not.

 

[DDS2BE]

Keep in mind, the purpose of shadowing/observation is to help yourself as a future dental student decide if dentistry will be the field you want to be in. For some, it takes 40 hours and for some way over 1000 😉 Dental schools don't expect you to know how to do flaps, blocks, onlays and ets... as long as you have basic idea of what it's like to be in a dental office working with patients 8 hours a day. Once you shadow, you'll know if that field is really for you or not.

You are a future investment for the school of your choice. They wouldn't wanna invest into someone that will decide to quit on the 3rd year and become a plumber 😀

Sorry, I got carried on 🙂… anyways; those with over 1000 hours don’t have absolutely any advantage over those with 40. As long as you show ADCOMs some excitement about your observation you will be all set.

 

[Divineimpetus]

I agree with the prior posts. Do as many hours of observations until you know that you love dentistry and you are willing to do this for most of your life.

 

[tam0026]

On every interview that I have gone on, nobody asked me how many hours did I volunteer. However, they did ask me to talk about my experience. Just be prepared to take about what you did, don't focus too much on the number of hours.

ditto--there's no "set" amount of hours really. Just enough so you can talk about your experience.

 

[IcemanDDS]

I'd say shadowing is more quality than quantity. If you shadow 400 hours but played solitare on the secretary's computer (I'm guilty sometimes) most of the time, that's not gonna benefit you in the long run (or interview). But if you shadowed just a few days for 8 hrs and attentively observed or even helped assist some, you'll be way ahead of the other guy. So learn as much as you can while you're there, and I suggest asking if you can assist on a few minor procedures. Hands-on is a huge bonus. I cant even remember how many hours I shadowed, somewhere around 120 or so. The main thing is the quality of time you spend, not number of hours.

 

[natroncb]

Great responses! I feel like my next step is actually assisting. Shadowing/ watching over the dentists shoulder is getting old. I want to actually get involved!

 

[natroncb]

Hey, do you all feel the same about shadowing? Dont you just want to get going with dental school?!!?

 

[IcemanDDS]

The best part is when you assist during an extraction a la infection! Nothing better than a volcano of blood and lymphocytes. Srry, got carried away... 😕

 

[asalazar]

Title explains the question... but I have volunteered for about a year... just every other week for a couple hours at a time... I see some of you with 1000 hours +... so what is the comfort zone? I feel I was able to experience the dental profession in many aspects. Thoughts?

Are you for sure that you want to dentistry with the amount of observation you have done? 😉 If not, do more. 😀 That should answer your question. 😀

 

[onetoothleft]

check the websites for minimums. I think i saw one school that wanted 50 . . . i could be wrong but check around to cover your bases.