8 To 5 Daily

[Yah-E]

Alright, one of our follow SDN colleaque brought up an interesting point about how they do not go to school from 8 to 5 everyday. My question is:

Is my school, Nova Dental, the only school that goes from 8 to 5 PM non-stop aside from an hour for lunch PLUS more? As matter of fact, I think we're the only school that goes to 6 PM! Am I right?

Starting next academic year, our clinics will operate until 6 PM M-F! The clinic is getting prolonged to accommadate three 3-hour sessions instead of current two 4-hour sessions. More service due to demand and more exposure for us, students.

Last week, we had a 4-exam week. What had made it worse, was that out of 5 school days, we were sitting in a lecture past 6 PM for two of those days. One night, I didn't get out of school until 7:30 PM at night! We were at school for almost 12 HOURS!!! You see, since our 8-5 day is so jam-packed with scheduled curriculum, I had to schedule ALL review sessions after school hours. WOW, try to sit through a review session after 5 PM and after a two-hour exam until 7:30 PM at night!

As I looked around the lecture hall, a lot of us were beat and passed out during the review! My point is, I can't see how dental schools don't go from 8-5?

4 hour breaks at NYU? Wow, I'm jealous. I have to admit, last semester at Nova was pretty cool, yes, we did get breaks within our 8-5 schedule in addition to lunch. This semester, forget it! It is 8-5 everyday PLUS more!

Another question, is my school, Nova, the only school that has 31 freaking credit hours (15 classes) this semester? When we first saw that during registration, we were like....."That's how much we take in a year in undergrad!!"

By all means, I'm not complaining, but I just wanted to know what you guys are going through? Similar, easier, or harder? Like I said, we had a 4-exam week last week and we have another 4-exam week next week, all together 21 more big exams left (not counting quizes, papers, projects, and/or presentations) until the end of our first year.

To add to "fun", a group of us are taking the NBDE Part I in July 14, 2003!!!

I'll tell you what, I can't wait until Tuesday, July 15, 2003 when I finish the Part I board, I'll be drunk 24/7 and 7 days/week for a month straight!

Please share your story, heck, try to top it if you can!

C'mon, UConn dental, UPenn dental, Tufts, anyone!!!?

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[Pi__Guy1]

What's up Andy:

Good to hear from you. Yea, I feel for you...but hey, even though you guys are tired at the end of the day, you get to re-energize in the sun on the weekends.

Just to clarify though, we dont get 4 hours breaks everyday. My schedule for the first half of this semester is:

Only 2 days 8-5: Tuesday and Fridays
Monday: 8-10
Wednesday: 8-3
and Thursday: 8-10, 2-5

The second half of my semester (when physio starts) the schedule gets lighter! Yes, we're taking 28 credit hours, but it doesn't feel like that at all.

By the way, my roomate and I were wondering about Nova. Do students skip a lot of classes there or is attendance monitored and enforced? ie: how strict is the attendance policy there?

BTW, Bears finally (!) waived Jim Miller. Thank God. Maybe (cross your fingers) they'll pick up Kordell off free agency.

....back to anatomy

 

[DesiDentist]

From what I know, NOVA has an enforced dress code and attendance is mandatory. They make you sign a contract prior to your interview that you understand the agreement.

Yeah, Andy I can't believe it. When i saw 31 credits this semester I almost fell over. But remember you are the "threshold" class, once you are above the threshold NOVA will spike just like an action potential and the real fun will begin and NOVA will be HOT, other than the weather.

But all I know is that at PENN the first year 80% of the classes don't start until 10 am, there are some days when classes start at 8 or 9 am.

DesiDentist

 

[tinker bell]

UCSF has an 8-5 schedule as well. And I just counted in the catalog, second semester for D1 has 18 units. Thirty plus sounds like way so weird. Ohmygosh, how can your brain function after that?
I would pass out.
Good luck Nova D

 

[Frank Cavitation]

hi, overworked colleagues

it really has a lot to do with how the school
designs its curriculum. For example, my school
has done away with many basic sciences:
general histo (only oral histo and eyes/ear left)
gen physiology (undergrad requirement, just oral left)
gen biochem (only topics relevant to teeth)

the number of practical assignments can also
play a role in the kind of free time students
can have... i.e. having to make 2 custom trays
instead of 5, etc.

the winter term of my first year was really lax
because of the trimming down of the curriculum,
and we had no classes in the afternoon on wed
and fri. It became really tough in 2nd year, when
there were lots of lectures and with voluntary
drilling practice many times I couldn't get home
before 9pm.

I'm not sure how powerful the voice of the student
body is at your schools, but I'm sure with persistent
whining admin can do something about making sure
people don't burn out.

 

[DrJeff]

Just remember, while the hours may totally stink for you guys now, in a few years when your working a full time schedule of about 30 hours a week it will be worth it all. Plus, when you comapre the "average" dental work week with the "average" M.D.'s work week, then you really won't be complaining about all the hours now!

 

[DesiDentist]

Dr. Jeff:

I soooOoo hope you are right.

DesiDentist

 

[DrJeff]

Point of fact: In my practice, my partner and I have as patients about 15 area M.D.'s. In that group are general surgeons, pediatricians, internists and primary care specialists. As we talk to them when they come in for recall exams, they're reporting that the hours they're working per week are going UP each year, while their incomes, even with the increased hours per week are staying level AT BEST My partner and I try not to smile too much, since we're now debating about cutting our regular work week from 29 hours per week to 24 hours per week All that and last year our office gross was up just over 20% and our individual nets were up almost 25%

There is a reason that you see alot of M.D.'s selling multiple type of dietary supplements/offering skin care services, expand on the classical view of what is done in their type of practice to include things not normally in the practice. It's because those "new" services are non insurance based, and their patients pay in full for them out of pocket, verses the decreasing payments that they are receiving from insurance companies. For example, one of the patients in my office, probably the best general surgeon in my area (he's the one that ALL the other docs in the area goto when they need work on themselves), recently has started doing laser hair removal in his office. He's told us that he's making more from an afternoon of laser hair removal than he makes during most weeks of surgery As he puts it, "thank god for bikini line areas!"

As a whole, I think the thing that we in the dental profession need to be most worried about with respect to our future livelyhoods isn't a caries vaccine, but the "HMO'ing" of the dental industry. When you look at what has happened to the medical industry over the last 10 to 15 years, that is the LAST thing that we wnat to happen to dentistry!

 

[orgirl]

I know that UNC has thier weekly schedules posted on the web for anyone to view, and they have 8-5 M-F, with a one hour lunch. It looks like that is the way it is for the year one and year two...after that I was afraid to go any further! The credit hours are 23-25+. All I could think was "and when am I studing?" or sleeping?

Good Luck to you!
Ps...I did not see this anywhere with the dents, but the meds had "reading days" Check out UNC.edu and see if it is similar to your schedule.