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How much time is ample for shadowing dentists on a weekly basis and total time? Also since I'm going to be a nondegree student what should I do to secure research experience?
A couple of questions on shadowing and research
- Thread starter blankguy
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once a week is good enough.
you can only learn so much from shadowing.
shadow once a week, and within a short amount
of time, you will have seen all the differen procedures
there is to know
you can only learn so much from shadowing.
shadow once a week, and within a short amount
of time, you will have seen all the differen procedures
there is to know
I spent about 50 hours in my dentist's office. Some of that time was during my own check-ups. It gets to the point where you see the same thing over and over. It's great to see how everything works, X-rays are developed and how flakey some people can be about keeping their appointments. I started asking the receptionist about software, insurance & billing. After that, I didn't have too many questions left and called it good. I'm going to shadow a periodontist next if I can find one that will take me under his wing.
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blankguy, sorry, but you are completely missing the entire point behind this process!
The shadowing/research should be done so you can participate in the field and get a feel for how things happen.
Shadowing lets you see procedures, as well as how an office is run.
Saying you should do XXX hours a month or per week is absolutely absurd. People with 1000 hours of shadowing might not get accepted to dental school. Likewise, I'm sure many people with ZERO hours get accepted all the time.
YOU should be the factor behind all of this. It's so YOU can learn. We can't possibly give you a valid answer because none of us know you, your schedule, or how much background you already have with dentistry.
Hell, I shadowed some and didn't even list it on my application.
So yeah, if you want to move on to another dentist after the first then you probably should! Go see a perio, or a pedo, or an ortho!
I'm shadowing right now in the hospital and I find hospital dentistry fascinating! That's right, I'm already in dental school and STILL shadowing (it's about me learning!).
The shadowing/research should be done so you can participate in the field and get a feel for how things happen.
Shadowing lets you see procedures, as well as how an office is run.
Saying you should do XXX hours a month or per week is absolutely absurd. People with 1000 hours of shadowing might not get accepted to dental school. Likewise, I'm sure many people with ZERO hours get accepted all the time.
YOU should be the factor behind all of this. It's so YOU can learn. We can't possibly give you a valid answer because none of us know you, your schedule, or how much background you already have with dentistry.
Hell, I shadowed some and didn't even list it on my application.
So yeah, if you want to move on to another dentist after the first then you probably should! Go see a perio, or a pedo, or an ortho!
I'm shadowing right now in the hospital and I find hospital dentistry fascinating! That's right, I'm already in dental school and STILL shadowing (it's about me learning!).
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The whole point of this thread is to see what is a reasonable amount of time that I should be spending, also I asked the last question because I might end up making wrong generalizations based on the experience of shadowing just one dentist. To eliminate that possibility I was wondering if its wise to shadow another or if it is a needless concern.
BTW I got a list of dentist from the career center at my alma mater how should I contact the dentist for shadowing? I have a hunch it may not be a good idea to contact their home phone number.
BTW I got a list of dentist from the career center at my alma mater how should I contact the dentist for shadowing? I have a hunch it may not be a good idea to contact their home phone number.
