C student first year, worried about future

[bwp123]

I am just finishing my first year at UOP & I've been feeling terrible about how I did.
At the end of the day the thing I am most concerned about is how I performed in simulation lab. I barely got by with C's. Feels like even people in remedial turned out better than me in the end. I struggled a lot this year with some stuff in my personal life and it was tough going from a top performer to a subpar student..
What Im most concerned about is my future as a clinician. Recently it hit me, we are about to see patients and even though I did my best considering everything going on, I hardly got by. I am scared for my future as a dentist. I wouldn't want my friends and family to go to me considering how much worse I did than my peers clinically and didactically, as well. It feels like its too late to get to the point of being a great dentist, like I missed my shot during simlab to get ahead. Its discouraging and sometimes makes me want to give up all together. I'm wondering if anyone got C's in dental school but feels like they were able to become great dentists from the clinic side. Also I don't have any connections in the field, so I am worried about my job prospects too. I will be applying to a major metropolitan area I need to live in because of family where it will be competitive, so I am curious how much these grades will matter for that. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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[desertrat12]

If you don’t want to specialize, every dental school is pass fail...you struggled with personal things, had a hard year, and still passed. You’re good. Your patient doesn’t care if you know the Krebs cycle, and people won’t asks about your grades.

Some of the best clinical dental student in my graduating class had some of the worst grades through dental school comparatively.

 

[oralcare123]

Learn on your mistakes, make changes - everything will be fine
If Krebs cycle not that important, then clinical subjects are, for sure. You don't need A's, just make sure you know your stuff

 

[ESPN907]

You’ll be fine, little do you know but your post is what many of us have felt and continue to feel. Every dental school class has people going through things, that’s part of life. When you happen to be one of them it’s not fun, I know. Lean on classmates that you trust. Ease up on yourself, competent is competent. If you’re in, you’re in. Just don’t give up hope.

 

[TanMan]

Simlab doesn't matter one bit. Just pass and get your degree. No one in private practice cares about grades. Your speed, willingness to produce, and selling your services are most important.

 

[PerioDont]

You’ll be fine, little do you know but your post is what many of us have felt and continue to feel. Every dental school class has people going through things, that’s part of life. When you happen to be one of them it’s not fun, I know. Lean on classmates that you trust. Ease up on yourself, competent is competent. If you’re in, you’re in. Just don’t give up hope.

Absolutely. Everyone feels some degree of imposter syndrome in dental school. Don’t worry too much. The dental school is responsible for weeding out incompetent people and that didn’t include you.

if you pass you are good and competent enough. You are there for another two years to get better as well. Then when you actually practice you will be doing things way differently anyways.

 

[AONLINE]

I got plenty of C's in dental school, mostly due to grades from simlab and didactic courses. I still managed to get my degree. To be honest, I think I am a better clinician than many of my classmates. Maybe not, I don't know. But none of that matters, all of us that graduated are now licensed dentists. I think I can become a good dentist clinically if I continue to learn and push myself to be better everyday. And I managed to get a few job offers in a major metro area. In all of my interviews, no one ever asked for my grade or class rank. But some of them asked for numbers of procedures that I have done in dental school so make sure you do as much as you can when you get to clinic. If you don't want to specialize you'll be fine as long as you pass.

 

[Saddleshoes]

If you don’t want to specialize, every dental school is pass fail...you struggled with personal things, had a hard year, and still passed. You’re good. Your patient doesn’t care if you know the Krebs cycle, and people won’t asks about your grades.

Some of the best clinical dental student in my graduating class had some of the worst grades through dental school comparatively.

Truth!
I have been in a position to see young dentists as they start their careers for some years now...
...I have noticed that young dentists that exhibit great clinical skills tend to be not so good in the academic arena.
...I have also noticed that great clinical skills have more to do with life/work experience than with school experience.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Just try your best.

 

[periopocket]

As long as you keep passing your golden, even specialties will be in your reach...relax congrats on first year

 

[frozenicecreamDMD]

Cs get degrees. To be honest with you, dental school is jammed pack with so much useless stuff that I find myself not using at all in the real world.

What I find I use the most are knowledge from one on one mentoring from part time faculty or some unicorn full time faculty with 20 yr experience.

 

[AONLINE]

As long as you keep passing your golden, even specialties will be in your reach...relax congrats on first year

As someone graduated with a low class rank, I thought that doors to specialties are closed to me for the most part, aren't they? In the future, if I end up loving a specialty so much that I want to go back to school to specialize, is there any chance for me? Of course I am not talking about cut-throat specialties like OMFS.

 

[PerioDont]

As someone graduated with a low class rank, I thought that doors to specialties are closed to me for the most part, aren't they? In the future, if I end up loving a specialty so much that I want to go back to school to specialize, is there any chance for me? Of course I am not talking about cut-throat specialties like OMFS.

Nope. Doors are not closed at all. Definitely have a chance. Deficiencies can be made up with years of experience, good LORs, research and networking.

this may not work as well for Ortho or OMFS though

 

[2TH MVR]

As everyone had posted. Just relax. C isn't failing. C's will get you the degree. Work on trying to improve. Work on what is important which is your diagnostic and clinical skills. The problem arises if you wanted to specialize into a competitive specialty. There are only a fixed number of graded classes. With a "C" you are now ranked behind all those students that have A's. Those gunner students typically will always gets A's and will maintain those high rankings throughout DS. But don't give up if a specialty is your calling. You never know.

In the real job world. No one cares where you ranked in DS. What matters is your presentation, personality, williness to learn and produce, and ability to work seamlessly with the existing staff. In large cities .... there are plenty of dentist jobs. We've all been there. Most new grads right out of DS will fail with their 1st few associateships. That's normal. It takes time to find the right associateship, DSO job or private practice opportunity.

So. Just relax. Stop worrying about finding a job. Spend your energy improving and learning to be a dentist.

 

[PerioDont]

As everyone had posted. Just relax. C isn't failing. C's will get you the degree. Work on trying to improve. Work on what is important which is your diagnostic and clinical skills. The problem arises if you wanted to specialize into a competitive specialty. There are only a fixed number of graded classes. With a "C" you are now ranked behind all those students that have A's. Those gunner students typically will always gets A's and will maintain those high rankings throughout DS. But don't give up if a specialty is your calling. You never know.

In the real job world. No one cares where you ranked in DS. What matters is your presentation, personality, williness to learn and produce, and ability to work seamlessly with the existing staff. In large cities .... there are plenty of dentist jobs. We've all been there. Most new grads right out of DS will fail with their 1st few associateships. That's normal. It takes time to find the right associateship, DSO job or private practice opportunity.

So. Just relax. Stop worrying about finding a job. Spend your energy improving and learning to be a dentist.

great post.

I would just add take things day by day. No need to worry about job stuff etc right now as a D1/2. Just focus on making it through the days and weeks giving it the best you can.

 

[bwp123]

great post.

I would just add take things day by day. No need to worry about job stuff etc right now as a D1/2. Just focus on making it through the days and weeks giving it the best you can.

Thank you so much! Really everything everyone said on this thread has made me feel a lot better. I don't have any interest in specializing, so my concern has been primarily on the fact that sim lab (for the most part- general dentistry related) is now over, and we are on to patients. I have been feeling upset that I let down these patients by not improving enough in simlab. To be honest, I did practice but I could have more.I was overwhelmed about a lot of personal things. So my hope is that I can improve while seeing patients. I feel a lot more motivated and excited about improving for patients as opposed to for a grade, but ironically now I am looking back and realizing simlab was my chance to become great for future patients.

Anyways I really appreciate everyones support on this. It is very easy to feel like if you are not getting A's you are a slacker. Even those that don't want to specialize put so much emphasis on grades in my class.All the stuff about it not mattering for jobs and that theres still a chance to improve helps immensely. Thanks so much

 

[lol105]

UOP is a 4 year course jam packed into 3 years... so I can only imagine the struggle. Just like the other posts said, sim lab does not equal to your skill as a dentist. Stay positive and you'll get better. As long as you tread, you'll stay afloat.

As for specialty training, there might be a time in the future when you might decide to do so. Thankfully there's ADAT/CBSE/GRE and other extra-curriculars that you can do to improve your application... but you can cross that bridge when you decide to pursue specialty training.

 

[yappy]

Just hang in there and learn as much as you can. Your ethics, compassion, honest self assessment, and discipline to improve are what will make you a great dentist someday.

 

[LizLemongrab]

I'm wondering if anyone got C's in dental school but feels like they were able to become great dentists from the clinic side.

I was in the bottom 20% of my class consistently from D1-D4. I wish I had the graph of competence for you that I saw at an ADEA presentation years ago. The gist of it is that between D1-D4, we all exist on different growth curves but end in the same place. That means some people just get it immediately and good for them. On the other extreme, some people like myself are in the baby car seat behind the driver's seat on the short bus. But, at the end of the day, we all show up to the board exams with the examiners blinded to our grades. It becomes a question of can you do this thing to a minimum level of satisfaction or not? We all graduate at that point more or less. Everything after is up to us.

You sound like a conscientious, self-aware person and I think you need to be kinder to yourself with more trust that you will become the clinician you envision. I think you would also benefit from a quality faculty mentor at your school. You need someone who will both be real with you when you need to improve but also gas you up when you're down because for a lot of us, it is SO hard to be kind to ourselves when we are in environments that promote scarcity mindset. Your grades do not predict the kind of clinician you will become or the impact you can have on your patients. Forgive yourself for what you wish you had done and follow through on your priorities in the present. You won't feel good now but I promise that you will when you look back later on.

 

[Daurang]

I almost flunk out first year of dental school and probably graduated near bottom in my class; but my boards were top 10%ile. Instead of focusing on your grade, focus on getting the knowledge and skills you'll need to succeed in all aspect of life. Your degree is only small part of it. You will still get your diploma and all your patients will like you only base on your personality.

 

[HatInTheCat]

Just get out of school. Honestly, what you’ll learn in school will be superseded by something new and efficient. Also, stop paying attention to what others do. Your name is on the degree.

Have some fun while you’re at it. Dental students don’t have enough fun tbh.

Cheers!

 

[Rambunctious]

I am just finishing my first year at UOP & I've been feeling terrible about how I did.
At the end of the day the thing I am most concerned about is how I performed in simulation lab. I barely got by with C's. Feels like even people in remedial turned out better than me in the end. I struggled a lot this year with some stuff in my personal life and it was tough going from a top performer to a subpar student..
What Im most concerned about is my future as a clinician. Recently it hit me, we are about to see patients and even though I did my best considering everything going on, I hardly got by. I am scared for my future as a dentist. I wouldn't want my friends and family to go to me considering how much worse I did than my peers clinically and didactically, as well. It feels like its too late to get to the point of being a great dentist, like I missed my shot during simlab to get ahead. Its discouraging and sometimes makes me want to give up all together. I'm wondering if anyone got C's in dental school but feels like they were able to become great dentists from the clinic side. Also I don't have any connections in the field, so I am worried about my job prospects too. I will be applying to a major metropolitan area I need to live in because of family where it will be competitive, so I am curious how much these grades will matter for that. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I was in a similar boat in the beginning (just like you), I would stay late every night until about 9 or 10pm in sim lab practicing for a few months. That helped my hand skills so much. I ended up top 10 in clinic. I had no intention to specialize like everyone else at the top, just wanted to get really good. It is possible you just have to keep practicing and putting in work.

 

[ESPN907]

I was in a similar boat in the beginning (just like you), I would stay late every night until about 9 or 10pm in sim lab practicing for a few months. That helped my hand skills so much. I ended up top 10 in clinic. I had no intention to specialize like everyone else at the top, just wanted to get really good. It is possible you just have to keep practicing and putting in work.

How did you know you were top 10 clinically?

 

[Rambunctious]

How did you know you were top 10 clinically?

In our school (and i believe most dental schools) they show you your rank each quarter and after each year and finally at the end of school

 

[TanMan]

In our school (and i believe most dental schools) they show you your rank each quarter and after each year and finally at the end of school

Is it based on financial production, clinical procedures, or quality?

 

[Rambunctious]

Is it based on financial production, clinical procedures, or quality?

Financial production, case presentations, faculty reviews

 

[schmoob]

every dental school is pass fail...

Lots of schools are still graded.

OP keep your head up. I know it seems like everyone is smarter than you while in school but everyone feels this way. Memorizing facts is not the same as comprehending the material.

 

[desertrat12]

Lots of schools are still graded.

OP keep your head up. I know it seems like everyone is smarter than you while in school but everyone feels this way. Memorizing facts is not the same as comprehending the material.

Im late in responding to this…but yes I am aware many schools are still graded, included the school o graduated from…but if a students goal is to become a general dentist, then grades aren’t relevant so long as they pass, meaning theoretically the school becomes pass fail for them. As long as a student is passing, even if their grades are low, they will still become a dentist.

I saw so many classmates become disheartened by poor grades, even to the point of legitimate depression, only to finally realize grades did not matter to their career goals and their happiness and effectiveness as a student and clinician in training improve drastically.