current NOVA students, is patient pool and number of chair really a matter?

[msunii]

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HI i got accepted to NOVA and am still researching about the school..
i liked the school when i visited for my interview, happy students, happy faculty members, nice weather, good clinic, taking board after 1st year of school, plus more.
however, i've heard a lot about insufficient patient pool as well as having 90 chair for 105 students, which makes ppl to compete for a spot.
it would be great if any of you help me on this,
1. do you get enough clincal exp? (patient pool, various cases, etc)
2. how do you feel of having 90 chairs? ( i don't even know if this is true but am just asking)
3. if the patient pool as well as the number of chairs is a factor, then does school offer any other chance to see patients and have diverse clinical exp out of school?
thank you so much in advance to all those who might reply! 🙂

p.s. also some info about research opportunities as well as externship/outreach program would be very much appreciated!

 

[omaralt]

hey i'm graduating from nova in may, so by the time you enter the clinic it may be completly different:

i personally didnt have much of a problem getting a chair. Your guaranteed a chair (as long as you book in advance) half a day. the other half of the day is up in the air. but if you bring your patient in about 30 mins after the start of clinic, you usually dont have a problem getting a chair as many people cancel, etc. they now have some kind of lottery system for off time chair booking

what they're trying to do to alleviate the chair situation (maybe stop increasing the class size year after year?) is send students to off-site rotations. theres a clinic in north miami beach where 4th year students (only the top 84) rotate one day a week. that clinic is much more stream lined and you get a lot more done there. i've done more there in one semester than i did all of third year.

if you have any more questions let me know, but overall i'm happy. no matter where you go your going to hear complaining, etc. honestly you have to hustle and you shouldnt have a problem. i would not rely on the school to give you patients. all the patients that the school gave me were garbage. keep in mind that your in a major city, so there are tons of people looking for inexpensive dental care. good luck

omar

 

[Dutchboy]

Patients are no problem, although some procedures are always hard to find (like endo). Chairs and to many students is a problem.

 

[smileforme31]

dental blog
i found this site very helpful. outlines wat a first year will go through etc.

pros n cons
discussion about pros and cons bout nova and chair issues. but this is back in 2006.