Dental students dont have support medical students have

[kent100s78]

I just have a quick question. I hear that medical schools work harder to keep there students on 4-year track and in school, they also do what ever is possible to help medical students not drop out compared to dental school. Some people that i spoke to stated that Dental school is alot tougher because they dont receive the support that medical students receive and it is very easy to get kicked out if you do not perform well in your first year of school. This is what I have heard from a bunch of diffrent people i have spocken too, both in medical and dental schools.

I would like to know is there truth to this.

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[Firm]

THere is a whole lot of truth in this. Medical schools feel that they have made a commitment to the student, and as long as the student is making a commitment to the school a compremise can be reached. Dental schools, however, don't believe in carrying dead weight. They feel that if a student can't wax, cut an operative prep, or figure out neurophysiology in their first year, that student will never become a good dentist. This is one of the problems in dental education. Good question kent!

 

[tbeaven]

no offense, but that is the most stupid statement I've ever heard. Schools loose money when they loose students. Especially public schools. That is why there is such a huge screening process and interview to best evaluate whether you would be a good fit for a school and cut it. Schools would not waste there time and resources only to expect to cut a few every year. In smaller class sizes like there are in dental a few cuts would me a huge percentage of revenue missed.

 

[Bickle]

Here are the attrition stats for Tufts:

Attrition

147 students matriculated on August 25, 1998
7% of the original class (11 students) withdrew between fall 1998 and spring 2002

 

[critterbug]

This is a good thread. If anyone has any knowledge on this topic, please post.

 

[greatdane]

I seriously doubt this is something you can answer with a general statement. I am sure there are many schools, both medical and dental, that offer more support than others.

Some people that i spoke to stated that Dental school is alot tougher because they dont receive the support that medical students receive and it is very easy to get kicked out if you do not perform well in your first year of school

And just because a school gives more support, does not mean it's not a tough road and that you get an easier walk

 

[DcS]

I agree with greatdane, this question can't be answered with a blanket statement. I think it varies on a school by school basis. At UNC for example, they do everything possible to keep the students in. It is very, very hard to fail out here. There are multiple types of remediation in the case a student is having difficulties. If anything, it will take 5 years instead of 4 in rare instances.

 

[ehop24]

The fact is that it depends on the school. That's all there is to it.

You can make a generalization that private schools are more prone to dropping students than state schools, although I'm sure there are exceptions amongst both.

It's as simple as asking the schools you interview at for their matriculation statistics. There can be quite some disparity between, for example, NYU and UNC.

Also ask students that recently graduated from the schools you are considering. That might even be the best source, since they also should know why a student did not graduate.

From what i understand, the majority of students that do not complete dental school decided that dentistry was not for them. If you have the grades and scores to get into dental school (and you didnt cheat to get them), and you have a strong work ethic, you will graduate.

 

[groundhog]

Look at it this way. One could also say that medical school students get more support than orthopedic surgery residents. That is because orthopedic surgery residents will eventually get washed out of the program if they cannot demonstrate that they posses the manual skills to be a competent orthopedic surgeon. So, in one sense, getting into dental school is a bit similar to jumping straight into an orthopedic surgery residency. In both cases, a person eventually has to demonstrate the possesssion of manual skill competencies in order to graduate.

In the case of dental school, no professor is ever going to say "yeah he is the type who will eventually tear a patient's mouth to shreads with a hand piece. But you know, he is a great diagnostician....let's give him that DDS, hope that he opts to get a PHD in oral biology, and that he never manages to slip past a regional licensing board exam."

Medical school is different. "yeah I would not trust him to put a knife to my kid, but he has passed all of the boards with tremendous marks. Give him the MD, hope that he opts for an internal medicine residency, and that our recommendations will keep him out of any surgical type residency."

 

[koobpheej]

I would agree that it depends in the school. Look at UOP as an example. It is a private school, i.e it can't rely on state tax payers to generate revenue, they have to generate their own. Plus, the dental school is only a dental school, there are no other revenue streams for the school besides the dental school. If they started dropping students, they are losing money. Remember there have been several dental schools that have closed in the last several years, and a big reason that they closed is that a dental education is the most expensive type of education (at least that is what they told me when I interviewed at AZ).