Dentist Shadowing

[HenryH]

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I started shadowing a dentist earlier this week, and I'm curious...is there anything else I should be doing with it? Currently, I'm following the dentist around with a notebook and writing down the procedures he does as well as details, random bits of info, etc. on the procedure.

Also, is it really important to write down this stuff? Will anyone else ever need to read it?

 

[tinman831]

Also, is it really important to write down this stuff?

no.

Will anyone else ever need to read it?

no.

Some interviewers may ask you about what you've seen in the office just to see how much exposure you've had. What's more important is that you find out whether or not you could see yourself in your dentists shoes in a few years. Is this what you want to be doing the rest of your life. The details are irrelevant at this point in the game for you.

 

[Regmata]

Stop writing lol...and it wouldnt be a bad idea to shadow different specialists too

 

[xdianaax]

I agree, what are you exactly writing, how to do the procedure? You can just write the procedures you've seen that day when you get home, i'm almost positive you'll start coming home with nothing to write in about 2 weeks, it gets pretty repetitive. Good luck!

 

[HenryH]

Thanks for everyone's response.

To answer the burning question -- the reason I'm writing all this crap down is because my advisor "highly recommended" it. And, yes -- I'm writing down just about every step of just about every procedure, from root canals to fillings.

Maybe interviewers will be impressed if I haul some thick-ass shadowing notebook to the interview and flip through some pages for them...?

 

[Regmata]

I think that the interviewers may think that you are weird. You should know a bit about the procedures that a general dentist does. It is also adviseable to atleast be familiar with the procedures performed by several of the specialties. All in all, you want to have shadowed all sorts of dentists and to be able to talk about what you have seen.

Interviewers don't care if you know the steps ofthe procedures, they care that you have seen the procdures and that you could see yourself performing those procedures on a daily basis...actually, they want know that those procedures are what you want to do on a daily basis. Be excited to talk about the ones you particularily enjoyed watching. I wouldn't bring that book if I was you...If anything, I might mention it and make a joke about it.

Disclaimer: This is just my opinion and each adcom and poster here is likely to have a different one.

 

[HenryH]

Thanks for your input...

I am planning on shadowing specialists, too, actually. I think I want to observe a periodontist next. I could shadow an orthodontist, but I had braces for more than 3 years, so I would probably be bored to death. Periodontics sounds like a good, juicy "blood n' guts" specialty to get acquainted with.

 

[ChrisM07]

I have also been told by my advisor that jotting down notes and such would be helpful. I just finished shadowing a dentist by my house and put a bunch of procedures with a little note from the dentist in a portfolio type thing. I was told that dental schools want to 'see that we know what were getting ourselves into'. This pretty much shows it if you ask me.

Regmata, how come you think it will make one look weird?

 

[xdianaax]

I have also been told by my advisor that jotting down notes and such would be helpful. I just finished shadowing a dentist by my house and put a bunch of procedures with a little note from the dentist in a portfolio type thing. I was told that dental schools want to 'see that we know what were getting ourselves into'. This pretty much shows it if you ask me.

Regmata, how come you think it will make one look weird?

Jotting down little notes is not weird, writing down every word that comes from your dentists mouth during a procedure, is. Good luck.

 

[HenryH]

One other thing...do I need an "official letter" (on company letterhead) from the dentists I've shadowed stating that I did, in fact, shadow them? Or, will I just jot down my shadowing hours on my application and that's that?

 

[Regmata]

I think walking into an interview with a big steno pad full of notes describing each little step of dental procedures would come off as a little odd. If you want to jot notes, go for it. You could even make mention of the notebook in the interview, but I personally wouldnt bring it along.

I myself never took notes, I enjoyed watching the procedures too much. After a bit, I was assisting surgeries. Do enough shadowing, and you don't need notes to remember what dentists do...If the notes help you learn and facilitate your ability to talk about the daily tasks of a dentist, then take them

If I recall correctly, the only school I encountered last year to require a letter from the dentists you shadowed was OSU. I could be mistaken though.