Going to start consistently shadowing dentists... advice?

[FT2FLY]

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I'm starting university this fall, so I think it's a good time to be serious about shadowing. I've shadowed dentists in the past but it was a little informal because they were just my dads colleagues.


-Should I document my hours on a paper? & Make the dentist sign off?

-Is it better to shadow one dentist for a long period of time or move around from one practice to another?

-Advice?

 

[customx]

Just keep track with Excel, noting dates, times, and anything interesting you learned.
I'd recommend shadowing at least 50 hours per dentist or specialist

 

[Glimmer1991]

It might be good to keep a running tab of your hours, just for your knowledge. There may be 1 or 2 schools out there that want a dentist to verify your hours, but I'm not sure. Mine weren't ever "verified," per se, but I did get a recommendation letter from one of the dentists I shadowed... which kind of proves it. 🙂

I would spend a long time with at least one general dentist (50+ hours). Get your letter from this one. You can spend a shorter amount of time with other dentists/specialists.

 

[tooth knockn]

there is nothing serious about shadowing. Your dads friends can clock in as many hours as you want.

the purpose of shadowing is to understand and feel the environment of a dental practice.

I think it is better for you to skip shadowing, and jump into an assistant position..... you obviously have the resources.

Or, shadow a dental technician, that would be new to you.

 

[Glimmer1991]

tooth knockn brought up a good point. There's nothing wrong with shadowing your Dad's colleagues! You actually probably get the best experience that way, since they know you and care about your future successes. There would be no harm in continuing to shadow them. I bet they could write you a great rec, too.

 

[dentalWorks]

I applied to 18 schools back in 2010... none of them asked for shadowing verifications. I don't think any school requires this.

However, if you've accumulated (lets say 50) hours with some dentist, you should ask him/her to write you a letter of recommendation. Many schools would like a letter of rec coming from a dentist.

I don't think you need to spend more time shadowing, too many hours into shadowing doesn't enhances your competitiveness. You just need about 50-100 hours so that you can answer the "why dentistry?" question during the interview. If you don't have any shadowing hours, you may have a hard time convincing anyone you know what your getting yourself into.

 

[tinman831]

I believe Tufts asked for verification of shadowing.

 

[FT2FLY]

Thanks for all the replies! 🙂