How Time Relevant should shadowing be?

[harkkam]

I've done 100 hours of shadowing already. Not much by any means but I feel like I could spend my time now preparing for the Dats and studying over this coming summer for that rather then worry about hours.

The only problem is that I am not applying this MAY 09, but I will be applying in MAY 2010.

So that means my recommendation letter from the dentist will be a year old. Is that too long, does that matter.

I really don't want the stress of having to take a whole day out of my week to gain some hours when I could be studying for a class or DAT. Just the thought of having another drain on my time taking the time away from my class or DAT prep is stressful.

Would a recommendation and hours done a year ago when I apply be okay?

I spoke to the pre-health dept and they said that I should keep doing one day a week to show adcoms that I committed to dental school, but I know that doing so is going to stress me out. That extra day means that I can get alot more work done. Decompress and what not from the whole week. Otherwise I come home dead tired and basically its a wasted day.

What should I do. Listen to the pre-health office or myself?

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[Contach]

Why do people even listen to pre-health advisors? In Canada, we don't have them, and for good reason: they are useless... You can tell half of them don't know what they are talking about, and while the other half may be able to convince you they are correct, they are still worthless. Sounds like in this case, he/she is just trying to cover his/her back.

None of my interviews questioned the timing of any activities that I did. Surprisingly, I only shadowed the summer before I applied, and if they looked closely enough they would have found that I had no pre-dental activities before that either. I will tell you now that they won't care.

Listen to yourself, you sound like you know what's best for yourself and have a reasonable head on your shoulders. A year is not a long time at all, especially for shadowing. Think of all those who reapply, and had their shadowing completed a year previous.

Now, I know some next dolt will come here and say "just keep shadowing once a week because I like saying 'safe' and 'feel-good' comments like this on the internet." You can expect this person to take the next pre-health advisor opening in the USA.

 

[uclaDDS101]

I've done 100 hours of shadowing already. Not much by any means but I feel like I could spend my time now preparing for the Dats and studying over this coming summer for that rather then worry about hours.

This is a good amount of hours. However, I don't think that there is really a higher limit to the number of hours you can spend around the field of dentistry. If it starts to interfere with your school performance or you aren't able to multi-task, then I guess it would be ok to cut back. But instead, try considering a different dental-related activity (maybe something more interactive or hands-on). It really shouldn't be too hard to do schoolwork, study for the DAT (especially over summer), and do dental stuff (unless you have like a billion ECs or a really busy job).

The only problem is that I am not applying this MAY 09, but I will be applying in MAY 2010.

So that means my recommendation letter from the dentist will be a year old. Is that too long, does that matter.

Would a recommendation and hours done a year ago when I apply be okay?

That's when I'm applying too. I don't think that a year is going to make a huge difference. But if you do stick around with him/her, it wouldn't hurt to have a longer overall period working with him/her and, resultantly, a more recent letter when you apply (i dont think its necessary though).

I really don't want the stress of having to take a whole day out of my week to gain some hours when I could be studying for a class or DAT. Just the thought of having another drain on my time taking the time away from my class or DAT prep is stressful.

Again, if you are not able to multi task and keep school, DAT, and dental experience all going efficiently and smoothly, then cut back on the extras and focus on GPA and DAT. However, I would also wonder how you would be able to balance classes, clinical, and other "extras" once you get into dental school. From what I hear, it's a lot harder and a lot more work in d school. If you're having trouble now... then I don't know what will happen in dental school...

I spoke to the pre-health dept and they said that I should keep doing one day a week to show adcoms that I committed to dental school, but I know that doing so is going to stress me out. That extra day means that I can get alot more work done. Decompress and what not from the whole week. Otherwise I come home dead tired and basically its a wasted day.

If this is such a chore for you, then why do it? It sounds like you're just doing this "to gain some hours." It really sounds horrible:

...a whole day out of my week to gain some hours...another drain on my time...basically its a wasted day...

Especially the bolded quote! I think you should really rethink the reasons you are doing all of this. You shouldn't have to do things just because you need to show adcomms that you're committed to dentistry. What ever happened to being committed because you just wanted to? because you actually enjoy dentistry? because its what you want to spend your life doing? Seriously, please re-evaluate all of this. I've come to the realization that too many people force themselves into the dental field for the wrong reasons...

I'm sorry for being so forthright (I'm usually not this blunt), but consider this: If spending one day per week in the dental field (for you) is "a wasted day", then spending everyday in the dental field (for you) will be "a wasted life." Think about it.

 

[Mazz]

I'm sorry for being so forthright (i'm usually not this blunt), but consider this: if spending one day per week in the dental field (for you) is "a wasted day", then spending everyday in the dental field (for you) will be "a wasted life." think about it.

Opportunity Cost.

Is 1 day studying for the DAT worth a few more hours of shadowing time?

Thats what he is saying. Hes not saying that shadowing is a waste. He saying its a waste compared to other dental related activities he could be doing.

 

[DrDDSman]

Why do people even listen to pre-health advisors? In Canada, we don't have them, and for good reason: they are useless... You can tell half of them don't know what they are talking about, and while the other half may be able to convince you they are correct, they are still worthless. Sounds like in this case, he/she is just trying to cover his/her back.

None of my interviews questioned the timing of any activities that I did. Surprisingly, I only shadowed the summer before I applied, and if they looked closely enough they would have found that I had no pre-dental activities before that either. I will tell you now that they won't care.

Listen to yourself, you sound like you know what's best for yourself and have a reasonable head on your shoulders. A year is not a long time at all, especially for shadowing. Think of all those who reapply, and had their shadowing completed a year previous.

Now, I know some next dolt will come here and say "just keep shadowing once a week because I like saying 'safe' and 'feel-good' comments like this on the internet." You can expect this person to take the next pre-health advisor opening in the USA.

Maybe with your stats it may not be necessary to have a load of predental activities, but for the average, or sub average applicant it could be a deciding factor for an interview.

 

[Stephie3]

i agree with contach. a lot of advisors have no real idea about applying for dental school. do your own research and don't listen to them. my professors still think schools are ranked, etc..

24 DAT or 200 more hours of shadowing? I'd take the 24 DAT. anyone can stand around in a dental office, not everybody can smash the DAT. i am glad to be done shadowing. it's like standing around watching somebody read so that you'll be motivated to read in the future. it's super boring, you can't really get into people's mouth to see what's up with them (or you'll just be in the way), some assistants get jealous of you and verbally degrade you, and you're generally seen as a worthless college student who may or may not get into dental school. (that was my case anyways)

forget shadowing and EC's when you're studying for the DAT.MAKE SURE THE DAT COMES FIRST before any shadowing or EC. the DAT is so much more important than EC's or shadowing for a semester. i cannot stress this enough.

 

[harkkam]

wow thanks guys. you really all of you gave me good answers and i appreciate it alot.

Thank you

 

[MichaelVicksDog]

24 DAT or 200 more hours of shadowing? I'd take the 24 DAT. anyone can stand around in a dental office, not everybody can smash the DAT. i am glad to be done shadowing. it's like standing around watching somebody read so that you'll be motivated to read in the future. it's super boring, you can't really get into people's mouth to see what's up with them (or you'll just be in the way), some assistants get jealous of you and verbally degrade you, and you're generally seen as a worthless college student who may or may not get into dental school. (that was my case anyways)

forget shadowing and EC's when you're studying for the DAT.MAKE SURE THE DAT COMES FIRST before any shadowing or EC. the DAT is so much more important than EC's or shadowing for a semester. i cannot stress this enough.

Truth.

24 DAT >>>>>> 10 years of dental shadowing, dental assisting, dental hygieneing.