Hey guys, I'm a first year d-student and I'm currently doing some soul searching on the subject of study habits. Right now I feel like I want to do general dentistry and don't think its likely that I'll want to specialize. Is it ok for me to just 'get by' and accept Cs in classes so that I can enjoy my life more and do other things? Or will my class standing be important when I start looking for a job near the end of my 4th year?
If not specializing, are grades/class standing important?
- Thread starter StephenB
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It will absolutely, positvely not be important for applying for general dentistry jobs. However, if you end up wanting to do a GPR/AEGD, it will come into play, and if you ever decide to go back and specialize (and lots of people do), it will matter.
If there's no part of you that wants to specialize, my advice would be A) Pass, and B) Do your best and enjoy school.
Of course if there IS a part of you that may want to specialize, you'd be kind of shooting yourself in the foot to not be gunning. The ironic part? How in the world as a D1 can you really know if you're going to want to specialize?
Of course if there IS a part of you that may want to specialize, you'd be kind of shooting yourself in the foot to not be gunning. The ironic part? How in the world as a D1 can you really know if you're going to want to specialize?
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The thing is it's really easy IMO to get a 3.5 but difficult to hover at top of class... Just study for all your classes. Learn the dental related material well. Focus on your preclinical/clinical work. Chill. 😉
My two cents
My two cents
Why is it that so many people in D-school just want to "get by" because they don't plan to specialize? We are all going to be working on patients in some way, and it is our duty to be the best practitioners possible. In my humble opinion. 😀
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I agree 100%
You have to ask yourself, would you ever want to be treated by a general dentist that just "got by"? or someone who tried to make the most of their dental school experience and become the best practitioner possible?
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I'm going to play devil's advocate... I always give 100%. But, from a non academic standpoint, the difference between an A and a B is sometimes a trivial facts on a random bullet point on slide 153 out of 320 that has no clinical relevance. Some exams are clustered with this. A student who do not memorize these would be a sub-par practitioner?
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expounding off of what I said earlier and what dr reo just said...
The difference between an A and a B in "most" of my courses are those extremely trivial "rogue" facts. In many cases you have to quadruple the amount of studying for an A over a B. Clinically, I highly doubt it will matter. If you don't want to specialize I say study well for anything clinically relevant and let the gunners duke it out over the trivial questions.
The difference between an A and a B in "most" of my courses are those extremely trivial "rogue" facts. In many cases you have to quadruple the amount of studying for an A over a B. Clinically, I highly doubt it will matter. If you don't want to specialize I say study well for anything clinically relevant and let the gunners duke it out over the trivial questions.
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Thats true, sometimes the difference between an A & B in a class is so minimal its not worth the extra effort.
My post was directed at the original comments of wanting to "accept C-s" or have time to "do other things" during dental school. Doing the minimum to graduate, in my opinion, whether its in a clinical or didactic class hurts in developing into a good dentist. Already having this shortcut mentality as a first year dental student doesnt really bode well for future success.
My post was directed at the original comments of wanting to "accept C-s" or have time to "do other things" during dental school. Doing the minimum to graduate, in my opinion, whether its in a clinical or didactic class hurts in developing into a good dentist. Already having this shortcut mentality as a first year dental student doesnt really bode well for future success.
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I would contend that doing the minimum to graduate might make you better in the long run. There are many things that we are taught in dental school that if we took them into private practice we would go bankrupt. Dental school is filled with red tape and you are only really taught to cut through that. Most schools don't really teach students how to practice in a private practice clinically relevant manner. Most things you learn in dental school will be forgotten and relearned by a dentist that you are practicing with/ associating with. Sure there are basic things that you need to do well at such as prepping a class II composite. But for those of us who have been to clinic... when was the last time you saw an ideal class II? My advice is to do your best. No need to sit in the front row and type every word that the instructor says. Enjoy school and make friends! Choose hugs and not drugs
i disagree. you have to know where to put your time/effort. i knew i didnt want to specialize; so i did the bare minimum i needed to pass in my basic science classes. just because somebody got an A in biochem and i got a C doesnt make them a better dentist. in my lab classes i made sure i did my best and fully understood everything.
to answer the OP: grades mean nothing if your not going to specialize. you can get straight C's and be a great dentist
It has been my observation that those students who are content to get by with Cs in their basic science classes also get Cs in classes like Oral Pathology....and I think we would all agree that understanding Oral Path is important to make you a better dentist.
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If the student can differentiate that there is a dental pathology... How many general dentists perform a biopsy in house? Most likely they are referred and then do not become the C dentist's liability.
not true; many people didnt care about the basic sciences but put more effort into the dental classes... and oral pathology is a waste of time; the last day our professor told us that we need to remember one thing; know whats normal, and anything thats not normal, refer
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nope! but after you hate practicing general dentistry you will be bummed that your grades suck, and you won't get into a residency! keep your options open! trust me
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This is a good advice. I have met many unhappy general dentists who work at the same chain office where I work at. Some of them are new grads, some have been out for 5-6 years, and some had to sell their failing private practices. Some tried to apply to specialties programs but didnt get in because of poor grades and board scores.
