Manual Dexterity ...

[yoRo]

would playing basketball for the school team count as manual dexterity? there is hand-eye coordination involved...so... haha

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[UltimateHombre]

would playing basketball for the school team count as manual dexterity? there is hand-eye coordination involved...so... haha

The manual dexterity section is such a small, minute section on the application... i really don't think it matters.

I would say that b-ball does if you are a collegiate athlete and you have skills that the average joe doesn't. IE: Intramural doesn't count.

But lets not make mole hills into mountains. They are looking for micro dexterity: sewing, guitar playing, some lab work, drawing, etc.

 

[JAWSSS]

I won a "University's fastest texter" competition and wrote about it in the manual dexterity section. It really does not matter what you put there... HAHA!

 

[ATG20]

JAWSSS, I'd out-text you any day. That competition wasn't fair if I wasn't in it 😉

OP, I put things that discussed "micro" dexterity. I frequently performed dissections under a microscope on small specimens, as well as carved sculptures. It was mentioned in one of my interviews as a talking point. I don't think there's a wrong answer, but they want to know you're not going to hate working with your hands every day.

 

[blankman321]

can building legos and 3-D jigsaw puzzles count? (yes I know kinda of sad that I am still doing this in my 20s)

 

[Upperbyte]

can building legos and 3-D jigsaw puzzles count? (yes I know kinda of sad that I am still doing this in my 20s)

Yes, they count....but make sure they aren't seen as anything immature to an admissions committee. Someone asked about video games last year. Yes, it counts, but think about the bigger picture. They want you to be able to thread a needle with ease, but not be a doofus. You're not a doofus, but sometimes things on print don't always seem as you mean it🙂

 

[UCSFx2017]

Try jewelry-making. It might sound emasculating to some but it requires a lot of attention to detail, an eye for aesthetics, and some hand/forearm strength. I think it most closely emulates a dentist's technical work. You work with pedal-assisted pneumatic drills, pliers, drills, hand saws, and blades while hunched over a bench.

If you can't think of anything better, putting down basketball playing should be okay.

 

[Datooth]

Do you guys think mentioning that I've played a particular video game at a world class level (peak rank @ world 2nd) should be something I should mention in the manual dexterity section or should I just leave that off as adcoms won't really grasp the level of ability required to play at those levels? I know surgeons talk about playing games all the time to help improve their coordination but I'm not sure if the idea of playing video games is still stigmatized.

 

[Baba Yaga]

Do you guys think mentioning that I've played a particular video game at a world class level (peak rank @ world 2nd) should be something I should mention in the manual dexterity section or should I just leave that off as adcoms won't really grasp the level of ability required to play at those levels? I know surgeons talk about playing games all the time to help improve their coordination but I'm not sure if the idea of playing video games is still stigmatized.

I can see how the coordination that is necessary for playing video games would be useful for laparoscopic surgery, but I honestly don't see how it is directly useful for skills that a dentist uses because everything is right in front of you in dentistry and you're not navigating inside the body cavity via a camera.

I think the most useful manual dexterity skills one could list would be things that involve micro-precision, such as a research assistant doing animal surgery under a microscope or a hobby where you develop fine motor skills like jewelry making.

 

[JAWSSS]

JAWSSS, I'd out-text you any day. That competition wasn't fair if I wasn't in it 😉

OP, I put things that discussed "micro" dexterity. I frequently performed dissections under a microscope on small specimens, as well as carved sculptures. It was mentioned in one of my interviews as a talking point. I don't think there's a wrong answer, but they want to know you're not going to hate working with your hands every day.

YOU AINT GOT NOTHING ON ME!

I even have an (electronically) signed certificate from chancellor Block saying that I was the fastest... hahahahaha!!

 

[J777]

How many points did you all mention in this section?

 

[MedDevil]

I've listed three so far. While I don't think this section is a make or break part of the application, I still think it's better to write out your manual dexterity skills as sentences and maybe describe how they've helped your dexterity as opposed to typing just a list.

 

[Ferneezy]

cooking.

noobs.

 

[experiment626]

From what I heard, many dental schools such as UW and UoP like students who play musical instruments such as the guitar. Perhaps you could put that down.

Also do you like to build models? Planes? Ships? Gundams? I put those down and the dental schools really liked it.

 

[wcombs]

Different schools probably take a different approach, but this might be helpful. It's from my school's website:

Do things with your hands that require fine motor skill, such as playing an instrument, sewing or sculpting. Choose something you will enjoy. Sports like basketball, football, baseball, and soccer require skill, talent, training, good coordination and large muscle skills, but are not particularly good demonstrations of the sorts of fine motor skills needed in dentistry.

In my application I listed bio lab dissections, micro lab skills like pipetting and loading electrophoresis wells, ceramics, drawing, painting, origami, and stringing tennis rackets.

 

[Baba Yaga]

From what I heard, many dental schools such as UW and UoP like students who play musical instruments such as the guitar. Perhaps you could put that down.

Uhhhhh are you suggesting people put down things they don't actually do?

Bad idea. Especially because I think this type of thing could very well get brought up during the interview.

I think I'd be able to tell whether someone plays my particular instrument just by talking to them. There are things people who actually take part in certain activities are very familiar with that the general public doesn't know that much about.

You don't want to get caught in a lie. That's unethical and would be catastrophically detrimental to your application. So don't lie.

If someone doesn't have anything to add for the manual dexterity section, that person should pick an activity they will enjoy and start doing it.

I don't suggest musical instruments unless someone is actually interested in them, because there can be a steep learning curve depending on the instrument and factors like how much musical talent the person actually has (eg a tone deaf person will have a harder time figuring out when he/she is in or out of tune).

Arts and crafts activities seem like the easiest way to go here. Building models, sculpting, sewing, painting, etc.

If someone is into technology, maybe something like making robots would suit their interests better. My boyfriend does robotics and doing things with small parts (like soldering) definitely develops fine motor skills and coordination.

Again, for the people who do research, things like pipetting, plating, etc are great too.

Just write about something for this section. There is plenty to use, so no one should be making things up. You don't want to get caught in a lie.

 

[mid]

Stuff I put down: D&D models, fine soldering + other electronics work, working with a dremel, waxing crowns/dentures.

none of it was ever mentioned at a interview.

 

[Baba Yaga]

none of it was ever mentioned at a interview.

People should be honest regardless.

 

[Upperbyte]

They DO mention what you put down. I was asked the specific firearm I use by two interviewers because I wrote shooting down as hand eye coordination. Of course, I didn't know it, but would have been nice if I did.

 

[Glimmer1991]

Does booger-picking count?

 

[Teeths]

Does booger-picking count?

 

[mid]

People should be honest regardless.

Pointing out it probably doesn't matter much not that you should lie, you could lie at a interview anyways

 

[Baba Yaga]

Pointing out it probably doesn't matter much not that you should lie, you could lie at a interview anyways

Well other people have said it came up for them.

As I said before, people can tell whether you actually do something or not if they do the same activity. I've actually known a couple of people who were seemingly matched with their professional school interviewer based on common interests, so yeah you could get someone who shares some interest in common with you and brings it up.

Sure, everyone can lie about anything, but lying about something on the application is not ethical. It can also get people thrown out of the entire application process.

What kind of a person is someone if they choose to make up something to put on the manual dexterity section instead of picking up a hobby?

I don't understand those people...they don't seem to have the most basic standards they expect themselves to live up to. And yes, I consider honesty a basic standard everyone should strive for and achieve.

 

[experiment626]

Uhhhhh are you suggesting people put down things they don't actually do?

Bad idea. Especially because I think this type of thing could very well get brought up during the interview.

I think I'd be able to tell whether someone plays my particular instrument just by talking to them. There are things people who actually take part in certain activities are very familiar with that the general public doesn't know that much about.

You don't want to get caught in a lie. That's unethical and would be catastrophically detrimental to your application. So don't lie.

If someone doesn't have anything to add for the manual dexterity section, that person should pick an activity they will enjoy and start doing it.

I don't suggest musical instruments unless someone is actually interested in them, because there can be a steep learning curve depending on the instrument and factors like how much musical talent the person actually has (eg a tone deaf person will have a harder time figuring out when he/she is in or out of tune).

Arts and crafts activities seem like the easiest way to go here. Building models, sculpting, sewing, painting, etc.

If someone is into technology, maybe something like making robots would suit their interests better. My boyfriend does robotics and doing things with small parts (like soldering) definitely develops fine motor skills and coordination.

Again, for the people who do research, things like pipetting, plating, etc are great too.

Just write about something for this section. There is plenty to use, so no one should be making things up. You don't want to get caught in a lie.

I didn't say anything about lying in the application or interview. What I meant was if you do play musical instruments, then that would be a good thing to write down. Everyone has their own hobbies. Mine was building models.