Performance anxiety + getting nervous in front of faculty?

[Sweet_Tooth]

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Title says it all. Current D3 who has been in clinic for ~4 months now and I still struggle with this sort of performance anxiety from time to time. I just get really intimidated by faculty and start messing basic things up if theyre watching me do a procedure. When I'm on my own I'm fine.

I have struggled with social anxiety for a long time but have overcome it to some extent when it comes to interacting with patients and classmates but with faculty I still get nervous...I used to have this problem in SIM too. Not sure if I should see a therapist or something or if anyone here has any pointers for me...

 

[HatInTheCat]

Hello, I think it’s best to see someone to help you manage your anxiety. Dentistry is not easy in ways that aren’t the same for anyone. Learning to cope with anxiety is so important to us in this profession because if left unaddressed, those triggers can lead to addiction, injury, or even other mental health issues.

Remember: you’re in control of your life and you’re going to be fine as long as you manage your stress in a way that works for you.

FYI: Confide in someone and a source that is unbiased.

 

[oralcare123]

Pretend they are naked 🙂
Seriously, make lists. No one will not allow you to have a list to report patients findings, such as age, BP, medications etc. This way you wouldn't be so anxious, because it s hard to remember and you are afraid to make a mistake
Your school should have procedure protocols in Axium. Just download and print them and have them on hand to refer to
Make sure you know exactly how faculty scores you. For example - time management. If you try to do more and perform perfectly, but take more time then you supposed to, making them miss 5 minutes from their lunch, they will grade you worse

 

[Jaa_]

ask your doc to write a script for propranolol (may get banned for writing this?)

 

[PerioDont]

Pretend they are naked 🙂
Seriously, make lists. No one will not allow you to have a list to report patients findings, such as age, BP, medications etc. This way you wouldn't be so anxious, because it s hard to remember and you are afraid to make a mistake
Your school should have procedure protocols in Axium. Just download and print them and have them on hand to refer to
Make sure you know exactly how faculty scores you. For example - time management. If you try to do more and perform perfectly, but take more time then you supposed to, making them miss 5 minutes from their lunch, they will grade you worse

really like this advice. I have a little sheet of paper that I write down everything I will say to my profs. I do have one faculty member who I am more nervous around, so I try to be even more prepared when I have him.

Overall just take a deep breath before you talk and think about what you are going to say. you are still a student and they should recognize that as faculty if they are competent.

also if there is anyway possible, avoid faculty that cause you anxiety. we have quite a few faculty that are either flat out super slow with our patients or really thorough and hung up on irrelevant details like how many dashed you put in some axium form. I try to not schedule pts with them as much as possible as its a pain. ofc you can't do this all the time, but try to do what you can to reduce stress.

dental school is not a fun time, just get through it as best you can and graduate.

 

[PerioDont]

I will add being extremely prepared in your appointments and organized really impresses profs. start your notes before you get to clinic with pre-written templates, and fill them in as you go. also read all the previous chart notes so you know your pt pretty well. and read the procedure you are about to complete.

organize your stuff by order of what you are doing. i.e. right to left anesthetic, rubber dam kit, drill and burs, etch/bond, composite, finishing and polishing stuff.

especially have your op organized and clean when the prof enters. Have the explorer, mirror ready. rubber dam etc clean with no saliva or blood anywhere. there should not be tools lying around everywhere, put them back in the cassette. straighten pt's bib, untangle anything thats fallen on the floor etc. will make you look and feel competent as most of your classmates may ignore those details.

 

[Saddleshoes]

I'm not sure if this will help but...
Always remember 3 things about your faulty.
1. Their job is to help you learn.
2. They are human.
3. If they were really good at this stuff they wouldn't be here teaching, they would be out in the world doing it for real.

 

[aubreyjokes]

I second propranolol. It may be banned in Olympic archery but you'll be able to thread a needle from 10 feet away.

 

[TanMan]

Title says it all. Current D3 who has been in clinic for ~4 months now and I still struggle with this sort of performance anxiety from time to time. I just get really intimidated by faculty and start messing basic things up if theyre watching me do a procedure. When I'm on my own I'm fine.

I have struggled with social anxiety for a long time but have overcome it to some extent when it comes to interacting with patients and classmates but with faculty I still get nervous...I used to have this problem in SIM too. Not sure if I should see a therapist or something or if anyone here has any pointers for me...

You shouldn't be intimidated by them. They should be intimidated by you. I remember being a ball of massively concentrated energy ready to burst, full of information to bombard a professor with, always ready for the next steps and ready to gtfo. If you can redirect your anxiety to excitement and hyperactivity, you may be able to achieve maximum productivity. I'd probably say that you could try the opposite approach. Instead of trying to suppress it propranolol, you could load up on a few monsters or red bulls when you're feeling anxious. I find that it works well for me, especially with presentations.

On another note, propranolol makes you tired, lower your energy, and makes you impotent (for men)/lowers libido. Beta blockers are the devil for me.

 

[PerioDont]

I'm not sure if this will help but...
Always remember 3 things about your faulty.
1. Their job is to help you learn.
2. They are human.
3. If they were really good at this stuff they wouldn't be here teaching, they would be out in the world doing it for real.

Agreed on the first two, but there are a chunk of professors that are actually good, mostly the retired old guys volunteers and part timers. Also there were a couple younger faculty we had that were disabled and couldn't practice, they were very helpful.

I tried my best to avoid 'career academic' docs as much as I can because they mainly fall under this category and have no idea how the real world works.

funny story once I had a pt that couldn't get numb on a MODBL #19 I was doing. I did a Gow Gates, IAN, local infiltration, nothing worked (probably was mylohoid in retrospect). went to the professor. she said she hadn't given an injection in 20 years so she couldn't help me 😎 avoid career academics as much as possible in clinic

 

[Saddleshoes]

Agreed on the first two, but there are a chunk of professors that are actually good, mostly the retired old guys volunteers and part timers. Also there were a couple younger faculty we had that were disabled and couldn't practice, they were very helpful.

I tried my best to avoid 'career academic' docs as much as I can because they mainly fall under this category and have no idea how the real world works.

funny story once I had a pt that couldn't get numb on a MODBL #19 I was doing. I did a Gow Gates, IAN, local infiltration, nothing worked (probably was mylohoid in retrospect). went to the professor. she said she hadn't given an injection in 20 years so she couldn't help me 😎 avoid career academics as much as possible in clinic

Truth!

 

[Sweet_Tooth]

I will add being extremely prepared in your appointments and organized really impresses profs. start your notes before you get to clinic with pre-written templates, and fill them in as you go. also read all the previous chart notes so you know your pt pretty well. and read the procedure you are about to complete.

organize your stuff by order of what you are doing. i.e. right to left anesthetic, rubber dam kit, drill and burs, etch/bond, composite, finishing and polishing stuff.

especially have your op organized and clean when the prof enters. Have the explorer, mirror ready. rubber dam etc clean with no saliva or blood anywhere. there should not be tools lying around everywhere, put them back in the cassette. straighten pt's bib, untangle anything thats fallen on the floor etc. will make you look and feel competent as most of your classmates may ignore those details.

Great points, now that I think about it some of my anxiety might also be caused by my lack of preparedness. Some of these things I already do, but I will try and pay more attention to some of them from now on

 

[Sweet_Tooth]

You shouldn't be intimidated by them. They should be intimidated by you. I remember being a ball of massively concentrated energy ready to burst, full of information to bombard a professor with, always ready for the next steps and ready to gtfo. If you can redirect your anxiety to excitement and hyperactivity, you may be able to achieve maximum productivity. I'd probably say that you could try the opposite approach. Instead of trying to suppress it propranolol, you could load up on a few monsters or red bulls when you're feeling anxious. I find that it works well for me, especially with presentations.

On another note, propranolol makes you tired, lower your energy, and makes you impotent (for men)/lowers libido. Beta blockers are the devil for me.

Yeah I hope the people recommending drugs were not serious...besides the unwanted side effects, I'd rather treat the cause of my problems rather than just numb the symptoms. The advice given by everyone here has offered me a good perspective, thank you for the suggestions

 

[Sweet_Tooth]

I'm not sure if this will help but...
Always remember 3 things about your faulty.
1. Their job is to help you learn.
2. They are human.
3. If they were really good at this stuff they wouldn't be here teaching, they would be out in the world doing it for real.

Such good reminders, thank you. Dentistry =/= dental school, I just have to keep reminding myself of that

 

[AONLINE]

funny story once I had a pt that couldn't get numb on a MODBL #19 I was doing. I did a Gow Gates, IAN, local infiltration, nothing worked (probably was mylohoid in retrospect). went to the professor. she said she hadn't given an injection in 20 years so she couldn't help me 😎 avoid career academics as much as possible in clinic

At my school career academics profs don't work on the clinic floors. They only teach didactic courses and do research.