Pre-Dental Association

[Missserica]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hello there,

I am in my school's Pre-Dental Association. However, we only have meetings once a month where we meet at a restaurant - the only meeting I've been to was when a recent dental school graduate came and answered our questions. I was just wondering what other school's PDA's do for their club, such as community service or shadowing days? Just wondering if I should expect more, or request that we do community service as a club?

Thanks,

Erica T.

 

[Hoffa24]

I'm sure that it varies among schools and our case is not typical, but at UCSD (University of California at San Diego) our Pre-dental society runs 3 free clinics. The clinics are run and staffed entirely by undergraduates and volunteer dentists with everything funded by grants and donations. These clinics give students a unique opportunity to get chair side experience as well as help the underserved in our community. In addition to the clinics, we have a study club once a week where we have special speakers. Speakers generally are deans of dental schools or dentists who work in different parts of the field. Our group also has a mentorship program as well as special trips where we volunteer with other clinics, such as a cleft palate reconstruction clinic in Ensenada, Mexico or visit dental schools. The organization is open not only to UCSD students but also for any college student in the area.

If anyone is interested in checking out our website:
www-acs.ucsd.edu/~ucsdfdc

The website also has a list of past and future special speakers as well as some information about our clinics.

 

[Sprgrover]

Hi Erica

At my university the pre-dental students finally formed a club about two years ago. Although it is nowhere near as monumental as the one at UCSD, it was a real benefit to those members (myself included). They organized volunteering exercises, resume/cv building sessions, helped with placement in volunteer dental clinics, organized DAT study sessions, and so on. It also provided a means to network with other pre-dental students and offer advice and help (e.g. the seniors informing the freshmen on what to expect, which classes are the best, and so on).

I think that you should expect to have a good time in the club - if not then look for ways to change it, boost membership, etc. Best of luck!