Shadowing hours, a credibility question...

[WannaBeDentist]

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My situation is that I have a number of dentists in my family, mom, dad, brother, and sister-in-law. Because I have not grown up with a dentist outside of my family, it would be hard for me to ask someone outside of family for shadowing time. Would the credibility of my hours be any less if they came from someone within my family, for example my Dad? Or would my best bet be to look for someone else?

 

[Regmata]

If you are worried about credibility, ask a dentist buddy of your dads...but I don't think it would be an issue

 

[WannaBeDentist]

My Dad keeps telling me not to worry and that in his experience it's more a matter of having it done than from who it's from. But at the same time I feel my dad is sugarcoating things for me since he thinks that the connections we have should help get me into Dental school.

Personally, I'm worried because my GPA was hit a little hard in my first couple years. I'd would really like to KNOW I got in based on my own credentials rather than my connections.

 

[ItsGavinC]

It shouldn't matter in terms of credibility. What really matters is whether your shadowing experiences are giving you valid information from which to draw the conclusion that dentistry is (or isn't) right for you.

 

[WannaBeDentist]

Well if that's the case, then I guess it shouldn't be a problem. I've technically been shadowing nearly my entire life since I was a kid and would watch my mom at work, or watch my dad doing waxups at home. My mom's always giving my articles to read about dentists and life as a dentist. Hardly a day goes by where there isn't talk dentistry at the dinner table....lol. I've already watched my dad do some amazing bridge work on a patient who badly needed it.

Thanks for the hopeful words! :-D

 

[Regmata]

Just get in, who cares how...connections or not, you will have ample opportunity to prove you can hack it while in school

 

[Loop]

I think itd be easy enough to get them from a friend of your parents. I don't know how you can consider it "hard"? I have many dentists in my family, just none where I am going to school. I shadowed a brother of my girlfriend's roommate's friend.....doesn't get too much more weird than that...I had never met the guy until I showed up at his office the first day. I mean, I had called him to confirm, but prior to that the whole conversation had worked its way through his sister(and sometimes his sisters friend....or even worse through my girlfriend to her roommate to his sister and then to him).

Point of what im trying to say is, if finding another dentist (in the town your family works in) is "hard" then take a good look at what you are trying to take on here being pre dental. As for my opinion, I'd rather get the shadowing hours from a non relative. I think some people might read something into it when its your parents signing off on the shadowing. Like, maybe this guy isnt motivated enough to do this for himself. Maybe its his parents shoving him down this pre dental path. Maybe im overanalyzing it 🙂 *shrug*

 

[myrmie]

I asked this question to the admissions directors of both schools I applied to. They each said the same thing: Shadow at your dad's office all you want, but make sure you have a LOR from another non-biased dentist who can attest to your interest/experience in dentistry. Any relative is likely to sugar-coat you for them.

Based on that, I'd say try to shadow somewhere else.

 

[KOM]

I agree...I think you should get some exposure to the field outside your immediate family. While I included some shadowing/work hours in my father's practice on my application, I also shadowed another dentist and had him write me a LOR.