Shadowing hours, how to keep track of them?

[Faefly]

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Hey, I wonder how you guys calculate how many hours did you shadow, and do we need a paper from the dentist we shadowed as a proof, or only his contact information will suffice?

Also, what number of shadowing hours will be satisfactory for most universities?

Except for VCU, I know they want 100 hrs to 150 hrs which is "insane" if you ask me.

 

[Incis0r]

I used excel

Date, hrs spent, notes on experience

 

[blcopp]

I used an excel sheet also.

It depends on the school. I know Detroit specifically says to have the dentist that you shadowed to write in the letter of recommendation how many hours you have with them. Just check each school you are applying to, but in general just their contact info is sufficient.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using SDN mobile

 

[Tatu78]

I am currently shadowing and I literally just write down the hours on the Notes app on my phone... I am sure they don't care if you're not accurate to the last digit...as long as you have an idea of how many hours you did, you're set.

And isn't the req for most schools around 100~150 anyway?

 

[predentanon]

I just used a notebook and logged how many hours I shadowed and what I observed.

 

[NonTraDentalStudent]

I used an excel spreadsheet, organized by specialty (titled with dentists' names & office contact info) with entries listing the date, number of hours shadowed each day and key observations. I also entered equations to calculate the hours accumulated per specialty as well as overall number of hours accrued. I liked having as much information as possible compiled in a single location for filling out the application.

 

[greentiger1]

I did what many people have already said above. I really recommend not only keeping track of hours, but also making note of what you observed. There were moments in my shadowing experiences that helped affirm my desire to pursue dentistry, and it is useful to note them in the event you want to discuss it in your personal statement.

 

[shwayne]

If you have a Mac search Stickies in your Finder.

 

[Faefly]

I used excel

Date, hrs spent, notes on experience

I am currently shadowing and I literally just write down the hours on the Notes app on my phone... I am sure they don't care if you're not accurate to the last digit...as long as you have an idea of how many hours you did, you're set.

And isn't the req for most schools around 100~150 anyway?

Many schools don't even write down how many hours they need. They don't specify how many hours they need.

I did what many people have already said above. I really recommend not only keeping track of hours, but also making note of what you observed. There were moments in my shadowing experiences that helped affirm my desire to pursue dentistry, and it is useful to note them in the event you want to discuss it in your personal statement.

Thank you all for your replies. I am doing the excel spreadsheet with listing the dentist specialty, the number of hours, dates, and contact info, but I didn't write down any notes. Is that really necessary?
What kind of notes should I leave? The name of the procedures they did or what each experience made me feel?

 

[bjpenn]

cool i made them up when i applied. i really dont know why schools care. if you're gonna put in all that effort to take exams, get good grades, and apply, then you should at least have a chance for an interview.

 

[Hatak]

cool i made them up when i applied. i really dont know why schools care. if you're gonna put in all that effort to take exams, get good grades, and apply, then you should at least have a chance for an interview.

So you lied about shadowing and put in fake hours? How did that work out for you..?