I was a NERB patient (victim, whatever!) for two seniors earlier this month (they each did a class II lesion on me). They each had a different assistant, but one was definitely more on top of the game that the other one. All seniors had an assistant who was an employee of the school, so they were all somewhat trained & competent. The student with the "less attentive" assistant was constantly asking/telling the assistant what he needed next and what he was doing (she is usually an ortho assistant and maybe she hadn't done operative in a while). Like he kept having to ask her for instruments and she just seemed kinda distracted every now and then. The "more attentive" one usually assists with operative on the clinic floor and just seemed to know what was going to happen next. Both of them helped with the rubber dam, triturated amalgam, handed instruments, suctioned, etc. The most important thing I would say they did is make sure that the tray the patient had to carry back to the examiner was in the right order with the correct instruments, paperwork and covering (the napkin covering the tray had to face a certain way and it is generally known that NERB examiners are the stuffiest of the bunch). Make sure you ask the student what s/he expects of you beforehand and it should go fine.
BTW, if I learned anything from this experience as a dental student, it would be to try and find your lesions on first and second year dental students b/c you know they will show up the day of your exam and you probably won't have to pay them. So you bet I will be best friends with the next two incoming classes...
