Why.

[misterrr]

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Why is there so much stress put upon shadowing by fellow SDN predents?

I just did my first shadowing shift, and to be absolutely and brutally honest, it was a waste of time in my opinion. I know that the purpose is to get a glimpse of what dentistry looks and feels like, and maybe interject a question or two, but this can also be done over a lunch/dinner or coffee with an alumni/dentist/etc (which I have done and learned SO much more).

I'm not against the shadowing idea, but I just don't get how and why people dedicate 100s (and even 1000+) of hours to shadowing. This is beyond my understanding because logically wouldn't that time better be put elsewhere? Even a legit work experience seems MUCH more valuable, rather than just sitting around looking awkward (keep in mind in Canada, from what I've seen and heard, most dental clinics never allow you anywhere near the patients).

Does putting 1000+ hours of shadowing even look good to the adcoms? I can't imagine, because if I was an adcom that underwent even a weeks worth of shadowing, I would probably think that the student has put that much hours just as a formality...

 

[52massacre]

I agree, fellow canadian? Where are you in Canada? The number of opportunities will depend on the area you are in.

 

[Joelgrow]

Why is there so much stress put upon shadowing by fellow SDN predents?

I just did my first shadowing shift, and to be absolutely and brutally honest, it was a waste of time in my opinion. I know that the purpose is to get a glimpse of what dentistry looks and feels like, and maybe interject a question or two, but this can also be done over a lunch/dinner or coffee with an alumni/dentist/etc (which I have done and learned SO much more).

I'm not against the shadowing idea, but I just don't get how and why people dedicate 100s (and even 1000+) of hours to shadowing. This is beyond my understanding because logically wouldn't that time better be put elsewhere? Even a legit work experience seems MUCH more valuable, rather than just sitting around looking awkward (keep in mind in Canada, from what I've seen and heard, most dental clinics never allow you anywhere near the patients).


Does putting 1000+ hours of shadowing even look good to the adcoms? I can't imagine, because if I was an adcom that underwent even a weeks worth of shadowing, I would probably think that the student has put that much hours just as a formality...

I agree.

For me, 20 hours to 40 hours was enough, and kind of to get a glimpse of dentistry, and

had a good conversation with my dentist.

1000 hours sounds...idk just too much to me. I could use that time to study for DAT and

school stuff.

 

[UCSFx2017]

1,000 hours of strictly shadowing and not volunteering by assisting is too long. An applicant with that much free time and that idea of a good use of time does not impress me the slightest bit. Strictly shadowing is not a mentally-exhausting, -stimulating, or -challenging activity. Anybody could do it even a 12-year-old.

A lot of schools only require around 100 hours. That's enough of what little exposure you actually get of dentists while strictly shadowing. At most it shows you what it's like to be a dental assistant because that's the work that you're most emulating.

 

[hl4jn]

.

 

[ATG20]

School reps used to come to my univ ranting about how we need hundreds and hundreds of shadowing hours to be "competitive," whatever that means. Personally, I called BS on it, and if any school would make me waste that much time, I decided they weren't for me.


I had under 100 hours of shadowing. One of the dentists and I agreed it was a waste of time past the 10 hour mark; he still let me keep on though to meet the minimum hours. I learned more on my lunches with him than anything else. I suppose it allows a glimpse into the workings of an office, and lets you see how stressful a full day can be. That said, hundreds or even a thousand hours is excessive, and I wouldn't be impressed by it. The marginal return on 400 hours of shadowing versus 50 hours is slim if you're just lurking in the corner watching procedures. I dedicated my free time to other pursuits, and it wasn't questioned in any of my interviews.

 

[Azrael]

I shadowed for 3 days for a total of 13 hours. By the first day I already knew dentistry was for me and by the second I already observed most of the procedures.

Shadowing is needed for you to know what you're getting yourself into and whether you can see yourself doing it for the next 40 years. What I don't understand are "shadowing requirements". If you can't decide whether dentistry is for you within the first 10 hours (let alone ~100 as required by some schools) you should start looking at other professions.

 

[UCSFx2017]

Yeah if you really enjoy shadowing, do it for your own sake but don't do it in an attempt to get a leg up on the application.

The most I learned from shadowing is the type of work and procedures that the dentist does and how the clinic/office are run. The patient interactions are just as appreciable as talking with any other person off the street. That didn't come off as any surprise.

The dentistry part, you learn in dental school. What they don't teach you in dental school is that around 50% of your stress and labor goes into the business side, at least from the opinion of one of the dentists who I shadowed. If I could shadow how my dentist manages his business, takes care of ledgers, manages marketing, deals with patient payment schedule (w/ or w/o insurance), deals with sales reps, chooses equipment, takes out loans, chooses a right practice location, etc., I would think "shadowing" is worth the extra hundreds of hours.

 

[pinpoint212]

those kids you see with 1000+ hours in shadowing, are complete bull.

 

[user101]

I only did 30hrs of shadowing..even before that i was drawn to dentistry just by going to my appointments and being curious about everything. I dont recommend doing 50+ that's craziness

 

[NDPitch]

I agree that after 30-40 hours of shadowing, it gets old and you're ready to move on to the next step. Unfortunately, some schools now require that you do 100 hours of shadowing. I ended up doing 110 hours just to pay my dues and move on. The one school that I applied to that had the 100+ hours requirement ended up being the school I'm attending this fall, go figure.

 

[UCLAzy]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=968900

i interviewed at every school i applied to except for michigan (when i applied i didnt know about their 100 hr policy). accepted at all but one (harvard).

 

[jeffity]

I've wanted to leave after an hour before. Just dreadful all around and sensing it would be a waste if time. Another gave me the, "If you know you want to be a dentist, shadowing is useless. Let me know when you apply and I'll sign a letter for you." Others loved to act as a mentor. Observing was obvious, but they went beyond. I guess it eventually stops being shadowing. My point is that it's dentist/office dependent.

 

[Glimmer1991]

It's just a hoop you have to jump through. I think we ALL agree that after a few days, you've seen most of the procedures and there's little left for you to do. It can feel like you're just in the way sometimes,and it can get awkward. However, I got in about 115 hours altogether over the course of 8 months. I think that will be enough, but I have definitely heard people talk about getting in 300+ hours. That seems like a COMPLETE waste to me, and I really don't think it would be viewed as something awesome by adcoms. That time could be much better spent volunteering. Part of my "shadowing" time, though, was also volunteering time--to make myself useful, I cleaned rooms, filed, assisted a little bit, etc. Like I said to begin with, though, you've just gotta do it.

 

[Bis-GMA111]

shadowing over like 20 hours in 1 practice is extremely useless, in my opinion. but nonetheless i sucked it up and i did it. yeah, it sucked and got redundant, but i got to learn a lot and i made some new friends along the way.

a lot of schools recommend shadowing over long periods of time in different offices. i mean of course, if you're rushing to cram in shadowing hours before the app cycle starts it's going to suck going to an office from 9-5 for like 3 months. but, it has to be done.

i'd recommend shadowing like 5-6 diff dentists of all specialties just to have that diversity.

 

[jhmc]

100 is fair enough..to meet most school requirements

 

[mid]

I'm one of those people with a ungodly number of "shadowing" hours. If your just standing in the corner it's probably not useful. One of the big pluses in my opinion of shadowing a ton is seeing the rare(r) cases, prostheses for reconstruction after cancer surgery, apicos, facial deformities, various medically compromised patients etc. I also had a didactic component to my shadowing where before or after a interesting case I would read papers about it and then have a discussion with the dentist about the procedure, treatment planning etc. I've gotten to see the whole business side of the practice.

TL;DR version: your mileage will vary and the usefulness of many hours of shadowing can be minimal or be quite useful.

 

[ktran17]

I am volunteering at a dental clinic and do dental assisting and front office work. In my letter I asked my dentist to write that I shadowed and volunteered approximately x hours. I think this is the way to go because you kill two birds with one stone. It really isn't lying either, because there are times when I'm solely just observing. =) I managed to clock 250hours + doing this. I think as long as you show adcoms that you're genuinely interested and learned from your experience, it will be good enough.

However, I do agree that just strictly shadowing, observing, for more than 20ish hours is a waste of time.

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

In my personal opinion...

I think you can get a glimpse into what the aspects are within a short 3-4 hour interval but why do more? Let me know if this applies to you.

Hour 1 = fillings
Hour 2 = Crown
Hour 3 = bridge
Hour 4 = Implant restoration
Hour 5 = veneers
Hour 6 = Pt just finished endo
Hour 7 = Pt returning from perio surgery
Hour 8 = Invisalign pt...
Hour 9 = bleaching pt...
Hour 10 = lab insertions...

Etc etc you name it. This often won't happen and you'll get something more along the lines of 5 fillings, 1 crown... I think you get what I'm trying to get at it. You won't get to see it all on any one day.

I also advocate shadowing at multiple offices instead of pouring all of your hours into one. Reasoning? You get to see how different docs run different practices, which has much more merit than just observing for 'shadowing hours'. Pay attention to practice building and the business aspect


Edit:
This might also explain why whenever I read personal statements that they never really delve into depth about their dental experience. Pretty typical one is: First 1/3 = Story about life; Second third = academic achievements; tiny little paragraph about shadowing experience; Last third = trying to explain your uber artistic/hand skills