Working at a Dentists' office

[KobeshouldbeaMD]

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Hello,
I'm just looking for a concise definition on clinical experience.

I currently work ~4hrs/week at a dentist's office and I sterilize equipment, develop X-rays, clean rooms, set up dental procedures and do some office work.

1)Does this count as clinical experience?
2)Will I need to complement this with medically related clinical experience? 3)How many hours will I need to have a strong application?
4)Does Physician shadowing count as clinical exposure/experience?

and just for the hell of it, bonus question:
6)Is research necessary? and how much?


Thank you

 

[13132]

Hello,
I'm just looking for a concise definition on clinical experience.

I currently work ~4hrs/week at a dentist's office and I sterilize equipment, develop X-rays, clean rooms, set up dental procedures and do some office work.

1)Does this count as clinical experience?
2)Will I need to complement this with medically related clinical experience? 3)How many hours will I need to have a strong application?
4)Does Physician shadowing count as clinical exposure/experience?

and just for the hell of it, bonus question:
6)Is research necessary? and how much?


Thank you

I don't know much, but I am almost certain you will need to get clinical experience outside of the dentist office. Why observe the Coast Guard if you want to go into the Navy? They are superficially similar, but they actually are totally different.

 

[LizzyM]

Nothing you've described seems to take place in the presence of patients so I'd say it is not clinical experience. Some interviewers will ask if you considered other professions or what you'd do if you couldn't do medicine. Having some knowledge of dentistry and knowing why you choose medicine over dentistry or why you'd choose dentistry if medicine were not an option, is useful.

You should do something that helps you see in medicine is right for you. Part of this "testing the waters" means learning what doctors do through shadowing or employment in close proximity to a physician (such as being an ER scribe). The other is to develop your skills dealing with the sick, injured & disabled, (or even the worried well and those seeking preventive services such as well baby care & contraceptive services) and their families. It is much easier to be comfortable interacting with the sick if you've had some experience with it before getting to medical school.


Most applicants who get in somewhere (60-80%) have research experience. Two reasons to do it: if you might be interested in a certain specialties, you need to have some research experience to get a residency in that specialty. Having some research experience as an undergrad may help you land a research position in med school which will help you with research that will be expected as a resident.

Even if you aren't interested in doing research in the future, as a physician you will be a consumer of research results and having some understanding of what goes into research investigations, can be helpful in understanding the scientific method.

 

[drgioiadds]

Hello,
I'm just looking for a concise definition on clinical experience.

I currently work ~4hrs/week at a dentist's office and I sterilize equipment, develop X-rays, clean rooms, set up dental procedures and do some office work.

1)Does this count as clinical experience?
2)Will I need to complement this with medically related clinical experience? 3)How many hours will I need to have a strong application?
4)Does Physician shadowing count as clinical exposure/experience?

and just for the hell of it, bonus question:
6)Is research necessary? and how much?





Thank you

I'm going to chime in from my experience as a Dentist for 10 years and will be attending DO school next summer. Some schools did not see my practice as clinical experience, the one I did get accepted to did.

Furthermore, one school wanted a letter from my DO mentor to describe the nature of my shadowing. I was a little surprised that they wanted to know more about what I saw, rather than what I have done.

 

[Noah Capurso]

The purpose of clinical experiences is to get an idea what it would be like practicing as a doctor. Cleaning dental equipment and developing X-Rays isn't going to cut it as your only clinical experience. You could put it on your application for sure, especially if you can describe what you learned from the experience and how, if at all, it influenced your decision to apply to medical school.

Research is always a tricky question and it depends on what your goals are. The more selective the school, the more important research is. For the top tier schools, research isn't explicitly required but is pretty much expected. It is also expected of medical students applying to selective residency programs. So, if your goal is to do neurosurgery at a top 10 school, research is a requirement. If you want to do primary care at a state school or an osteopathic program, then I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[KobeshouldbeaMD]

Some schools did not see my practice as clinical experience

WOW. That sounds ridiculous. Congrats on your acceptance though.


I saw your post a while back in WAMC and I was very impressed, major props to you, good luck on your endeavors.

 

[GrendizerDDS]

No. You need to actually be shadowing and observing a dentist in order to get clinical experience in dentistry. You've already gotten pretty good responses here, but you'll get more at the predental forums.

 

[KobeshouldbeaMD]

You should do something that helps you see in medicine is right for you. Part of this "testing the waters" means learning what doctors do through shadowing or employment in close proximity to a physician (such as being an ER scribe). The other is to develop your skills dealing with the sick, injured & disabled, (or even the worried well and those seeking preventive services such as well baby care & contraceptive services) and their families. It is much easier to be comfortable interacting with the sick if you've had some experience with it before getting to medical school.

I'll try to work on this now.
I'll explore research after I shadow a couple of physicians and maybe have an idea about what type of specialty I want to match in too.

Thanks

 

[Knocked Up]

Hello,
I'm just looking for a concise definition on clinical experience.

I currently work ~4hrs/week at a dentist's office and I sterilize equipment, develop X-rays, clean rooms, set up dental procedures and do some office work.

1)Does this count as clinical experience?
2)Will I need to complement this with medically related clinical experience? 3)How many hours will I need to have a strong application?
4)Does Physician shadowing count as clinical exposure/experience?

and just for the hell of it, bonus question:
6)Is research necessary? and how much?


Thank you

If you need the job to support yourself, continue. I had to work in college because my gf was a gold digger and my parents wouldn't loan me money to buy her things every week.

My advice:

1) Spend your time doing something unique
2) Research is funner, do it.
3) Just shadow a physician for a couple of hours, spending a few hours in the OR or ER is a phenomenal clinical experience.
4) and MOST importantly: STUDY. Medical admissions is number driven and the MCAT is a hard test.