Future post

Hi everyone, I know the gaps in  between posts are long but dschool is definitely a full time job so it has been hard to update regularly. My school has started the interview process and I’ve been to a few of the sessions and many of the same questions come up over and over so another time (when I don’t have an exam breathing down my neck – hello histology) I am going to write an interviewee FAQ post answering some of those questions. In the meantime be sure to check out the links I have over there -> of other dental school blogs and the Student Doctor Network for information on dental school and other things.

Quick Update

Wow, it’s been a month since I’ve posted here. Time sure has flown; since I’ve last written we’ve had 3 exams and 1 practical (including the dreaded gross anatomy exam). Things are still going well for now my class is bonding and  people are settling into their groups. It still hasn’t really sunk in for me that I will be with these people for 4 more years I just feel like I’ve met a bunch of really cool people and our time together will come to an end in a couple week (which is untrue of course). In any case, I am still liking dental school 1 year after I interviewed for my position here which is a huge relief. To everyone going through the application process right now, good luck and hang in there. If you are interviewing this early you are in pretty good shape so take a deep breath and enjoy asking us current dental students about what it’s really like, promise to tell the truth .

In full (ish) swing

So having gone through our first fully scheduled week with labs and what not I now know why the dental blogs I myself liked reading when I was applying did not update very frequently; there is so much to do. When you get to dental school the one thing everyone tells you is don’t fall behind. I swear we must have heard it about 5 times in every introductory class for every subject we have. They say it so much that it kind of becomes a meaningless catchphrase – until you start class. They are not kidding when they say it is easy to fall behind. The first week with our pared down schedule was a piece of cake compared to the full 8-5 lectures+lab that is our normal day to day. After being in school for 9 hours the last thing you want to do is go to the library and study for another 2 or 3, but that is what you have to do.

The volume of information that has been thrown at us in one short week is mind boggling, ESPECIALLY in gross anatomy. We started our dissections this week and are almost done the first block (and thus have exams soon). Dissection is pretty cool but can be very very frustrating depending on the body you have and what structure you are looking for. I still think that it is one of the coolest things I’ll ever get to do though – most people can’t say that they’ve seen the inside of a human being.

Now that we are past orientation you are also starting to see who is freaking out a bit about school and who is trying to keep it calm and collected. I think that this distinction will become even more obvious as we get towards our first set of exams (2 weeks!) and even more so when the marks come out. For me personally I am still excited about being in dental school, I’m now starting to feel somewhat like I belong in the building and not just taking an extended tour.

Dental anatomy lab is great, we did our first wax up on the MI of tooth #8 and it really felt like we were learning things for our future profession. I think out of all the classes that one is the most fun because it’s something completely new and hands on and most of our class is on an even playing field. We haven’t done anything complicated enough to determine whether anyone has ‘good hands’ and will get projects done easily or ‘bad hands’ and have to practice tons. I am crossing my fingers that I am in the former group and won’t have to spend too many late nights in lab on the weekends.

Speaking of weekends, I’m about to rename Saturday to Studyday and go catch up on some readings that didn’t happen due to some annoying unforeseen circumstances this week. It’s been a bumpy first week but hopefully all the subsequent ones will go much more smoothly.

On being organized

Much like any new student, I have made the resolution that this year will be one of order (well, at least in terms of things I can control) and organization. In the past, previous resolution to be an orderly organized studying machine have failed bitterly. I know you can all relate; you start the school year with your new binders, stacks of crisp lined paper, many coloured pens and folders for everything…and then two weeks in you’re forgetting which folder is for which and writing stuff down on any scrap paper, thoughts of colour coding long forgotten.

Personally, I am way more organized when stuff is on a computer. Give me a hard drive and everything is put away in a perfect little folder that clearly states what is in there. Extra stuff is deleted, files are sorted, notes are archived; the whole nine. 

Seeing as it is the start of a new school, I have once again resolved to be organized not only with my notes but with my time. I’m in the process of trying to create a study schedule of sorts but it can be pretty difficult to do that with any sort of consistency. Do I pack a double lunch so that I just stay on campus or head to the library straight after class? Do I come home first, unwind then head back out? Do I have to discipline to study at home for the daily review? Where does working out fit into there? It’s quite the dilemna involving multiple ical edits and shifting around. 

Then again, it is only the first day of school so I will have some time to settle into the groove. Just wanted to rattle off a quick blog post about some of the stuff taking up my mind space right now. I’m off to write a paper (yes we already have a paper due – welcome to professional school).

Getting oriented

Here I am one-ish week into orientation and I can say that dental school is a blast so far. My class is awesome and we are bonding so much at orientation events, getting to know everyone is so hectic and fun at the same time it really is like being a freshman again except with more freedom and less awkwardness, haha. For the past week we’ve been going on picnics, bars, having free pizza and playing games (in between all the administrative stuff like picking up student IDs and parking passes of course). The D2s are being really helpful too for the most part in showing us the ropes and telling us helpful hints about where to go out where to study.

We had our first real class lecture yesterday, an intro to ethics course that eases us into the era of 3 hour long lectures. It wasn’t too horrible but of course it doesn’t really count since we didn’t have to take notes and spent the time doing things like defining what a profession is. In the class while we were talking about the code of standards that we will have to uphold as dentists I had a holy-crap-this-is-really-happening moment. It really hit me that I am now learning stuff that I will be using for my career; not just to get a grade to go onto the next level, this IS the next level. After this no more school (most likely), just real world career stuff. It’s exciting and terrifying at the same time. But hey I’m getting ahead of myself here I still haven’t taken one of my basic science classes yet. The gauntlet doesn’t start until next week so I’m going to enjoy my remaining 3 days of orientation guilt free because come next week it’s game time.

Clearly, I am psychic…

As predicted in my previous post, I am now at home enjoying the pleasures of free food and friends. It really is so funny how much less annoying it is to live with parents when you have a set departure date in mind, haha. I’ve been talking to my class mates online and it seems that the majority of them are moving on Saturday, which will henceforth be known as D1 pilgrimage day (no, not really). I haven’t been very good at updating this blog I must admit, but I think that it will get better during orientation when I have stuff to write about and subsequently worse during school when I have things to study.

I start school in less than a week and I couldn’t be more excited – ok that’s a lie, I’ll probably be more excited the day before the first day. Like a typical girl I am wondering what to wear for the first day. I mean, technically it is not the first day of class per se since I don’t think orientation counts as class.  You don’t want to be the only person to show up in business casual, but you also don’t want to be the only person in flip flops and cutoff (not that I’d wear that to school since I think I’d freeze in the air conditioning). It’s like the first day of high school all over again – one class of people you’re going to see all the time, a set of teachers you don’t want to make a bad impression on and a whole lot of unknown. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous but it’s the good kind – the kind that makes you want to meet everyone and see every lecture hall and lab and find your locker and meet your benchmates and the whole nine. We will see how long this enthusiasm last (I’m going to predict by the first exam it will have worn off). Next time I write here I’ll be an official D1! I’ll be sure to update will all of my orientation experiences.

p.s. To all this year’s applicants – I feel your pain, hang in there the waiting game for secondaries and interviews has just begun. Don’t give up hope though, just this week I heard of someone getting accepted in time for class to start the next week so it can happen! It’s not over till it’s over. Good luck!

Settling In

Hello all, so I am finally here in my new place all unpacked, getting used to living away from home again (hint: it’s great). Some people have asked me why I moved so early instead of spending more time at home and with my family and friends. My initial reason for moving a full 2 weeks before school was so that I could get to know my new city, seeing as I am somewhat directionally challenged (to put it nicely). However, with google maps and the fact that almost no one is here yet it has gotten really boring. To the point where I am thinking of going back home until right before school starts up again. I mean don’t get me wrong, home is great but I somehow had some grand idea of me exploring this city and discovering all sorts of cool things to do and see and that’s not happening. In any case, it looks like I’ll be jumping in my car sometime next week to be homeward bound for a week or so. 

While I’ve been here, I have had to opportunity to meet some of my classmates who are here already and I must say they are really nice! Very chill people so far and I have no doubt that the rest will be equally as nice as the handful I’ve met. I’m inclined to think my school is very good at selecting a class if I base it on this small sample but I’ll be sure to touch on that in a couple weeks once orientation starts. Meeting people makes it more real though, since the conversation is no longer “I” am going to dental school but “we” are going to dental school. It’s weird but cool to meet the people I’m going to spend 4 years learning and loathing school with, and I can’t wait to meet the rest of them!

This just in

PACKING SUCKS!

 

 

the end

(I’ll write when I surface from under the pile of wreckage that is my room right now)

Counting down pt. 1

Anticipation and excitement are the two words that I would use to describe my feelings about dental school and the big move coming up. I went down to my apartment and picked up the keys from my landlord the other day so the place is officially mine and I can start moving stuff in (if I want to make the drive down there repeatedly  - which I actually don’t want to do, but I’ll probably move some preliminary things down to lessen the load on actual move in day). It is so exciting though; now the place is mine to furnish, set up exactly how I want it, I have a wicked large walk in closet and I can start organizing my clothes etc.

I have approximately 2 weeks before I move (and no, I have not started packing yet, but I will because it’s becoming a liiiiitle more crucial now) which I can’t wait to do. I’m going a little early so I have time to get used to where everything is in my city (no gps in my car so I have to learn my way around the old fashioned way - by getting lost) and to meet up with some classmates who live there already for some good times. I think that’s what I’m most excited about, just getting to meet the people who will become my ‘dental family’ (for lack of a better word) for the next 4 years. We’re gonna learn together, study together, write exams together, hang out together and get to know each other really well for the next little while and I am looking forward to seeing how our class meshes together and what the dynamic is.

Anyways, T-minus 14ish days till I move, the next time I write here I’ll probably be in my new apartment!

Packing it in

Time flies when you’re approaching the beginning of something big, doesn’t it? I looked at the calendar today and realized that ‘holy crap I’m moving in about a month! A month! That is so soon! 4 short weeks, 30 little days and I’ll be in my new apartment getting used to a new city. I don’t even want to think about all the work that needs to be done before then. I have to go through my closet, pull up the stuff I packed away when I came back from undergrad, go shopping for stuff and PACK.

I don’t know about you, but I HAAATE packing; it is definitely the worst part about starting a new stage in life. Packing up my entire room and then some into a few boxes, putting them in a couple cars and driving to my new apartment sounds like hell. Every time I get even slightly motivated to start packing, one glance at my closet puts that idea right to bed.

This is not good because one day I am going to wake up go “oh S^*# I’m moving NEXT WEEK” and be stressed beyond belief. You’d think that knowing this would happen would motivate me to prevent it *looks at closet*….nope. I think I’m going to focus my energy on enjoying the little time I have left at home with my friends and family and keep procrastinating on the packing for now.