I should title all my posts with cool songs from the 80′s…thanks Jon Bon Jovi. OK, I know I haven’t been able to keep up as much this year with the blog as last year, but if anyone has been following along with this blog they will have remembered all me previous posts about how 1st year at Temple Dental is pretty laid back and 2nd year is where they fill your plate. My plate is full. Don’t worry though, I am happy. We have had 7 tests and a couple of quizzes over a two week period. This sounds like a lot. Let me add some more to it though. The preparation that goes into a couple of weeks of midterms is tremendous! Time management skills are very beneficial in dental school. Organizational skills are also important. I will break down the classes so far:
General Pathology: We have two teachers in this course. They are both very knowledgeable on the subject and run a very large pathology lab at Temple Hospital. I am convinced they are trying to set a record for ‘most information in one lecture’. Imagine that and then add 7 more lectures to it and this is the course. Every disease that can manifest itself in the body and oral.facial region is combed over. Granted it isn’t like reading Andreoli’s Medicine book, but it is a difficult class. I took the first test with a fever of 102 degrees F. I did OK considering I was pretty out of it. NY-QUIL is my hero. We took our second test today and I did much better with a normal brain. Lets hope to see similar results with test 3 & 4.
Microbiology: First test was easier than eating ice cream with peanuts. Unless you have a Type I hypersensitivity reaction to peanuts…yep, the stuff we learn in micro is good for every day use, as just demonstrated. Did you know that Graves Disease is a Type II hypersensitivity? I missed that on the path test even though we were tested on this question in micro a week before! I sat staring at the test for 15 minutes wondering why I couldn’t remember the answer to one of the most basic questions. The first micro test was easy. The second one was considerably harder. I am going to try a different approach for the 3rd & 4th and hopefully do better. There are so many bugs around us that a classmate of mine kept saying one day, “It is amazing we are still alive.”
Intro to Orthodontics: Breath of fresh air! It is good to just be able to sit back relax, bend some wires, make a retainer and turn it in tomorrow and take a final in a couple of weeks. I like the instructors and the lab.
Restorative III: Last year we learned all the basic cavities, and all metal crown information. The dimensions, burs, measurements, etc. This year we are learning about porcelain metal crowns (PFMs). The learning curve is much shorter and I feel more comfortable with my drill then ever. Way to go cerebellum! Neuroanatomy IS true! We have had two quizzes and our first test next Thursday. I am going to start preparing yesterday…much of this course is repeat from last year. LEARN YOUR MATERIALS. We have the same materials lecture this year as last year (more emphasis on PFM crowns) and I wish I could remember more. We’ll see how the test goes. We also have a practical tomorrow. When you get into second year you basically have a practical every Friday all semester long. Get used to prepping a tooth and provisionalizing it in 2-3 hours. This may sound excessive to D3, D4′s, graduates, but c’mon we are still learning. Remember your roots. Lots of information in this class, but it is dentistry and the reason you wanted to come to school, so it is FUN!
Dental Public Health: A lot harder than I had imagined a one credit class to be. I studied quite a bit for this and even let my micro grade stink a little for it…guess it is time to rethink my strategy. I can still get a low B…
Periodontology I: Straight forward notes, good lectures, the tests ARE hard, but the key is that every answer is in the notes. You just have to make sure you know the notes and you can get the answer. No tricks, just useful information.
Oral Surgery: Interesting class. The test was basically common sense. Some of which I did not have that day and paid the piper. Nothing I can’t rebound from though. Bring it on!
We basically have a test a week until finals where we get worked over the coals again.
Quick Story: A man’s donkey falls into a well and it stuck at the bottom. The man cannot get the donkey out by himself and decides to let it die in the well. He gets a friend and for whatever reason they decide to bury the donkey at the bottom of the well. (It works out for the moral – don’t call PETA). As they throw dirt on the donkey the donkey shakes the dirt off and he is able step on the dirt and rise with it as more is dumped on him. The donkey slowly rises out of the well and is free. He is bruised on his back, dirty and tired, but he i alive and the man is happy.
Parable: Well = dental school, dirt = school work, the man = THE MAN (teachers, deans, parents, bosses, etc.) Whatever is thrown at us or dumped on us we must shake it off and rise because of it.
Yes, I am going to end with this cheesy message.
