At Last....

Wow. Last week was rough, really rough. By the time Monday rolled around most everyone felt the same way I did - Out of gas, tired of staring at our computer screens, and ready for a break.

Microbiology: Monday was the time to start cramming, but my brain was spent. The facts were going straight into my primary occipital cortex, passing through Wernicky's area, and finally escaping out the other ear. I couldn't remember anything. To top it off, our professor decided to write a laughable test where 30% of the questions were never mentioned in class.

This class is very fact laden - An example:

1. Trying to remember whether Staph Aureus is Gram positive or negative, a cluster or a chain, transferred by the fecal-oral route or vapor droplets, or whether it causes endocarditis or glomularnephritis. Take this and multiply it by 30 plus micro-organisms and that was our final

NeuroAnatomy: This class was awesome. I really enjoyed it. Dr. VanderLinden is a great professor. Plus Neuro is a pretty cool subject.

Finally..... and I do mean Finally - I'm sitting on my parents couch with nothing to do and I'm absolutely loving every minuet of it.

Almost There....

Two more tests. Microbiology on Monday night, Neuroanatomy on Tuesday morning, off to Vegas Tuesday afternoon.

Review of past tests this week:

Histology is a pass/fail course so anything above a 70% is gravy. It was an easy test to get over 70% on.

NeuroAnatomy Pin Test - This one was straight forward, with about 3 to 4 tricky pins. Average was well above 90 on this test

Physiology - Pretty basic and straightforward. I expect the average will be in the low 90's.

Dental Anatomy - I could write/rant about this class for pages and pages, but I won't. I got another 60% on my tooth today. There are some major and consistent discrepancies in the grades between students in our class given by a particular grader. If you want the whole story, leave your comments and I'll see what I can do. Bottom Line: Today after seeing my grade, I just had to walk out and cool down. I seriously just about lost it. It has been a VERY long time since I have felt so frustrated and "picked on", for lack of a better phrase. Words just don't do the situation justice.

This week could not end soon enough.

The Speciliazation Debacle

Most people say that you need to be in the top 10% of your class in order to specialize, especially in the more competitive fields. I don't know if I want to specialize, and how should I? I haven't taken a single course in any of the specialty fields, nor do I have any hands-on experience with any of the specialties. This puts the struggling first year dental student in a tough spot:

Do I do everything possible to get good grades just to keep the door open for specialization, even though I know there is a good chance I won't specialize, and/or the possibility that even after all I can do my grades still won't be enough to put me in the top 10% of my class?


If I were to choose to be a general dentist right now, my life would be 10 times easier. Truly, a 70% in almost all our classes will lead to a passing grade and a DDS diploma in my hand at the end of these 4 years. I could probably pass most of my classes right now with very little studying if I were to set this grade as my standard.



I think about this debacle everyday. If I gave up on specializing I would have time to workout, play with my kids, and take my wife on dates. But as for now, I am still undecided, the door is still open, and I'm still weighing the benefits against the costs. It is a tough spot.

I added a poll on the right - Let me know what you think!

One more Crazy week

Short Post: We have just over one more week of school before thanksgiving break. I just wanted to post our test schedule for the next 7 school days.

• Monday: Study day
• Tuesday: Histology 2nd Midterm (pass/fail course)
• Wednesday: Group Presentation for DPHS (Dental Public Health and Society)
• Thursday: Neuroanatomy Practical Pin Test
• Friday: Physiology 2nd Midterm at 8:00 am followed by dental anatomy - first molar wax up.
• Monday: Microbiology Final (this class ends before thanksgiving)
• Tuesday: Neuroanatomy Final (this class ends before thanksgiving also) - Leave for break!

This is the busiest week we have had since school has started. It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

Waxing Teeth and Happy with a "C"

Wow - Waxing teeth is just not my forte. Let me explain how this works:

1) We get 40 minuets to wax up our fist tooth. This tooth is pass/fail and you have to try pretty hard to get a fail here. 21 points if you pass

2) We leave the room and the teachers grade the teeth.

3) We enter the room and read the giant paragraph of things we did wrong. This is normally where I start to panic.

4) Now we get 40 more minuets to wax our 2nd tooth. This time you are dealing with around 90 to 120 points and the stakes are a lot higher.

• I have NEVER been a student to shoot for a 70%, but when it comes to waxing I'll take a 70% in a heart beat and never look back.

5) After the 40 minuet buzzer goes off, we get 5 mins to grade our own tooth, 5 mins to grade a partners tooth, and 5 mins to discuss with our partner and put down a "consensus" grade.

6) We leave and the teachers do their thing.

7) I enter the room. I look at all the zeros on my page, and start pondering how I will ever pass this class (my new found weekly ritual).

We have waxed 4 teeth so far. On two of them, the Central Incisor and the Maxillary First Premolar, I received a grade between 50% and 60%. The other 2, Maxillary Lateral Incisor and Maxillary Canine, I have received a passing grade on.

Okay, so you get the point. Dental Anatomy at the University of Washington is HARD! A little rumor has been floating around. I'm not sure if it is true, although I have gotten some affirmative nods from some faculty at it's mention.
Here it is:
Last year out of the 66 students that make up the Seattle and Spokane campuses, 6 (that is right, SIX) students got above a 3.0 in this class.

All this being said - Dr. McCoy, who is our professor here in Spokane, is a legend in dental anatomy and the kindest and most genuine professor I have ever worked with. He is retired now and is only a part time faculty. Before he was retired he was the Chair of Dental Anatomy and with his help the UW became Dental Anatomy champions of the National Board Exams. So, needles to say he knows his stuff.



A few weeks ago, my wife and I got a rare chance to leave the kids at home and go out. We decided to get something to eat and then go down to the dental anatomy lab. Rendy wanted to try her hand at waxing. It was just the two of us and was a fun (and cheap) date. Some pics are below. Turns out she is a natural.