Camille Wahl's Reflection

First quarter of dental school is finally over! I have to admit, I have been waiting patiently for Christmas break since the middle of Anatomy! It has been a very tough quarter, tougher than any of my schooling thus far. It was also very stressful - full of late nights studying, countless study hours when compared to any quarter in undergrad, many uncertainties of passing a test, and the list can go on…



Despite the lengthy list of stresses and mild exhaustion, dental school has been even more than I expected! After 2 application cycles and many years of hard work, I was ecstatic upon getting my acceptance (in a voicemail by the way…)! Furthermore, I was even more excited about getting into the RIDE program. As with any new program I didn’t expect everything to be perfect and organized and that there would be many aspects that would need changing. But these downfalls are minute and have not affected the positive learning experience for myself.



The small class size is one of the most excellent aspects of the RIDE program. Not only getting the help I needed but also primarily to have all my professors and director genuinely care that me, as an individual, succeeded and that I get an unsurpassable education. Taking 35 credits was a bit horrendous and probably won’t change, but it was still a memorable year thus far. Also, in the mix of all the lackluster didactic classes, dental anatomy kept me going by helping me see that dentistry is what I’m interested in! And that it will eventually get here!



One of the main integrations for the RIDE program is taking classes with the medical students in efforts to help us understand the correlations and commonalities between the two professions. Having worked in both medical and dental fields for the past 7 years has definitely confirmed the similarities so I could immediately see the benefits of these courses. Many of my classmates did not understand this and constantly struggled with the importance of these courses. The best advice I have for future RIDE students is to enter these classes knowing you will one day utilize the communication skills they are teaching us. It will help make these courses much more interesting and positive!



All things considered, the quarter has been busy, it has been stressful, and it has changed my personal life, but it has also been important in becoming a dentist. I’m learning to enjoy it one day at a time!



Camille I. Wahl

Eric Nygard's Recap

The last 4½ months:

-Fun – Brad almost starting the lab on fire, joking about the quizzies and testies of our teachers, laughing to try to preserve sanity through yet another series of exams, anticipating Dr. Lampa’s next correlation between human anatomy and the anatomy of non-human species, “pawn to E-5”, dallup, . When we were all talking a couple weeks ago, a stinky fart permeated the area; no one said anything, but there was no denying that someone let one out – the mystery continues (maybe it should be blamed on a Fiber One bar)……

-Tough – being the first people to arrive on campus in the mornings and the last to leave at night, seeing that no matter how much effort is made or how well you may understand certain material, some grades seem to be pulled from a hat, not having a social life (fortunately, my classmates are becoming some of my best friends), not seeing my wife and kids as much as I would like (this was expected, but it is still tough).

-Unpredictable – although our schedule was very well planned out and organized, I don’t know that there were any two days that were the same, which made it a challenge to get into any sort of organized routine.

-Rewarding – during orientation, Dr. Evans assured us that we would make some of our best friends during dental school – friendships that will last for the rest of our lives. When he said that, I thought to myself, “I have some pretty amazing friends, so I don’t know about that.” Well, 4½ months later, I stand humbled and with some truly amazing friends – they are more like a family than classmates or friends. We have been through a lot together, and we have developed a special and unique camaraderie. I feel so fortunate to work with my classmates; they are such a talented and intelligent group – the most talented group of students I have ever worked with. During this quarter (if it can be called a quarter), I have learned so much in such a short amount of time. I am getting an amazing education.

-Tiring and stressful – on campus early in the morning (I usually arrived on campus between 5 and 7:30am), studying until bedtime most nights, waking up in the middle of the night and unable to fall back to sleep because I couldn’t remember which neuro pathway carried pain fibers or which tooth has mesial root grooves or what organism causes rice water diarrhea, getting a new cold sore every other week, forgetting to eat my lunch because I was so worried about the upcoming projects and exams

-Memorable – I don’t think I’ll ever forget the first time I had to ask a hospital patient (during patient interviews) if they have ever had sex with a prostitute – that’s a tough question to ask, no matter how good you are at patient interviews.

-A dream come true – I’m not the typical first year dental student. I was accepted to dental school after persisting through three unfruitful application cycles. I have worked and prayed with all my heart to get accepted to dental school, and after a long and bumpy road, I was accepted. I felt so blessed and fortunate to be accepted to dental school, and when I heard that I was going to be in the RIDE program, I was very excited. Shortly after applying to dental school four years ago (my first application), I was diagnosed with cancer. As it turned out, instead of focusing on getting into dental school, I was going through chemotherapy and fighting for my life. My wife and I adopted a precious baby girl during this time. By the next application cycle, I was in remission, so I eagerly went through the application process. Although I wasn’t accepted, my wife and I were presented with a situation where we were able to adopt a baby boy. At the end of that cycle, I needed to have a major surgery to remove a benign tumor from the back of my abdominal cavity. The following cycle was much the same – my wife and I had a baby boy (after many doctors told us we would never be able to, after chemo and cancer), but we weren’t accepted to dental school. In my fourth attempt, I was accepted. Through all of these application cycles, I didn’t know what I was lacking – I thought my application was pretty competitive. I did everything I could think of to get accepted. I am a religious person, and I see now that God had great purposes for all that has happened throughout the past years. Things have turned out much differently than I would have planned, but things have turned out so much better than I could have ever planned.

Throughout this year, there were tough times. When school got tough, I was able to remember how much it meant to be in dental school. This has been a dream of mine for many years now, and I am so, so, so thankful to be a dental student at the University of Washington and part of the RIDE program.

Eric Nygard

Kaitlin Poppe's Quarter End Entry

I can’t believe the quarter is over, it feels like yesterday it was 100 degrees and I was so nervous to meet my new class mates. Now 4 months later and an 80 degree temperature drop it all seems like a blur. This quarter was such a test of all of us. There were ups and downs, as it true with any program. We always questioned what was happening, if they were doing something different in Seattle, if we were getting worse grades, if we weren’t going to be able to specialize and honestly, why we did the program in the first place.

As I was flying back to Seattle last night I had some time to think and realized why I truthfully am happy where I am, why I love Dental school, and how truly lucky I am to be in RIDE. Yes, we did the math and we are taking 12.5 more hours a week of class (not including any study time), live in the bubbling metropolis of Spokane instead of Seattle, and spend on average 12-14 hours together every day but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I can honestly say I love coming to class every day, I love chatting with everyone, eating all of Eric’s wife’s cookies and Liza’s cupcakes, laughing in dental anatomy about Brad’s and my amazing tooth waxing ability, making tooth snowflakes for Dr. McCoy, learning about enamel (aka animal to our teacher) or dial uping (aka developing, Liza), and watching Camille’s puppy fall out of flower pots. It’s all of these fun things that I didn’t appreciate in the short term but are such good memories to look back on now.

So some of us were asking the other day if we would recommend this program to other people and I thought long and hard about it. First I said no, we don’t know, but I am pretty sure our grades are going to be significantly lower strictly because of the crazy schedule we have. That was my main factor. But riding home right now and thinking about it again, I think that I would recommend this program to people. It isn’t easy, and your grades might not be as high as you like, and you feel the hopes of possibly specializing slipping from your grip but you also learn what teamwork is, you learn to adapt to situations that are less than par, and how to make due with what you have. We are so lucky to have the relationship with our teachers and directors where we are on a first name basis with all of them. We can stop by just to hang out and eat candy with them if we want, we are lucky to have the god of Dental anatomy as our teacher, and we are lucky to have each other. I know I wouldn’t have made it through the past 4 months without every person in this program.

As I am heading home I don’t think I have ever been more exhausted both physically and mentally but have never felt more proud of myself and my class. We did it! We made it through a hell of a quarter and we only have 15 more to go J

Merry Christmas everyone!

Kaitlin Poppe

Bryan's Post

This is Bryan Swanson's review of the quarter and his picture. Thanks Bryan!

This first quarter in the RIDE program has had its ups and downs. However, like many things in life, it has turned out well in the end and I feel like I have learned a lot from the experience. I have been asked, "If you were to do it all over again, would you do RIDE?" My response for the first quarter is yes, but the answer to that question will have proper perspective only after I have graduated. My answer after this quarter is yes because of the many highlights and benefits I have seen so far. My highlights, in no particular order, include:

• The class, not only the size, but this particular class is full of some extremely talented people from whom I have learned a lot. The class works well as a team and we all receive as much attention from our professors as we each need to succeed.
• Working with our dental anatomy instructors was great this quarter. I won't say they made it easy, but their critique resulted in fantastic improvement in our waxing and knowledge of dental anatomy.
• Intro to Clinical Medicine (ICM) has made my list because the patient interviews at the hospital, which is unique to RIDE, kicked me out of my comfort zone, gave me confidence in a health care setting, and I improved my data collection skills.
• The intro to clinical dentistry (ICD) class allowed me to begin my clinical skills early - I have to say it was way awkward at first because I didn't know how to sit and especially had trouble probing pocket depths on the distal of 2nd molars!
• Anatomy at the Riverpoint campus is amazing! The facilities were nice and our professor was a magician when it came to finding any structure.
• I honestly enjoyed most classes most of the time, and I did learn a lot.

These are some of the major highlights from my first quarter. I did mention there were downs with the ups. For example, the quarter is very long (early Aug. - mid Dec.) and I was getting worn out by Thanksgiving, which happened to be when we had our 4 busiest weeks. There were many days I stayed on campus till 8, 9, or 10 during those busy weeks. I didn't realize how hard the first quarter would be. I had moments when I was frustrated and overwhelmed, but now finals are over and I couldn't be any happier or more biased about the quarter being great!

Bryan Swanson

DONE! And anonther Poll.

I took my last final today (physiology), so I am officially done with my first quarter of Dental school. I have to say it feels MUCH better than I thought it would. I convinced most of my fellow RIDE students into each writing some thoughts and feelings about this past quarter. It will be fun to see what everybody writes! I will post them up as I get them, along with each of their pictures.

I have been thinking lately about the quality of an education vs the Ease (i.e. grades) of an education (i know.... big suprise). The RIDE program is harder than the UW Seattle program (my opinion). We are in school longer and we take heavier course loads (fact). We also have very small class sizes (8 or 28) which I think contributes to a better education. Because we have more (and some may say harder) classes, my GPA is not going to be what it would be if I were in Seattle (I'm pretty confident in this). So here is the question:

" Would you rather have a better education and a lower GPA or a still very good education but have a higher GPA?"

This all makes its way back to the specialization debacle (a few posts back).

In dental school a Higher GPA = Higher Class Rank
(The rank doesn't account for differences in course load or course difficulty)

Now, from what I know about specializing, the most competitive specialties (orthodontics, endodontics, and Oral Surgery) pretty much require you to be in the top 10% of your class (at least top 20%). If you have no interest in specializing and set on becoming a general dentist, I think hands down that a better education is always the best route (RIDE program). However, if you have any interest in specializing, this question gets a little more fuzzy. If you are anything like me, then you are probably wondering how it is fair that we are ranked against the Seattle students even though we are taking a harder course load. Well, the system is flawed... I know.

So with all this being said what option would you choose?

The poll is on the Right. And if you would be willing to defend your vote, I would love to hear your reasoning!!!

RIDE Christmas Party

The director of the program, Dr. DiMarco, hosted a RIDE Christmas party at his house on Friday night. A lot of faculty attended as well as all the students. It was really nice to mingle with everybody and get to know everyone's spouses. Dr. DiMarco has a beautiful home out in Coeur D'Alene, ID overlooking the lake.

As I was mingling with everyone at the party, I couldn't help but think about how this party exemplifies some of the major benefits of the RIDE program . It is nice to be included within a tight knit group of people, to be treated as equals amongst the faculty and staff, and to be able to enjoy time with one another. I have no doubt that if I were in Seattle I would share some of these same benefits, but I don't think they would be on the same level that we enjoy here in Spokane. Maybe it was the Christmas decorations, the beautiful home, the amazing lasagna, or the good company of friends, but It caused me to reflect upon the positives of these last 4 months and put the negatives aside.

This party turned out to be a great stress reliever also. 6 hours prior to this party I had just bombed our Dental Anatomy written final. It was horrible.... the bombing part, not the test.... and I was able to let go of that stress and enjoy the evening. I very well could have gotten between a 50% and 60% on that test, and I'm definitely not expecting any more than that. The good news is, it still looks like I still might be able to pass.

Sorry there are no pictures.... I forgot the camera.

Making Family Time During Finals

Just a quick short post with proof that you can still have a life outside of dental school..... even during finals week.

Here are a few pics of my kids playing with my model teeth. I'm trying to not completely alienate my family during finals week. Below is my bald 17 month old daughter Scarlett and my 4 year old Dylan.

Finals. Round Two.

Finals are finally here. Here is the test line up:

Tuesday: Intro to Clinical Dentistry
Friday: Written Dental Anatomy Test and Midterm Wax Up.
Monday: Histology Final Exam
Tuesday: Tooth Identification Test and Final Tooth Wax Up
Wednesday: Physiology Final Exam

I'm facing two problems right now: Motivation and Time

• Motivation: This has been a long, hard, and busy quarter. Thanksgiving break proved to just be a tease of the 2 1/2 week winter break just around the quarter. In the week I've been back from break I've done almost nothing in the form of studying/preparing for upcoming exams. However, I don't think I'm the only one that feels the lack of movitivated. A common phrase I have been hearing lately is "I'm done" or sometimes it comes out in this variation, "I can't do this anymore. I'm done." This lack of motivation has led me to my second problem...
• Time: Due to my lack of motivation, I have successfully left myself with a very short time to prepare for my upcoming exams. I'm still planning my attack (study) strategy for the next 12 days. I must admit that its not looking promising.
  

We'll see how it all shakes out.

Blog Stalkers

You guys really had me fooled....... All you Blog Stalkers out there, reading my posts and never leaving a comment or question..... you know who you are. I figured that most of my posts were being read by a few select family, friends, and a couple other predents who have posted once or twice. However, I learned differently today. I learned that some of you have been mentioning my blog in your admissions interviews. Well, I must say that I'm flattered, even though it had me sweating bullets in our luncheon with Seattle RIDE personnel today.

So, future UW Dentists, I want you to leave behind your deviant Blog Stocking behaviors and start leaving comments and asking questions. What are your hopes and concerns??? Go ahead and post them up.

The Poll Results

For those of you who did not see the results of the Poll, here they are:

87% think it is worth it to try and keep the specialization door open.
23% said No, life is to short.

As you all know, I have been giving this question a lot of thought. The week before thanksgiving was crazy and I was WAY to stressed. I was having a hard time sleeping on a night before one of our last tests of that week. Thoughts of specialization were racing through my head, numbers were being crunched in order to compute my GPA, and sleep was far from attainable. But it gave way to this thought, "After 4 years of this (dental school), I'm not going to want to move somewhere like OH, PA, NY, Fl, IA, NE, ect..., and do another 2 to 4 years of school/residency." I woke my wife up from her stress-less sleep to tell her my profound thoughts (she wasn't amused).

So from here on out, I will continue to strive to do well in my school work, but I will strive even harder to not lose sleep/fun/exercise over anxiety about my grades. We'll see what happens.