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
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