As I reflect on my journey in and out of dentistry, I am compelled to go back to the beginning: DENTAL SCHOOL. Since my last list was all about the hate, I need some balance. So for today, I'll share what I loved.
It is interesting, that dentistry itself didn't quite make the list. Hmm... I wonder if that should have been a sign? I wrote this post on my blog about 10 years ago. It's funny to revisit it today (20 years after graduation!) because I really don't remember much about dental school anymore. The reality is... when I think back through my career, I actually liked dental school. I liked the learning and the community, but I didn't love the red tape or practicing scary skills on other people. I never anticipated that I would graduate and become so disillusioned with my career. It wasn't until a few years into practice that I felt the weight of the responsibility of "practicing in the real world." That is when it started to beat me down.
1) Scrubs! Who gets to wear pajamas to work everyday? How great is it
to roll out of bed and get into something MORE comfortable? Better yet, parties in scrubs!
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2) Parties! With all of the stress, we really needed to let off some steam.
3) Gross Anatomy! I'll never forget that ominous moment standing at our tanks the first day when Dr. Spears gave us the green light. The silence in the room turned to an audible gasp as the tank doors opened and the dead bodies were raised to the surface. For me it was surreal. The best part, though, was leaving everyday with the nasty stench of formaldehyde seeping from your pores; with no clue that you stunk, even in fresh air. No clue, that is, until one year later when your nose was re-sensitized and the new freshman class was having their go at it.
4) Instant friends! And great ones at that. Upon starting dental school, I had just come back from a year abroad in Spain. While living there was the most exciting time in my life, there was often a lot of discomfort associated with being alone abroad learning a new language. There were many lonely times that reminded me how much I love having close friends.
5) Excitement! We were doing things that many people never get to experience in their lifetime... pulling teeth and doing root canals, to name a few. Not that I necessarily liked doing those things, but it was an adventure.
6) Two words, baby: Nitrous Oxide! Oddly, I actually can't remember the name of that course. Was it Dental Anesthesia, or something? The day we paired up with a classmate and had to administer it on each other was, um, a memorable one. I mean, who gets to get high in class?
7) When my clinic instructor dropped my gold onlay down my patients throat! Okay, I didn't love that AT ALL! Especially the new onlay I had to make, the new temporary I had to make, the new impression I had to make, the new 3 hour appointment I had to make, or the 3 hours sitting in the hospital with my patient waiting for his chest X-ray to show that he didn't aspirate the thing. But I did love that it was my teacher, and not me, who caused all of the ruckus. *snicker*
8) The Rock Band! What were they called? Shimstock? Funky Buddha? No wait, Anodyne! They provided hours of entertainment playing some great tunes.
9) Old tests! Thank goodness for those. With 1-2 tests a day, there is no way we would have passed some of those Biochem tests without some "guidance." Wait, is that cheating?
10) Nerds! Put me in a class with a bunch of them, and for once I get to be the cool kid. Just kidding, all of my GUNNER classmates of mine. Even though you gunned your way into ortho, doesn't necessarily mean that you were a nerd. ;)
How about you? What did you love about dental school?