Personal Statement Flashcards
Why dentistry?
•build long term relationships with patients, where you get to see them from start to finish = asses, diagnose and then treatment which is satisfying and rewarding
•long term learning as dentistry always has new innovations to provide the best care possible for patients
•multifaceted = creative and get to use your hands very often to create things and get the liberty to be as creative as you want to be. I do acrylic nails…
How is dentistry a multifaceted career= engineering/science/artistry?
•Science = you learn about the whole body and this involves a lot of science. Dentistry is essentially specialising into the teeth, which recruited broad scientific knowledge as you need to provide holistic care where dentists are often the first line of finding systematic diseases e.g diabetes
•artistry = create aesthetically pleasing smiles through good craft and good manual dexterity (create dentures/crowns/bridges and implants which takes artistic insight)
•engineering= as dentists must have good knowledge of the equipment being used and identify areas for improvement in instrument design.
As a dentist you are exposed to many different fields so you need to be a well rounded person to be able to do many things simultaneously
What did you do in your work experience + what did you learn that is not mentioned in your PS?
•2 day dental clinic=
*I saw how the dentists dealt with an anxious patient and made me reflect on how as a dentists use a variety of different skills every/adapt to each individual patient
*I saw how good teamwork made the practice run smoother and better patient care when a harmonious team was present e.g dental nurse and dentist had a very good bond
*I also saw how dentist deals with frustrated patient = they remain calm throughout and actively listen and respect what patient says (good at resolving conflicts e.g something I did whilst mentoring students maths e.g when they would become stressed out)
*it also just emphasised that I would love to work in this environment where you get to constantly interact and build long term relationships with patients and you get to use your hands all the time to craft things
What do you know about root canal treatment?
•I viewed a root canal which made me do a bit more research to understand the root causes/treatments = essentially cavity has become very deep and reached the nerves so they drill the cavity and remove the nerve (crown fitted after)
What skills did you observe your dentist using?
•good communication e.g help an anxious person/resolve conflict when patient was frustrated
•very good manual dexterity/very focused and precise with everything e.g I do acrylic nails
•good teamwork skills e.g dental environment was harmonious but ran very smoothly to provide the best dental experience for patients
When have you showed the skills you saw at your work experience?
•good communication = maths mentor
•teamwork= charity bake sale, book fair managing team
•manual dexterity = I dance and do acrylic nails
•empathy = volunteering at dementia club/hospice
What did you learn from volunteering?
•learnt how to work in a professional setting as it was the first experience of the world of work = respecting colleagues/customers.
•good teamwork= we all distributed work fairly and managed them to the best of our abilities/I would cover shifts if we knew in advance
•good communication = constantly speaking to my fellow volunteers but also patients/my students (I had to adapt my communicating to cater to their needs)
Why is dentistry centred around learning? How do you best learn?
•as a dentist your knowledge and skills must be up to date to provide your patients the best care possible (beneficence and GDC of patients best interest put first) so you must continually learn to improve and maintain this
•stay current with research, techniques and innovations as our technology improves we must take advantage of this and learn how to adapt to different techniques to provide our patients with the best care
•I am a very visual learner and I also benefit from speaking to others e.g tutoring which I will often do with friends that may be struggling = helps them but also integrates my knowledge better
What innovations/research have you come across? (digital and intra oral x-ray)
•my dentists spoke to me about the move towards better X-ray imaging which is very important to be able to detect abnormalities as soon as possible e.g cancer and also see what you are working with better. It is also more comfortable for patients as scans can be quickly done and less x-ray exposure is also involved
•I’ve come across an article about the use of VR headsets for patients with dental phobias and improve dental access
What did you learn mentoring students/volunteering at dementia group?
•improved communication as I was able to adapt to each individual e.g speaking differently to a child compared to an older person (important to provide personalised care in dentistry)
•improved teamwork as I was working with a team = communicating and remaining organised to ensure all roles fairly distributed and completed to the best of our abilities
**Tell me a bit more about your research essay on dementia?
•I explored the social difficulties of getting dementia which I actually got inspired to do after speaking to some of the dementia patients at my volunteering.
•I specifically looked at how young onset dementia is quite common and can negatively impact someone young as they are still navigating life= marriage, work and schooling so it is an extra challenge
•signs of young onset dementia and why it i’s important to get checked as possible
What do you know about dental access?
•recently heard about dental deserts where it is becoming ever so big of a challenge for some area to access NHS care which means that lower income people may not be able to access dental care at all= increased prevalence of preventative diseases and long term the NHS will be in more financial strains
•dental access can be prevented by not having accessible NHS, poverty, dental phobias
•improve= more funding into having more NHS dental services and easy to access, VR headsets introduced to help dental phobias, improve access to education on oral as in long run it will reduce the cases of preventable problems e.g caries
What are challenges for the NHS? How can we improve this?
•dental deserts where less NHS dental services available for people so less dental access= need more funding and more NHS dentists by e.g improving the dental contract to incline more to remain within the NHS (UDA system= e.g getting paid less for doing lots of procedures but all in lower bands)
•lack of resources e.g amalgam ban will heavily impact resources as caries are a big problem and composite is more expensive and not all can get treatment which can cause further dental problems
How have you improved manual dexterity?
•acrylic nails (work on a small surface)
•dance = improved physical health e.h important when back pain is so common
•crochet/art= water colouring
(You have to be very precise with the detail that you make and you also have to have lots of focus)
Why is good work life balance important? How do you maintain this?
•it i’s important to take breaks to maintain good mental and physical health so that you are at your best when looking after your patients e.g dentistry can be physically straining
•maintain by socialising with others e.g in uni I would love to get involved in a society and also volunteer
•take time for hobbies e.g dance and acrylic nails/art/crochet
•speak to others about problems.
What are stresses and challenges of dental school and being a dentist?
•workload can be quite hard and hefty so it is important to have good established schedule and being organised to manage all of that
•patient interactions e.g dealing with angry/frustrated. As well as giving bad news can be stressful
•working long hours so less time to socialise with family/friends
Very important to maintain a good work life balance and in uni I intend to join societies and volunteer to help me with that
Why is dentistry a career like no other? Why not medicine?
•so multifaceted = science/engineering/artsitry
•you get to see patients when they are both ill and well ( build long term relationships)
•you get to finish a treatment from start to end (asses, diagnosing and procedure) whereas in medicine you often have to refers throughout a patients stay
•I experience both hospital and dental clinic and preferred the dental environment= many of my passions and skills
What experiences have you had with different people eg old/young?
•dementia club and mentoring younger students which has helped me to be adaptable e.g when communicating and interacting you have to be mindful and change it based on the persons needs
How do you plan on making a positive impact towards the oral wellbeing of our society?
•improve dental knowledge = educating patients on the importance of good oral health e.g I would love to have abroad experiences where I help share oral health knowledge and advice
•getting into research would be very exciting to have more innovations that can improve patient care
You mention how dentistry can transform an individual’s confidence e.g tooth whitening. Can you explain why this aspect of dentistry is appealing?
•patients may feel insecure about their oral health/appearance and being able to fix it is really rewarding e.g documentary that I watched dwelled into how someone felt so conscious that they had difficulties speaking to others and eating in public (you really are making a big impact on one’s life quality not only their physical health)
•when improving someone’s smile you get to be more creative and use problem solving skills to assess how you will proceed with the best personalised treatment plan= you have more freedom to be creative to meet the patients specific vision for their teeth. This is fun but also rewarding seeing patients content with your work
You mentioned tutoring students and time management/organisation being used. How would these skills help you as a dentist?
•good communication skills adapted to younger students
•organised = I would go over everything beforehand so my students got best learning experience. Important in dentistry to maintain good knowledge so that you can simplify complex ideas and get informed consent
•I improved time management from having to manage multiple students and lessons which has helped me to prioritise tasks = important in juggling patient appointments and administrative duties simultaneously
How would your experiences influence your approach to patient care, particularly vulnerable or elderly patients?
•improved communication with elderly = adapt to their needs better
•they may also be more susceptible to health problems and more vulnerable so it i’s important that we prioritise the elderly/children
•the dementia patients I worked with = some weren’t able to keep up with regular appointments and needed a care taker = ensure that you are regularly checking up on them to ensure that they get their appointments
•I also saw how important it is to create a comfortable and trusting environment as they may feel anxious or confused = they could be also facing dental phobias
•important to communicate well with them= e.g providing visual aids and extra time during consultations may make them feel at ease
Can you tell me a time when you had to adapt your approach to meet a patients individual needs?
•whilst mentoring students I saw how one of my students was struggling quite a bit and was not able to keep up with other classmates
•I privately spoke to this student and asked her about her concerns and we came up with some solutions and she decided that she could come see me at break time to do a bit more practice
•I saw how she was able to keep up with the work as she had prior knowledge of the lessons (she was very thankful)
•as a dentist it i’s important that we speak to each individual and try to understand their concerns, expectations to provide them with the best treatment plan. It is also important that we give them many solutions and they will then have the autonomy to make informed consent on which one they want
