First time forth year

First Time Forth Year

Weam Banjar BDS., MS.

Disclosure

• None

Objective

• To help forth year dental students minimize the

level of frustration as a result of their clinical

exposure

DETERMINE YOUR STYLE

DEVELOP YOUR STRENGTHS

DESIGN YOUR OPERATIONAL

SCHEME

DEFINE YOUR GOALS, AND

STRATEGIES

• Are you frustrated?

• Do you feel overwhelmed?

• Are you thinking of quitting dentistry?

• Do you feel lost?

Keys of Success

• Maintain the balance

• Determine your weaknesses and strengths

• Understand your timeline

• Be prepared

Clinics vs. Lectures

• They are related and inseparable

• Information from the lectures are related to

your clinical practice

• Treat the information as package

Clinics drive you crazy!!

• Create a patients’ log and organize your

patients

• Determine your patients’ need and organize

them

• Create a file/ worksheet for your patients to

track referrals, progression, lab work

Clinics Drive you crazy!!

• The day before the clinic:

Ensure receiving the devices from the lab (impression trays, try-in stage prosthesis, final prosthesis, orthodontics appliances, etc.) and make sure that they fit on the cast

Confirm the appointment with the patient

Write down the armamentarium that you may need

File a patient’s record request

Review your patients’ future need


• The day of the clinic: (before the patients’ arrival)

Disinfect and wrap the clinic

Be prepared and arrange your instrument in

the order that you will be using them

If your patient is diabetic, be prepared and

keep a juice aside


• The day of the clinic: (when the patient arrives)

Call the patient yourself

Greet the patient

Review the medical history

Make sure that your patient had his/er breakfast

Do a quick general through examination

Determine the patient’s complaint, if any, postpone the procedure and manage it

Explain what is your going to do

Do not surprise your patient


• The day of the clinic: (before the patient departure)

Provide clear instruction (orally and written)

Tell your patient what to expect (pain, swelling)

Prescribe pain-killer if you anticipate pain

Write the appointment slip

Ensure that the contact info. are correct

Provide your patients with a contact info. for whom in charge in case of emergency requires hospital care

Walk the patient to the door


• When you arrive home

Call your patient to make sure that no

problems have occurred

Update your patients’ log

Confirm the next day appointment

Studying drives you crazy!!

Read the materials that you have taught the same

day

Review the clinical cases that you have been

exposed to and relate it to the information from

the lectures

Dentistry is one package, you cannot deal with it

as separate subjects. All subjects are inter-related

Relate and associate information from the clinic

to that in the lecture


There are topics that are common between all

subjects (e.g. occlusion), create one

comprehensive summary.

Vitalize the dry scientific concepts by relating

them to their application (e.g. force distribution in

relation to the survival of the restoration)

Do not wait until the day of the exam

The information in medical subjects are clinically

relevant


Summarize the key concepts in tables

Draw and comment on your drawing

Do not be shy to ask about what you do not

understand

Remember

• You need to maintain the balance between the

clinical work and your study

• Time management is of prime importance

• “Dentistry is the art of science application and

the science of art production “

Health & Medicine

First time forth year