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March 29, 2024, 09:39:19 am

Author Topic: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal  (Read 3341 times)

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Isla77

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Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« on: January 22, 2019, 10:32:34 pm »
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Hey guys!!

So I am starting uni this year and I decided to make a uni journal for my degree. I only found out about ATAR Notes journal a few months ago, and since then decided to start one for uni, so here I am!


A bit about me :)



What course are you doing in Uni? Electives?

I am doing Dentistry. Being a healthcare professional has always been my dream, and I am so happy to be one step closer to realizing my dream! Apparently, all the subjects are core subjects, so it was an easy job to enrol, no trouble of choosing my electives!



Why dentistry? Why not medicine, nursing or physio?

I've always wanted to work in healthcare, and having frequented a selective high school, I naturally pursued a career in medicine. (not saying it is normal for selective high people to dream about becoming doctors in future, just that it is a very, very common dream) I wanted something challenging, something that will really put me to test. However, I did some shadowing for both general practitioners and general dentists last year, and thought that a career in dentistry might be more suited to me. Right now I am very excited to start my degree and fingers crossed I will fall in love with it!



Why do I keep on assuming you might have an accent?

If you guessed I have a non-Aussie accent, you are right!!! Congratz!! All exaggerations aside, I do have an accent. It is a mix of a few accents, since I come from a non-English speaking background. So soz for any grammar errors or incomprehensible expressions, and yes, I was the EAL kid :P



What are your hobbies?

Swimming and watching Asian TV shows. mainly Korean and Japanese at the moment. Sewing, knitting and crafting are also what I always love to do.

I also like playing the piano, coding/programming and water sports, although these I can only do to a certain extent. But they are fun!



How was 2018 for you?

2018 was a great year for me. It was my gap year, and I did some volunteering, working and travelling. It really was beneficial, and it has helped me heaps to mature and grow in ways I didn't ever imagine. (Thank goodness I trusted my English teacher who supported my plan to take a gap year :)) For all those thinking about taking a gap year, I highly recommend it, you will be much more relaxed and calm that you will feel more ready to go to uni. As long as you have a plan of what to do during your gap year, I believe taking a year off will benefit everyone. For any VCE students very organised to be reading this journal so early, feel free to ask about it  ;D


What is your goal for 2019?

Some general goals for this year include:
 - exercise a few times a week
 - eat enough that I won't feel so starved all the time
 - keep on top of uni work
 - pass all my subjects  lol




I am open to questions from any of you guys  :)

AngelWings

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Re: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2019, 12:32:26 am »
+5
Glad to see a dentistry student hanging around AN!
Where did you travel to during your gap year and how was it?
Looking forward to new entries soon. :)
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Joseph41

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Re: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2019, 09:34:11 am »
+3
Cool! I honestly don't know much about Dentistry at all, so I'm looking forward to learning through your journal. :)

How di dyou find ATAR Notes, out of interest?

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Isla77

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Re: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« Reply #3 on: January 25, 2019, 07:00:05 pm »
+8
Glad to see a dentistry student hanging around AN!
Where did you travel to during your gap year and how was it?
Looking forward to new entries soon. :)
Thanks for welcoming AngelWings!
I went to Japan twice during my gap year. I was looking to do some volunteering of some sort there but couldn't find any, so instead used the time to catch up with my family and relatives, which is always nice :D

Cool! I honestly don't know much about Dentistry at all, so I'm looking forward to learning through your journal. :)

How di dyou find ATAR Notes, out of interest?
This makes me really happy to hear! Part of the reason I wanted to start this journal is because I didn't know too much about dentistry myself, so it would be great if people on AN can get an insight into dental school through reading my journal. I know I would have liked to read something like this when I was trying to decide what to study in uni :P

I found AN when I was searching about some VCE material, I believe, but my memory about it is a little rusty :-\ over months I became obsessed with exploring the forum and hence how I discovered this board.
« Last Edit: April 19, 2019, 09:52:05 am by Isla77 »

smamsmo22

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Re: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« Reply #4 on: January 25, 2019, 10:33:07 pm »
+2
Hey and good luck for the year ahead! I'm really fascinated to read your journal throughout the year.
As someone else who was also considered med and dentistry, what about the profession intrigued you? If you don't mind sharing, where are you studying? I understand there are quite a few rural dentistry courses, so if you're going rural, how have you approached that?
2018 - VCE - ATAR: 99.75 [English, Chemistry, Methods, French, PE, Bio]
2019 - Monash

mango8

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Re: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2019, 08:18:56 pm »
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Hey!

I am really looking forward to learn more about your dentistry journey and experiences, as I don't know too much about what it involves at the moment! What made you have such a passion for dentistry? I also love swimming and doing crafty things and play the piano! What did your gap year teach you - how did you grow and change as a result of it? I've been reading some uni journals and gained a lot of insight from different perspectives which has been very illuminating, so I'm excited to follow your journey!
Really happy you are getting to fulfill your dream!!

Joseph41

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Re: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2019, 11:18:50 am »
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This makes me really happy to hear! Part of the reason I wanted to start this journal is because I didn't know too much about dentistry myself, so it would be great if people on AN can get an insight into dental school through reading my journal. I know I would have liked to read something like this when I was trying to decide what to study in uni :P

I found AN when I was searching about some VCE material, I believe, but my memory about it is a little rusty :-\ over months I became obsessed with exploring the forum and hence how I discovered this board.

Really cool! Again, looking forward to becoming a little more educated haha. I'm sure it will help heaps of students in the future, too. :)

Oxford comma, Garamond, Avett Brothers, Orla Gartland enthusiast.

Isla77

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Re: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2019, 11:13:42 am »
+2
Hey and good luck for the year ahead! I'm really fascinated to read your journal throughout the year.
As someone else who was also considered med and dentistry, what about the profession intrigued you? If you don't mind sharing, where are you studying? I understand there are quite a few rural dentistry courses, so if you're going rural, how have you approached that?
Spoiler
I have always wanted to work in healthcare. Being demanding and extremely challenging, med was always attractive to me, but during my gap year I shadowed both General Practitioners and Dentists (among physios, nurses and aged care workers) and liked that there is more technical and manual element in dentistry, the part where the dentist fixes you. Since I was small I've loved creating things, in the form of crafts, sewing, knitting and cooking. I didn't know I could make good use of my manual skills in competitive professions (other than surgery :o) so when I heard these skills are necessary in dentistry, I thought this is for me. Of course I am yet to begin my course and it might turn out completely different from what I expect, but right now I am really excited to start! I am studying at La Trobe! I am happy La Trobe has an emphasis on rural healthcare, where the professionals are in real need. Personally I have always lived in the city but don't mind going rural if it means I might be of more help to communities in the future. If I can make some difference even to a small number of people or small communities as a dentist in the future that would be super great. 

Hey!

I am really looking forward to learn more about your dentistry journey and experiences, as I don't know too much about what it involves at the moment! What made you have such a passion for dentistry? I also love swimming and doing crafty things and play the piano! What did your gap year teach you - how did you grow and change as a result of it? I've been reading some uni journals and gained a lot of insight from different perspectives which has been very illuminating, so I'm excited to follow your journey!
Really happy you are getting to fulfill your dream!!
Spoiler
Yeah!! Hope this journal will give you some insight into dentistry, and also uni in general. Healthcare is a field I had an interest for for a long time, and in particular medicine and dentistry was particularly appealing because of the responsibility and the ability to have an impact on people to a large extent. I hope my passion for dentistry will grow even more as I advance into the course and later into working life as a professional.
My gap year let me meet many people from various ages and various professions. Volunteering, shadowing in healthcare and part time job helped me gain some degree of understanding about working life, and this really taught me that whatever you do for a profession, you must do it with pride and a sense of responsibility. Overall, gap year made me become more open-minded and have a broader view in the broader scheme of things.


Really cool! Again, looking forward to becoming a little more educated haha. I'm sure it will help heaps of students in the future, too. :)
Spoiler
Thanks! And I'm looking forward to start uni!!
« Last Edit: February 19, 2019, 11:30:32 am by Isla77 »

Isla77

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Re: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« Reply #8 on: February 19, 2019, 11:46:28 pm »
+7
Hey everyone!!

So I'm officially fully enrolled in the course and these days get heaps of emails from the professors and coordinators. I read through them all, at least for the ones I've received so far, and have organised my immunisations, getting police check, getting WWCC, my timetable and the instruments I will require for the course. The instruments for the first year amounted to a total of about $2500, so not too bad considering most of it will last for the whole degree and I will need to purchase very little from now on.

Right now I am really excited to start uni, and I know it will be great because a lot of people love it and I think the environment will suit me more than high school. Can't believe how much freedom I will have. But also, I hope I can keep up with the course and all the assessments. When I received the offer a third year student kindly gave me a call for little chat, and said the studying part of it will be more interesting than high school because everything you learn will be directly used in the future. So the concepts you learn and the skills you develop will be extremely relevant, necessary for your future. Sounds exciting!

Also, I will be missing orientation and the first two days of uni, I hope that's fine. Also, how do I sign up for clubs and societies if I'm not going to orientation? Anyone here have similar experience?

So, a short one today, I will write more later but right now I'm really sleepy :P

K888

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Re: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2019, 10:17:38 am »
+3
This all sounds really exciting! Re: signing up to clubs, etc. they all usually have facebook pages so you can get in contact with them through that if you're interested in joining.

I really agree about uni being great because the stuff you learn is related to what you're going to do and use in the future. It's so much easier to be engaged! Re: keeping up - it can be tricky at times, but don't stress if you fall behind. At one or more stages in the semester, everyone will be behind by some amount - it's the uni way of life ;)

Isla77

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Re: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« Reply #10 on: March 10, 2019, 07:46:19 pm »
+4
This all sounds really exciting! Re: signing up to clubs, etc. they all usually have facebook pages so you can get in contact with them through that if you're interested in joining.

I really agree about uni being great because the stuff you learn is related to what you're going to do and use in the future. It's so much easier to be engaged! Re: keeping up - it can be tricky at times, but don't stress if you fall behind. At one or more stages in the semester, everyone will be behind by some amount - it's the uni way of life ;)
Hey! Thanks for your reply. I will try out a few clubs and see which ones I like, and figure out if I have time to be part of them, then I pick. I'm already a part of the BOHDS, which is the dentistry society, so it's fun! It stands for Bendigo Oral Health and Dentistry Society btw.
Yes! I am excited to expand my knowledge on human anatomy, physiology, oral health and healthcare in general. Thanks for your input, that's definitely reassuring!

So the first week's been pretty busy, since I just moved and was trying to buy everything for my room and do the groceries. I guess I'll have to see how demanding the course is, at the moment it is all good.

I also got almost all of my dental instruments I will need for the whole course. It was fun to open them all up and imagine myself using it, but not much fun putting my name on all of them ??? We have about ten instruments that have handles thinner than pencil and it takes time trying to roll tape onto each of them and then write my name with a pen lol but It's all done and that's okay. Also got my uniform, and the dentist's white coat, which finally allows me to clearly imagine myself becoming a dentist.

The support from the older years have already been amazing. They run the BOHDS, the dentistry society, and the other night not only they held a very helpful information night at the campus, but they also shared with us all a file of all the textbooks we will need for the whole five years!

Also, I received a scholarship! Pretty surprised since it was the only scholarship I've submitted the application to so far and only 10 people at La Trobe from all campuses get it. Not that the application consisted of an essay so it doesn't indicate my ability to be persuasive but still it will help a little. (actually now I can't remember maybe I did submit an essay:-\) It's worth $3000, which will cover about 30% of the first year course fee, so I might apply for others and see if I get better ones.

I haven't had much chances to interact with other students so it'll be great to meet more people and develop relationships :D
« Last Edit: March 10, 2019, 08:25:11 pm by Isla77 »

katie,rinos

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Re: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« Reply #11 on: March 10, 2019, 07:55:12 pm »
+2
Congrats on your scholarship!!  ;D
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2018-2022: B Music/B Education (Secondary) [UNSW]

Isla77

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Re: Isla77's Dental Journey Journal
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2019, 11:18:12 am »
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Hey guys!!

So today is the first day of the mid-semester break! Having a week long break at this time of the year sounds pretty good and I'll use it as an opportunity to relax a bit, get to know my sweet sweet housemate better (we'll pretty much be the only ones staying on campus since everyone else will go home) and do some revision on the important lectures.

First and foremost, all the subjects are pretty interesting and at the moment they are not too hard to digest and absorb. Pre-readings and revision is highly beneficial, if not mandatory for me to understand what is going on in class, so if that's done weekly the content seems manageable. I am going to go into detail about each of the four subjects in First Year Sem 1.

Introduction to Oral Science
Wait maybe the name is Introduction to Oral Health Science? Introduction to Oral Structures?? Anyway this subject is about various structures and mechanisms surrounding the face and mouth. There is quite a bit to memorise, but otherwise it's alright especially considering the exam will only be worth 10%.

Dental Science A
This is a very content heavy subject where there is a lot to understand and memorise. It consists of anatomy and physiology. I find resemblance to Year 12 Bio, with more focus on head and mouth. We have two lecturers for this, and one is very inspirational, engaging and motivating (who has high expectations from everyone lol) and another who isn't so engaging. Everyone finds difficulty focusing in his class, and a bit hard because the component he teaches is something I don't grasp so easily. Anyway, there's heaps of resources to understand anatomy and physiology on the internet so I will utilise them during this break to have a better understanding of the parts we've covered.

Pre-clinical Oral Health
This subject is about pracs in the simulation labs and simulation clinics, which is fuuuuuun ;D We use manikins with fake gums, teeth, cheeks and use our instruments to learn some of the basic techniques and procedures in dentistry. It's so cool that we get to do real stuff from this early on, each of us with manikin and complete dental setting, like the suction, dental tray, etc. (If I get a good pic I might upload it to show you guys how it looks like!) My favorite so far is a technique for finding any irregularities on the teeth surfaces, using a sharp instrument. I guess my manual dexterity is alright because I get compliments about it almost every lesson, which is a nice reassurance. Especially for this subject though, pre-work is really necessary and I got told off for not completing the online tasks, so should put more effort into that from now on.

Public Health Practice
This is a combined subject where we learn with students from other areas too, like Pharmacy and Paramedicine and it's quite chilled. We do not get any exams for this, although I think it would be super easy to prepare for if there was any, and all we need to do each week is complete a short online task that's pretty straight forward and attend 2 hour workshop. Everyone got quite slack in this subject and two weeks ago there were only 8 of us who attended the workshop, out of 25ish students :o Having a laid back subject like this can be a nice break :)

On non-academic side of things, I joined the running club which I'm really enjoying! I've never been a long distance runner, but surprisingly your body adapts to it pretty quickly. It feels so good to start the day (once a week) with other group members, and now I am part of the run club committee so I'm responsible for organising some events too. We have a movie run coming up, where we will run to the cinema nearby and watch a movie together, so hope that goes well!

Alsooo, I'm really loving living on campus with other people my age. As the only child with a small family, I was unsure how to take it at first but we've gotten closer over the weeks and we get along pretty well. I can't believe how much freedom we have and it's nice to be able to go out if we want to even late at night. The support really helps when all your family and relatives are overseas  ;)

I'll keep you guys updated!!
« Last Edit: April 27, 2019, 10:49:14 am by Isla77 »