Class of 2008 Update
By Meghan SwanzyIt's hard to believe that we are all fourth years now! Everybody told us that these four years would fly by, and that is exactly what happened. NBDE part II came and went. The exam that is our true stress inducer is the licensing exam. The majority of the class is taking WREB, however there are a handful of CRDTS takers that are getting portions of the exam out of the way prior to March. If you haven't been screened to be a patient?come get your x-rays taken because we are still looking for patients!!!
We have also begun our ACTS rotations. This will be a huge benefit to the classes below us because now some clinic chairs will actually open up! We are all very excited to be going out on our full time rotations, as it really is an excellent experience. It will be an eye opening experience into various areas of public health including prisons, mental institutes, HIV clinics, and many other areas allowing exposure to treating those in need.
Other than that, we are all just trying to wrap up requirements at the school and work towards graduation. Upon entering dental school, there were not a significant number of people planning on specializing. In the end, quite a few people will be continuing their education in general practice residencies, prostodontics, oral surgery, orthodontics and pediatric dentistry. It is exciting to see where everybody is planning on moving, practicing, or going to residency, but sad at the same time as we know many of us will be saying good-bye forever. (The Zilla will be setting up an amazing "family" website, so I guess it will not be forever!)
Class of 2009 Update
By Derek PetersonMick Jagger said, "I can?t get no satisfaction." Well, Mick Jagger was clearly never a third year dental student.
For the third year students, dental school continues to get more and more satisfying. Perhaps it is not less stressful or frustrating, but it is certainly more satisfying. Why? Because we are treating patients in all areas of dentistry. To apply the things we have been taught in our classes to the treatment of real patients who present us with challenging situations is satisfying. To see our hand skills improve so that we can complete our procedures in less time is satisfying. To be pushed to what we think is the limit of our abilities and to perform well is satisfying. Or, if we don't perform as well as we would like, we learn permanent lessons about how to do better next time, and that is also satisfying. It is satisfying to hear compliments from our patients about how well we do our work and how pleased they are with the overall treatment they receive. If you hang around the payment window shortly before graduation, you'll see how many patients hug their graduating student dentists after their last appointment together. How many places do you get to see that kind of relationship between healthcare provider and patient? To work on a personal basis with faculty who respect us and help us gain knowledge and confidence in our abilities is satisfying, and we owe them our thanks.
In our personal lives there have been many wonderful events. There have been weddings, new engagements, many new babies, and other great accomplishments? I'd start naming people, but I'm sure I'd miss some. A few of us have had major life challenges, as well, but have risen to face them with courage and have earned the admiration of us all.
We remember our first year of school. We remember how the third and fourth year students seemed so knowledgeable and advanced to us. Now we realize that they probably didn't know as much as we thought they did. But we also realize how much more we now know than we did our first year. That is satisfying. We realize how much more there is to learn as we move forward. That is motivating.
As we look into the future, the light at the end of the tunnel is rapidly approaching. The light shines on full entrance into one of the best professions of our day. We have made a wonderful choice, and we?re in a wonderful place, at a wonderful school. Life is good as a third year dental student, no matter what Mick Jagger might say.
Class of 2010 Update
The class of 2010 is excited to move into the clinical portion of our dental school education. This milestone was recognized at the University of Colorado Denver School of Dental Medicines's 3
 White Coat Ceremony |
In our personal lives we have welcomed more babies this past fall, with more on the way in the next couple of months. The ranks of unattached classmates continues to dwindle as many more people have become engaged in the past several months. Congratulations to all who are in the midst of these life changing events.
Class of 2011 Update
By Lana NysseYet another class has successfully graduated from anatomy. With much joy we are officially the last class to finish anatomy at the 9th Ave campus. We gladly say farewell to the dark, dingy halls and the dreaded smell of rotting fat and formaldehyde that permeated everything (good times)! Despite new classes many of us are still attached at the hip to our anatomy lab partners.
In between anatomy (usually the night before class) we all have been feverishly improving our beloved waxing skills. But, most of us are ready to turn in our blue wax for some hand pieces to start drilling teeth. Even with all the stress of the first semester classes we were still to have some fun!
 DS1 Ski Trip |
In the midst of a hectic first semester, Matt and Jeremy both welcomed new family members, Russel Alvin Checketts and Landon Vincent Thomas . Congratulations to Jared (aka J-Rod) and Renee on their recent engagements. And with that note we have finished 1/11th of our dental school careers.