Recently a lot of threads have been started about work experience for Dentistry. In order to avoid repetitive threads being created, I’m going to attempt to answer some of the common questions below.
Also have a look at the
Dentistry Work Experience wiki page which has some information which you might find useful!
If your question still hasn’t been answered, please post in THIS thread and someone will try and answer you.
1. How do I get work experience?This is one of the most common questions. The first place I suggest you start is by speaking to your own dentist, see if you can observe them. If they say you can’t, ask them if they know of any dental practices in the area that allow work experience.
Still not got anything? Print off your CV and take it to the dental practices in your area (be prepared, you may have to travel quite away to secure work experience), go in and ask to speak to the practice manager. By going into the practices you’re more likely to be successful than just sending e-mails/letters.
Still struggling to get work experience? Speak to teachers/career advisors in school and see if your school can put you in contact with any dentists.
If you live near a dental hospital, see if you can get work experience there. Generally you apply for a set placement time. Have a look at the university websites for the specific dental schools as they will give you more information.
Don’t forget you can also do work experience in other settings not just GDP, there are orthodontists, hospitals, dental labs etc....
2. How much is enough work experience?There is no such thing as
enough really. Do as much as you can. Most dental schools want a minimum of 2 weeks in an NHS GDP. Remember quality is more important than quantity, it’s much better if you can reflect and say what you’ve learnt during a 1 week placement at one practice than if you’ve sat for months and not learnt anything! However if you do have a long term work experience placement be sure to mention how long you've done it for as it shows commitment.
3. Questions to ask during work experience?This really is up to you, it depends what you’re interested in and what you want to find out about. You could ask about some of the treatments the dentist is carrying out.
If the patient has been given different options to choose from, after the patient has gone you could ask more information about some of the alternatives. Remember though dental schools don’t expect you to know everything – otherwise they wouldn’t need to teach you, so don’t worry about all the technical details!
Other types of questions could relate to the patient/dentist relationship. You may also want to find out more about the dentist you’re observing experiences at university, applying, the course etc.
If you can’t think of a question to ask don’t worry. Try to work out what you want to gain from the work experience and see what questions you can come up with! Before you start work experience try and write a list of questions you'd like to ask!
4. When’s the best time to ask questions?Most dentists will tell you when you start work experience what their preference is to you asking questions, whether that’s during the treatment, or after the patient has left. If you’re unsure whether it’s suitable to ask your question during a patient’s treatment, wait until the patients left.
Don’t forget the dental nurses are also happy to answer any questions you have. You could ask them what they like about the job, how important teamwork is etc...
5. Should I take notes during work experience?It's completely up to you whether you take notes while observing. You could just have a notepad at home that you jot down a few ideas each night about what you've seen etc. That way when it comes to writing your personal statement/preparing for interview you've got something to look over to help you prepare.
This is not an exhaustive list of questions and if any other common questions come up below, I'll add them to this list. Hope this helps a bit and avoids repetitive threads