General Practice Road to Residency: Jessica DeVera, DMD 2023

I was born and raised in San Diego , and have moved all around California to complete my degrees In fact, prior to dental school, I accidentally drove across the border into Mexico 5 days after receiving my drivers license. I initially chose to complete a GPR because I was interested in learning more about hospital dentistry and working at the VA. My dad served in the Navy for 30 years and I recently learned that my mom worked at the VA, so I naturally wanted to take part in playing an integral role in this community too. What led me to choose the program at the VA Palo Alto was the incredible amount of experience that the residents get with procedures that I am most interested in, and their opportunity to work with Stanford hospital. Additionally, I was impressed by the supportiveness of the staff, and also by the confidence that each resident had in tackling cases that are just not seen during dental school. A big factor for me during the rank was that I did not want a 5th year of dental school, but rather a great opportunity for mentorship - Palo Alto was exactly that.

Although my clinical experience at WesternU has been unmatched when conversing with interviewees from different schools, I'm ready to become more confident as a new graduate by learning new ways of managing more challenging patient cases. When I initially applied to dental school, I emphasized my commitment to the lifelong learning aspect of dentistry. That has been one constant over my 4 years here, and I encourage other students who are interested in applying to remind yourselves of your "why." Tune out the outside noise, reach out to those who inspire you, and trust your gut.