THE STU DE N T I SS U E
STEPHANIE WISEMAN, PRESIDENT FCDSA
A Note from the Federation of Canadian Dentistry Student Associations
At 26 years old, there are only a handful of moments in my life that I would define as “life-changing” to date – one of which was the day I received a phone call from Dr. Paul Allison, former Dean of Dentistry at McGill University, informing me that I had been accepted into dental school. I will never forget that feeling of euphoria and that moment of knowing that my life had been forever changed; I was going to pursue my childhood dream and become a dentist! My dental school journey, however, has probably been an even more life-changing experience in itself. It has truly been a growing experience, and I would not be the person I am today had I not faced and overcome the challenges and experienced the joys of dental school thus far. I remember starting off first
year thinking that I knew what to expect as I had several friends in upper years in the program, and my father who is a general dentist had been telling me stories about his dental school experience my whole life. As it turns out, nothing could have prepared me for the balancing act that is life as a dental student. My non-dentistry friends have a hard time grasping that not only do I provide dental care, I also do lab work, manage coursework and exams, and do a ton of administrative work as well. On top of this, I try to balance a social life, extracurriculars and volunteering. Life as a dental student is never really on “pause”; a night-off still often involves answering patients’ phone calls/ text messages and washing my scrubs. Correction: life as a dental student was never really on “pause” until March 2020…
Stephanie Wiseman, President FCDSA. Stephanie currently a fourth year dental student at McGill University and in the process of completing my residency applications for specialty school. Her alternative plan is to work with her father post-graduation at his dental practice in Cote Saint-Luc, Quebec. It is her immense pleasure to be representing Canadian dental students through the national platform of the Federation of Canadian Dentistry Student Associations.
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