MOUTH
JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY DENTAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION
ISSUE ONE 2018
© 2018 Word of Mouth All rights reserved. For permission requests, write to the editor, addressed “Word of Mouth Permissions,” at the address below, publications@jcudsa.org.au For more information about James Cook University Dental Student Association, please visit our website at www.jcudsa.org.au or send your queries to our email at info@jcudsa.org.au. Facebook: facebook.com/jcudsa.inc Instagram: instagram.com/jcudsa YouTube: youtube.com/jcudsa Printed in Cairns, Australia. Front cover photo taken by John Xiong.
CONTENTS IS S UE O NE | 2 0 1 8
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from the editor jcudsa committee members 2018 from the president and vice president academic president 4th year academic we are all in this together winter school social president Q&A with mrs gloria silcock 5th year placement: cambodia to darwin reaching out for oral health ADSA report 3rd year: first patients 3rd year: we’re halfway there 2nd year so far... 1st year academic 1st year social 5th year placement: the towers interyear sports carnival Q&A with cassidy redden run club Q&A with dr amar sholapurkar credits
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PHOTO BY JULIAN ORONOS
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JCUDSA
geofilter
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jcudsa has a snapchat geofilter! swipe to the right until you find it try it out with location setting and wifi enabled AVAILABLE IN THE D1 AND D3 BUILDINGS
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FROM THE EDITOR Another year for JCU Dentistry complete, but of course JCUDSA would not let the year end without releasing a long-awaited issue of WOM. Enjoy the stories, interviews and photos we have recorded of the year 2018. A warm welcome to the readers of Word of Mouth (WOM)! I’m Julian Oronos, 5th year JCU Dentistry student and WOM’s editor in chief. Another year for JCU Dentistry complete, but of course the James Cook University Dental Student Association (JCUDSA) would not let the year end without releasing a long-awaited issue of WOM. Once again, we received positive feedback and praise from our audiences, local community and universities in Australia and abroad. This issue of WOM has been put together by a great team of students and I would like to extend my thanks to each and every one involved, from proof-reading, writing, photography, communication and organisation. The JCUDSA team have worked hard to provide the content for this year’s issue of WOM and we hope you enjoy the stories,
interviews and photos we have recorded off the year 2018. Credits are found at the end of the publication! The JCUDSA team would like to thank our sponsors: Townsville Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, MIPS, ADAQ, A-dec, DPL and Endodontic Group. JCUDSA has increased its events and outreach to the community over the past couple of years and you can find more information on how to get involved in 2019 on our Facebook, Instagram and YouTube social media pages. If you are interested in contributing to the next issue of WOM, email us at publications@jcudsa.org.au or leave us a message on any of our social media pages. Thank you once again for taking the time to read this year’s issue of WOM and we appreciate your continued support of JCUDSA and the students of JCU Dentistry.
WRITTEN BY JULIAN ORONOS | WOM EDITOR IN CHIEF
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committee members 2018
JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY DENTAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION
HEMA CHODHA Vice President
EMILY TRINH Secretary
JOHN XIONG Treasurer
ASHLEY ONG Sponsorship Co-ordinator
NAUSHEEN MOHAMED MUHAJIR Academic President
RENEE AITKEN Social President
JOHN SWAIN I.T. Officer
SABRINA AKL Sponsorship Officer
ELCHERU HEPBURN Sponsorship Officer
LAURA PURCELL Charity & Community Aid Officer
ALEX WU Charity & Community Aid Officer
PRAVEENA SIVANUJAN Publications & Media Officer
JEREMY YANG 5th Year Social Representative
CLAIRE McCORMACK 4th Year Social Representative
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MICHAEL TIEN President
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committee members 2018
JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY DENTAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION
HASHIM AZAM 2nd Year Social Representative
JOEY WONG 1st Year Social Representative
KHILAN SHUKLA 5th Year Academic Representative
LINDA HUANG 4th Year Academic Representative
MANVIR GREWAL 3rd Year Academic Representative
LAWRENCE NGUYEN 2nd Year Academic Representative
SHAILI THANKI 1st Year Academic Representative
DANIEL FRANK 5th Year Placement Representative
PATRICK TA 4th Year Clinical Representative
YUGANDDHA RABEL 3rd Year Clinical Representative
HILARY BELL International Student Representative
RYAN WONG ADSA Liaison Officer
KAYLARNI CLOSE Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Representative
ANUM KHAN Community & Wellbeing Officer
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CASSIDY REDDEN 3rd Year Social Representative
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FR O M T H E P R E S I D E N T We’ve got large shoes to fill of the outgoing committee, so we set out to make this year a strong one of continuing tradition while exploring new feats to enrich the student experience here at JCU Dentistry! Michael and Hema here, and we are fortunate enough to be your respective President and Vice President for 2018. We’ve got large shoes to fill of the outgoing committee, so we set out to make this year a strong one of continuing tradition while exploring new feats to enrich the student experience here at JCU Dentistry! First year members were welcomed with a warm greeting to Cairns, participating in our O-Week events such as The Amazing Race and the much-anticipated Party bus. We understand that starting university can be a daunting experience and we’re pleased to announce our newest publication: ‘Brace Yourselves.’ It’s a survival guide to studying dentistry at JCU which contains many tips-and-tricks to living life here in the tropical city of Cairns. This year’s Dental Ball was once again a sell-out success and third year members celebrated reaching the halfway point of their degree in the spectacular Cairns Aquarium. We further built on our strong partnership with the JCU medical student association, generating more informal and formal opportunities to network with our interfaculty peers. Once again friendships were tested at the 2nd annual MIPS cup. Despite our best efforts, Medicine came out on top with
their first win. Another first this year was the inter-year Sports Carnival. It was an opportunity for year groups to get together and show their team-spirit. Campus life has also been busy. Our Academic President, Nausheen, has organised multiple opportunities for students to connect with industry leaders and continue one’s professional development. Some notable events this year were lunch-and-learns and a clinical tradeshow. Anum, our Community and Wellbeing Officer, has helped to instil a sense of mindfulness among students especially during exam time. Dental Health Week was another huge success for JCUDSA with our efforts garnering positive attention in newspapers across Queensland. We’d like to recognise the hard work and enthusiasm of our committee for contributing towards another successful year for JCUDSA. Thank you to our major sponsors ADAQ, A-dec, DPL, Endodontic Group, MIPS, and the Townsville Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Group for their continued support. We wish everyone the best for the year to come and hope you enjoy this year’s issue of Word of Mouth!
WRITTEN BY MICHAEL TIEN & HEMA CHODHA JCUDSA PRESIDENT & VICE PRESIDENT
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PHOTO BY JOHN XIONG
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A C AD E M I C P R E S I D E N T Academic events that have been held so far are lunch and learns and clinical skills night, co-hosted with RHINO, both of which are annual events that are well-loved by students. As this year’s Academic President, I endeavoured to improve on my leadership skills as well as add value to the organisation by making positive changes. I wanted to expand on the hard work of the previous students who were in this role, learn from what worked and try things to make anew. I was eager to take on this role and work with my peers in the executive and general committee. There was a combination of upskilling, laughter and camaraderie, as well as meticulous planning amidst our daily uni schedules. My academic team includes the academic and clinical representatives, with whom I have the pleasure of consulting and working with. I had a myriad of ideas at the start of this year but I soon came to realise that one year isn’t a lot of time, especially being in fourth year. So I decided to focus on a few things. Academic events that have been held so far are lunch and learns and clinical skills night, co-hosted with RHINO, both of which are annual events that are well-loved by students and a must-run in our JCUDSA calendar. We have had several
visits from the loupes representatives. Wrapping up the year, we introduced a new academic series to support the College’s dentistry clinical day - the JCUDSA Clinical Trade Show. A few other things that I had organised were hands-on workshops to be run in the simulation clinic, which I hope to see come to fruition next year. Another key part of my role is to represent the student body and voice any academic concerns to members of the Board of Studies. The part I enjoy the most about my role was working with people. The planning, the discussions, the problem-solving, the debrief, the lot. I truly love the opportunity of meeting new people, working alongside them, seeing what they bring to the table and what I can offer in return. I have worked with many driven individuals of whom have emanated not just kindness, but also a professional sense of purpose, something that I have seen and learned from. And I loved it. All of it. This to me, is of paramount importance, because if one loves what they do they never have to work a day of their life, right?
WRITTEN BY NAUSHEEN MOHAMED MUHAJIR | JCUDSA ACADEMIC PRESIDENT
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4 TH Y E AR A C A D E M I C The 4th years began the marathon that was semester one in mid-January. We were thrown into a sea of research workshops in the first couple of weeks It is a known fact that with each year, holidays become shorter and shorter for dental students at JCU. Regardless, 4th year snuck up on us and promoted us as the big fish of the building. It felt like we had come so far yet first year also did not feel so long ago. And so, the 4th years began the marathon that was semester one in mid-January. We were thrown into a sea of research workshops in the first couple of weeks and we’re fortunate enough to be the first cohort to experience a more comprehensive, but confronting, series of domestic violence workshops. Thereafter, what felt like countless days, we spent learning and practising our new-found knowledge in the clinic. Our eager eyes hoped to see more exciting and interesting cases, like the things we saw on toothy Instagrams, Youtube channels, Facebook (like DPR, of course) though some other students were probably luckier than others. And after a
semester of juggling research duties on top of clinic and study, many students breathed a long sigh of relief when the semester came to an end. We were grateful to have a few weeks to rest and recuperate after the 20-week long semester. Second semester only carried more intensity as we waited intently for our fifth-year placement allocations, braced ourselves for the research report deadlines and final exams for the year. Trust the faculty to gift us with a two-part written exam... I guess they knew we would suck it up and deal with it anyway. Now that fifth year is just around the corner, we have done our best to level up our skills and prepare to take on whatever comes our way in final year. The holidays only get shorter from here on anyway –– It must be a strategy to keep us on our toes and our learning brains on. After all, “knowledge is for ever and not just for the semester” my friends.
WRITTEN BY LINDA HUANG | 4TH YEAR ACADEMIC REPRESENTATIVE
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PHOTO BY JOHN XIONG
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WE A RE ALL IN TH IS TO GETH ER A study conducted by the University of Jordan found that the “top 3 stressors were examinations, grades, full loaded day and a lack of time for relaxation”. Year after year, it is seen that dentistry, within the realm of occupations, has one of the highest suicide rates. Why, you may ask? Dentistry is a demanding profession with a side dish of stress and anxiety. This may be crippling for some, both mentally and physically. A balance must be achieved, whether it be through relaxation techniques or other stress relievers like music and dance! It all starts in university. A study conducted by the University of Jordan found that the “top 3 stressors were examinations, grades, full loaded day and a lack of time for relaxation”. This is something I wanted to address to the cohorts of dentistry. Hi, my name is Anum and this year I was the community and wellbeing officer for JCUDSA! Essentially, I aimed to create a supportive atmosphere to alleviate feelings of stress and provide an outlet of relaxation near examination times. SWOTVAC support week was a week in which JCUDSA teamed up with other organisations. Red Frogs were able to provide steaming hot pancakes and a friendly chat to students as they took a break from their studies. The Rural Health in the Northern Outback (RHINO) club provided a lovely, convenient BBQ for hungry, time-stressed students. This was great for the
student community, as exams were just around the corner, and satisfying for many students who did not have preparing meals and eating at the forefront of their minds. As hours of studying ticked by, I took to social media to post inspirational quotes on our communal dentistry page. Research has shown that quotes motivate and improve self-efficacy in individuals. But more importantly, my aim was to remove the feeling of struggling alone with studies and promote a sense of community. We are all in this together! On the third week of October, we celebrated Mental Health Week which had a similar focus of providing stress relieving events before SWOTVAC rolls in. Headspace were on hand to provide useful information about mindfulness and their services, and other exciting events were planned for the week! Mental health is an important aspect to overall well-being of the person. We, as students, need to be mindful and self-aware of mental health problems as we are swept up in the fast-paced and intense nature of our profession. Participating in activities to de-stress is one of the ways you can unwind. In the end it’s all about balance! Good luck for all your future endeavours and never give up!
WRITTEN BY ANUM KHAN | JCUDSA COMMUNITY & WELLBEING OFFICER
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PHOTO BY JOHN XIONG
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WI N T E R S C H O O L The JCU Winter School is a new program designed to show Indigenous high school students from grades 10-12 what university life is all about. A major project that I have been involved in this year was the James Cook University Winter School. Over the mid-year break, fourth-year student dental student Nick Saveka and I travelled to Townsville where we partook in ambassador roles. The JCU Winter School is a new program designed to show Indigenous high school students from grades 10-12 what university life is all about, and to give them options and pathways to pursue a tertiary education. The program was held over 5 days at the JCU Townsville campus, which saw around 90 students from all over Australia attend; including those from Thursday Island, Melbourne, Canberra, rural New South Wales, and plenty of North Queensland locals in between. Students engaged in daily activities which incorporated their preferred discipline of study. They were given lectures and an insight into the different potential study areas, as well as mini assignments to showcase everything they had learnt. As dental students, Nick and I were given the opportunity to give our own talk about the ins and outs of a career in dentistry. We were also able to give them oral
health and hygiene advice, which many did not have much previous knowledge on (showing them videos of periodontal diseases definitely had them squirming to say the least). The opportunity to show them around the JCU Dental clinic also came about, where we handed out freebies to the thankful teenagers and showed them the daily life of a dental student in clinic. Several students sparked interest in the dentistry field, but the most important aspect was that all students took in valuable oral care information that we encouraged them to pass on to their friends and families back in their homes and communities. The Winter School was a huge success and I will definitely be back next year to be a part of the bigger and better program. It has also given me inspiration to get more involved and launch more awareness around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dental care. In terms of Cairns-orientated activities, a program to better engage with the local community (such as Yarrabah) is currently in the works and is likely to come into effect next year with visits to deliver oral health awareness.
WRITTEN BY KAYLARNI CLOSE JCUDSA ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER REPRESENTATIVE
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DENTISTRY BALL 2018
PARTY enamels s
WOM second year sim clinic PHOTOS BY JULIAN ORONOS & ANDREW PARK
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for more JCU Dentistry Ball 2018 photos, visit our facebook page PHO TO S B Y T O B Y S T A N L E Y P H O T O G R A P H Y
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PHOTO BY TOBY STANLEY PHOTOGRAPHY
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SOCIAL PRESIDENT Sport was a big focus for JCUDSA this year with the highly successful Sports Carnival. Despite the rain, all year levels brought their best to compete. The year kicked off with O-week to welcome our newest JCU Dentistry members which was organised by Hashim Azam. First years mingled with older students during the Icebreaker and competed against each other in the Amazing Race. The crowd favourite, The Cairns Party Bus, saw an end to the week and was surely filled with everlasting memories. Cassidy Redden organised an amazing Halfway event this year at the brand new Cairns Aquarium. The stunning venue hosted hours of dancing and laughter and definitely gave the third years the celebration they deserved for becoming 50% Dentists. Sport was a big focus for JCUDSA this year with the highly successful Sports Carnival and MIPS Cup. Despite the rain, all year levels brought their best to compete in Netball, Basketball, Touch, and Soccer for Inaugural Sports Carnival. Second years somehow came out on top, but the real winner was the sausage sizzle. The TOMS Mixer and MIPS Cup were two great events to celebrate the friendship (and
rivalry) between JCU Dentistry and Medicine. Both of which are hopefully to become staple events on the social calendar. JCUDSA’s Dentistry Ball for 2018 held at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino was filled with glitz and glamour! It was so much fun to have organised this event with Claire McCormack. Amongst a million other things, Claire is to thank for organising the band which included Dentistry’s own Liam White in 3rd year. It was such a fun night and the sponsorship team did an incredible job organising prizes for the raffle. It has been an exciting year and we’re wrapping it up with the annual halloween party at AJ Hackett and the 5th year graduation cocktail party at North Bar and Kitchen. I’d like to give a much-deserved thank-you to JCUDSA’s Social Committee: Joey Wong (1st year), Hashim Azam (2nd year), Cassidy Redden (3rd year), Claire McCormack (4th year), and Jeremy Yang (5th year). My team have worked tirelessly throughout the year to organise all of these wonderful events. We hope students were able to let their hair down and enjoy the year!
WRITTEN BY RENEE AITKEN | JCUDSA SOCIAL PRESIDENT
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JCUDSA vs JCUMSA PHOTO BY JOHN XIONG
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Halloween 2018 PHOTO BY JOHN XIONG
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PHOTO BY ANDREW PARK
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Q& A
GLORIA SILCOCK O RAL HYG I ENI ST & C L I N I C A L S U P E R V I S O R JAM ES CO O K UNI VE R S I T Y
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Where were you born? I was born in England and came to Australian when I was two years old. When did you move to Cairns? I live in Brisbane and work in Cairns at JCU during the week. What year did you arrive at JCU? I came to JCU in 2016. Where have you previously worked? I previously worked for the University of Queensland, as a lecturer and clinical supervisor in Oral Health. I also worked in private practice in Brisbane. I enjoy working with students in the university sector. What is one of the best things about working here? At JCU, the students are very respectful to staff and they are keen to learn. What is the best thing about your job? Seeing students develop skills both in confident communication and in their clinical work. I read some articles about your volunteering efforts in Vanuatu and what inspired you do this kind of work? I enjoyed seeing the gratitude and smiles on people’s faces when they receive dental treatment. During my time in Vanuatu, I worked with World Vision on the remote island of Pentecost. Here I liaised with
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village chiefs, church elders, school teachers and local health care workers, to provide holistic oral health care and education. Do you have any proud moments during your career? My proudest moment was receiving the UQ Vice Chancellor’s commendation for my work in the South Pacific in 2015. Have there been other happiest moments in your life? Reconnecting with previous students and have them reminisce about their university experiences at oral hygienist conferences. Is there a quote you’d like to say? “Always strive to do your best and treat the patients like you would treat your own family” What do you do in your spare time? I enjoy travelling overseas and visiting new places. And I do love to spend time relaxing and walking my dogs, Bella and Ruffy. Student advice? One piece of advice you can give JCU Dentistry students? Explore opportunities like overseas placements because it broadens your perspective on challenges faced by dental professionals working in rural and remote areas. JCUDSA extends a big thank you to Gloria for sharing her time and story with us.
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PHOTO BY JOHN XIONG
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cambodia
TO DARWIN WRITTEN BY KAEJENN TCHI A 5TH YEAR JC U DENTI STRY STUDENT
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At the end of 2017, myself and nine other final year students embarked on a 3-week international placement in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This placement was organised by One2One Cambodia, a non-for-profit charity organisation which provides dental and medical services to impoverished communities. In the first week our group treated patients across two different clinics, Happy Clinic and the University of Puthisatra student clinic. Throughout the first week we provided dental services to a variety of patients including adults, orphaned children, children with congenital HIV and those with repaired cleft lips and palates. In the second week we travelled to Kampot Thom where we provided dental services to inmates at the local prison. This was a fantastic experience working in low resource settings with extractions being done on foldable chairs without suction and only gauze. In the third week we worked in a community hall in Phnom Penh, providing treatment to impoverished locals. Aside from the fantastic clinical experiences we had some amazing cultural experiences
PHOTOS BY KAEJENN TCHIA
PHOTO BY JULIAN ORONOS
exploring the temples of Phnom Penh as well as enjoying the local Khmer cuisine. Overall, we had a fantastic clinical experience which not only gave us the confidence to begin our final year but a fantastic cultural experience in another country. In the first half of the year I was very fortunate to go back home to Darwin for my first clinical placement rotation. During placement I had the opportunity to experience dentistry in a variety of clinical environments including hospital operating theatres, prison and also at the special needs clinic. The highlight of my first rotation was my one week remote trip to Nhulunbuy (Gove). During the week we treated many kids under general anaesthetic at the Gove District Hospital which was a fantastic learning experi-
ence. Aside from work, I also had the chance to explore Nhulunbuy and Yirrkala, the nearby Aboriginal communities. Yirrkala was known for its pristine beaches as well as its famous Aboriginal Art Centre; a gathering of local artists who had artworks featured in major art galleries across the world. Getting a chance to meet the locals was also a highlight as I learnt how they lived off the land and connected to country. Working for NT Health provided a fantastic insight into the large oral health burden and gap that exists for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. In addition the placement site provided a fantastic broad range of experiences in different locations so I highly recommend considering it for placement in 5th year! #CUintheNT
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reaching out
FOR ORAL HEALTH W RI TTEN BY LAURA PURCE L L & A L E X WU | C H A R I T Y & C O M M U N I T Y A I D O F F I C E R S
With 2018 coming in fast, we decided to bring something new and innovative to the charity and community aid role with Valentine’s Day. JCUDSA’s first DIY Photo Booth was constructed in the Dentistry Building Foyer, allowing new students and those returning to enjoy a jubilant display. This gave students the opportunity for many instagram posts. The most creative and light-hearted photo entry won a trip to double-pass to Green Island! Of course February required its annual ‘Red-Feb’ bake sale, which stacked up over $400 for the Heart Research Association! And not to forget Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea in May, which made even more for the Cancer Council. We have only fellow dental student bakers to thank for providing such delicious treats and those many generous donors for helping us reach these goals. This year we also reached out to educate the community on oral health with Rosie’s Friends on the Street. A team of dental students from second to fourth year handed out toothbrushes, toothpaste and educated the community on good oral hygiene habits and prevention of oral diseases. One of the most anticipated and successful exciting events each year were JCUDSA’s
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Biannual Trivia Nights. Food, drinks, laughs, games and trivia, of course, made for two successful events with the biggest and best prizes provided from our Sponsorship team. Shoutout to MC JCUDSA President Michael Tien, Liam White and John Swain, who gave up their time to make these nights special, and a big thank you to the Bluewater for hosting us this year. The opening of semester 2 began with a moving overnight experience at Cairns’ Barlow Park, for Relay for Life 2018. This year we had a record-breaking team of 26 people gathered with snacks, blankets and games for the walking journey to support the Cancer Council. This year we fundraised the event by selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts, raising total of $595.00! Another special organisation we supported this year was the Jeans for Genes organisation which raises funds for children born with birth defects or genetic disorders - we managed to convince the staff to let us wear Jeans to clinic for this great cause! We would like to close the year off by saying a massive thank you to everyone that supported our events this year, as nothing would have come to fruition without our wonderful Dentistry staff and fellow dental students.
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Good notes, good practice, good defence
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PHOTO BY BRADY DIGITAL
ADSA report WRITTEN BY RYAN W O NG | JCUDSA A D S A L I A I S O N O F F I C E R
The Australian Dental Student Association (ADSA) is a national student body representing and connecting dental, oral health, and oral hygiene students from over 13 different universities across Australia and New Zealand. We provide numerous resources ranging from scholarships to volunteer opportunities to updates in the oral health profession. ADSA also invites key speakers in the dental industry and stream their presentations online for student to watch through our “ADSA Talks” initiative. We also organise community events throughout the year to help students get involved with like-minded individuals across the country. Hi, my name is Ryan and I’m the ADSA representative this year. Throughout the year, I organised ADSA events at JCU and help foster a connection between JCU and the larger dental student community. In May, ADSA hosted the Red Cross Blood Drive Competition amongst the different oral health universities to increase awareness about the importance of blood donations and create some friendly competition between oral health students. I promoted the event and recruited a student representative from each year level to help organise carpooling and increase blood donation participation. JCU did really well and placed 2nd overall of all the Oral Health and Dental Universities in Australia!
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We also held a photo competition to promote our popular annual event, the ADSA Convention, and allow students to express what dentistry and oral health means to them. The ADSA Convention was held in Western Australia in the beautiful city of Perth. This annual highlight event lasting a week long consisted of many unique lectures and hands on workshops during the day and exciting social mingling events during the evening. There was also a wine tour trip where students were able to have taste of the signature vineyards of Western Australia as well as nibble on wide variety of nuts and chocolates. On top of that, there was also the option to visit Rottnest Island, home of the quokkas! Perth Convention 2018 was definitely a successful event connecting students from all oral health universities across Australia and learning more about the health profession! Despite the far west coast location of Convention, we had a great turnout for the event with students coming from all across Australia. I met a lot of new friends and widened my perspective of Dentistry!
As ADSA rep, I also helped organise R U OK Day for JCU. The goal was to create a platform to shed some light on the stigmas of mental health and allow students to take a break from dentistry and have a conversation to spark discussion and support for one another. With the sponsoring from ADSA and MIP, I was able to provide pizza and cupcakes for students to enjoy. I also organised a Mental Health Support Message board where students could write positive messages and post them for everyone to see! We had a lot of students come out to the event and post supportive messages for their friends and fellow students! Throughout the year on social media, I also posted photos and videos of the many JCUDSA events and functions to show the other universities all the exciting things that happen at the JCU dental school! I really enjoyed my role as ADSA Rep 2018 in organising and promoting ADSA Events and helping connect JCU with the greater dental student community.
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first
patients WRITTEN BY YUG ANDDHA RABEL 3RD YEAR CLI NI CAL REPRESENTATI VE
What a journey it’s been so far‌ from the first few days where the nerves were unsettling and taking the full three hours to do a scale and clean, we have all become quite well adapted now to seeing patients. Having the support of your peers in your bay going through similar situations, questioning and teaching one other, has been grounding and made the experience that much more enjoyable. At the end of the day, it is fulfilling and enticing, and the relationships and treatment you can build and achieve with your patients is next to none. On behalf of the 3rd year cohort, I would like to give a massive thank you to all the wonderful staff from the Dental building through to everyone at JCU Dental, we are very lucky to have such a supportive and enriching learning environment.
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PHOTO BY JOHN XIO NG
PHOTO BY BLUECLICK PHOTOGRAPHY
we are
halfway there WR I T T E N B Y C A S S I D Y R E D D E N 3 R D Y E A R S O C I A L R E P R E S E N T ATIVE
So the year is slowly coming to an end. Very slowly. Yet so much has happened this year. We have started seeing patients in the clinic so the workload has been full on. So nothing relieves stress like a few social activities to ease the mind. This year as third years we celebrated our halfway point of our degree with the aptly named Halfway Ball. This year we had the function at the Cairns Aquarium restaurant, Aqualuna. In this modern world, what's the point of having a party if you can’t get great photos there, so this venue allowed the girls to get their latest insta pics and the boys to enjoy the beverages and a good time was had by all. Alongside the annual Dental Ball, the MIPS Cup and the Halloween Party, JCUDSA has given third years the opportunity to keep an active social life amongst our studies. Check our Facebook page for more photos from the 3rd Year’s Halfway Ball 2018.
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2 N D Y E A R S O FA R . . . We put our blood, sweat and tears throughout the semester’s 22 sim clinic and extra practice sessions into perfecting our indirect vision dexterity and ergonomics, especially on maxillary teeth. Hi, my name is Lawrence and I am the 2nd year academic representative. You may remember me from my occasional presences on the Dent Snooze Patrol page. As academic rep, my job is to act as an intermediary between students and year coordinator, and sort out queries within the 2nd year academic aspect of dentistry and discuss ways to resolve it. Being the academic representative for 2nd year, it has helped me develop the bravery and confidence to communicate to people especially university staff and peers in my cohort. In addition, it forced me to manage my university life to carry this responsibility as well as in general. It gave me an opportunity to create an impact not only within the 2nd year cohort but also within JCUDSA. So far, we have visited primary schools in Cairns West and Balaclava to promote oral health for disadvantaged communities in Cairns. Despite the intense planning and organisation of lesson plans, we had a lot of fun in putting these plans into action and having fun with the children to show them we dentists are not scary as they thought. Some groups came up with very unique ways to educate the kids about oral health like composing a song with a guitar. We hope that
our visits made a positive impact not only on their oral health but also their lives. So far, 2nd year has been heavily focussed on the practical aspect of dentistry where our indirect vision dexterity and motor skills are put to the test. The class II and V preparations and restorations in sim clinic… (sigh) We put our blood, sweat and tears throughout the semester’s 22 sim clinic and extra practice sessions into perfecting our indirect vision dexterity and ergonomics, especially on maxillary teeth. We endured the frustrations of ripped rubber dam sheets, loose rubber dam clamps and weeks of straight UNSATs. At the end, we stood well above these challenges and managed to successfully become competent at these tasks! Finally, we are 30% dentists! So far, 2nd year already had been an eventful year, and I bet it will be a lot more eventful in the 2nd half of 2nd year when we move onto class IIIs and IVs, and prosthodontics. Wish us luck that we will be practically competent before stepping into JCU Dental in 6 months’ time, placing the aesthetics, function and comfort of the patients in our hands.
WRITTEN BY LAWRENCE NGUYEN | 2ND YEAR ACADEMIC REPRESENTATI VE
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1ST YEAR ACADEMIC Even though we were shocked to see our ‘drawing skills’ to test with a 6-mark draw a mature tooth germ question, semester one was a huge learning curve. 2018 has been a year of many firsts, with the first millennials finally becoming of legal age and JCU Dentistry implementing its newly integrated dental program. Our initiation into Uni life was dictated by fun activities such as “Amazing Race: Dent Edition” and important refresher courses to equip us with the basic academic skills needed for the transition into tertiary education. The inter year mixer was a great way to break the ice and engage with the older years - very useful way to get tips and trick to survive the long 5 years. With a majority of the cohort fresh off the high of graduating high school and receiving the freedom of adults, it felt real when we had to learn to adjust to the new lifestyles of living out of home. Getting the vaccination records sorted, serologies, doing the laundry, cooking and cleaning. As the weeks went by and the content started piling up, 2-minute noodles became the ultimate go to meal and the home rooms soon turned into a refuge for who could not find comfort in other study spaces. It was a little nerve-racking to know that the course structure for the first years was very different to the years that came before us. The new dentistry course is Integrated meaning that we only have a dental science subject as opposed to individual sciences.
The newly designed course has numerous practical aspects to it, we now have a greater number of SGSSs & GLSs but the most exciting thing was starting SIM clinic in week 4. The Small Group Synthesising Sessions (SGSS) and Guided Learning Sessions (GLS) are extremely helpful as the students are divided into smaller groups and have one on one interactions with the lecturers and tutors. In SGSS/GLS sessions we go over a range of topics - OSCEs scenarios, problem solving worksheets, tooth modelling exercises, mindfulness sessions etc. Even though there were a few teething problems, solutions were implemented quicker than the shift in the critical pH of plaque. The first years definitely flexed on the older years with the FREE Oral - B ELECTRIC toothbrush and the mouthwashes & toothpastes we received. Even though we were shocked to see our ‘drawing skills’ to test with a 6-mark draw a mature tooth germ question, semester one was a huge learning curve, with sleepless nights in the library wearing the JCUDSA jumpers to casually burning teeth in SIM clinic. We came here to become the “Super Hero” dentists and there’s no doubt that we will be trained to live up to that title.
WRITTEN BY SHAILI THANKI | 1ST YEAR ACADEMIC REPRESENTATIVE
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PHOTO BY JOHN XIONG
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KNOW THE TCA CYCLE We came to learn in our first set of exams that learning the entire TCA was indeed necessary for the questions that were asked, so for that we were very thankful. I can say on behalf of all the first years, Cairns was the tropical paradise that no one was prepared for. Primarily because of the overwhelming heat and humidity however for most of us, this tropical paradise was going to be our new second home for the next 5 years of our lives. From the get go, the first years were warmly welcomed by all the older dentistry students, with the main conversation starter being “Are you in first year, omg have you met Bob from your year”. This probably went on for the entirety of O-Week during events from our first ice breaker social to Amazing Race and Party Bus. Ice breaker was a great way for lots of intoxicated inter-year mixing and a way to suss out who you want to sit with at lunch and lectures. It also gave us the opportunity to mingle with the older years. The kindness was immensely cherished and left a warm fuzzy feeling because hey we all want to pass the course right. The Amazing Race gave us newbies an insight on Cairns where we had to roam around the city doing tasks and flaunting our selfie skills. To be honest the amazing race was just a test of how fit the cohort was, and in the scorching heat running around was not an easy task. The hectic week ended off with Party Bus that gave the year an indication on who was 18 or not (ie. Who was cool to go out or not).
More fresh faces and new Facebook friend requests were evident as the week progressed. The year started off smooth, lots of introductory lectures. However, once week 3 hit we were bombarded by an unnecessary amount of Chemistry content, alongside with an abundant level of information on upper limb anatomy. I think at this point most of us were wondering if we were studying dentistry or not because all we kept hearing from the older years was “know the TCA cycle, like every step and enzyme Liddell puts it on the exam every year”. We came to learn in our first set of exams that learning the entire TCA was indeed necessary for the questions that were asked, so for that we were very thankful. What made first year different for us this year compared to the previous cohorts was the introduction of the new Uni Apartments at John Grey Hall. Previously most of the first years stayed at the lodge where people got friendly and were forced to mingle with one another at lunch and dinner (or could have chosen to starve and be a loner). However despite the persevering accommodation rivalry, the cohort has managed to settle in well. So far, we’ve been able to tolerate each other’s company and survived our first semester at JCU.
WRITTEN BY JOEY WONG | 1ST YEAR SOCIAL REPRESENTATIVE
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PHOTO BY JOHN XIONG
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PHOTOS BY ANDREW PARK
the
TOWERS Charters Towers, or otherwise affectionately known as ‘The Towers’, is a community of around 9000 people situated two hours west of the far inferior town of Townsville, Queensland. I had the opportunity to spend 18 weeks in The Towers, as well as the bustling metropolis of Hughenden and the dinosaur capital of the world, Richmond. The humble 2-chair dental clinic was a convenient three minute walk from the JCU accommodation. I shared a house with fourth year medical students who continually rotated throughout my time there and the hospital proved to be a bustling hub of young health professionals (visiting interns, physiotherapists, speech pathologists, nurses). Altogether we had barbecues at the Weir, bucked on the bull at the White Horse Tavern, enjoyed sunsets on Towers Hill, and sometimes congregated to put our tertiary education to some use on Wednesday trivia nights at the Waverly. Clinical experiences were a plenty and included surgical extractions, rotary endodontics, fixed and removable prosthodontics, orthodontic assessments at the school dental van service, nursing home visits - palliative care and OMFS experience at Townsville Hospital. All in all, Charters Towers proved to be a challenging yet very fulfilling placement where it allowed me to become more independent as a clinician and become resilient in carrying out dentistry in different environments with differing resources. I would highly recommend to future students!
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W RI TTEN BY ANDREW PAR K | 5 T H Y E A R J C U D E N T I S T R Y S T U D E N T
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INTERYEAR sports carnival WHICH YEAR G RO UP I S THE M O ST A T H L E T I C C L A S S I N J C U D E N T I S T R Y F O R 2 0 1 8 ?
more photos over the page...
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With local forecasts of heavy rain and a thunderstorm looming of in the distance, the JCUDSA inaugural inter-year sports carnival through rain, hail and storm went underway with no threat of cancellation. On the 24th of March, with a quick change of venue from the JCU Oval to the indoor Smithfield State High School stadium, the JCUDSA 2018 Sports Carnival was a massive success! The promise of a sausage sizzle, friendship and camaraderie many came together for a jam-packed afternoon of Sports. This brought together over 130 of our members donned proudly with their class colours excited and keen for a night of healthy competition and socialising.
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With a choice of Basketball, Netball, Soccer and Touch-Footy and teaming up with the Nicci P Running Club to bring an epic running relay as a finale, there was something for everyone! The four courageous teams were: Year 1 ‘The Blue Curing Lights’ Year 2 ‘The Strawberry Gingivitis’ Year 3 ‘The White Spot Lesions’ Year 4 ‘The G.V. Blacks’
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Congratulations to all participants and please show a round-of-applause to JCU Dentistry's Most Athletic Class of 2018 - the Year 2 'Strawberry Gingivitis'! See you again next year. Big thanks to JCU Dentistry and the JCUDSA committee for helping make this event a success.
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PHOTO BY JOEY G UAN
Q&A with Cassidy Redden NEW HEAD O F T H E N I C C I P R U N C L U B
What is the Nicci P Run Club? The JCU Nicci P Run Club is a University run club that combines aspects of both social and fitness. What makes run club successful? It is the balance of knowing you are getting some exercise and fitness but in a free and enjoyable environment. There is no pressure and the club has a welcoming atmosphere. Can you give us a overview of a weekly Nicci P Run Club routine? On Mondays we have a social long run at Clifton Beach to Palm Cove and back. Tuesdays we have a group that train at the athletics track in the city and is targeted at advanced runners. Wednesday is a club favourite on the JCU Oval and is a mix of long and shorter runs. Thursdays is our rotating location and can range from Hill sessions, to Esplanade runs. On Fridays we combine with the JCU Gaz Swim Club to host a session at Smithfield Pool. To start the weekend off well, we then target the Cairns Park Run in the city on a Saturday morning.
How fit do you have to be to join? Do you have to be a professional runner? Does running have to run in the family? Yes, obviously. No, we have all abilities and encourage and cater for all abilities. Non-runners are made to feel very welcome while strong runners are equally able to attend and still get a good session. Would you recommend students to join the run club? Why? It is probably the best way to interact with other years and is a great stress relief to university studies. What’s your advice for first time runners? Stop saying that you’ll do a few runs by yourself and then come to the club. Those people never show up, you just have to get started straight away with the club and not make excuses.
What does the session on JCU Oval involve? The JCU Oval session is very social but everyone leaves exhausted but with a smile on their face still. We do a warm up as a group before breaking into 2-3 smaller groups based on fitness and ability to do a session. What is your favourite thing about being the new head of the Run Club? We have the ability to shorten the warm up and cool down if we can’t be bothered.
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Q& A
DR. AMAR SHOLAPURKAR LEC TURER I N CLI NI CAL DENTI S T R Y & O R A L R A D I O L O G Y JAM ES CO O K UNI VERSI TY
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PHOTO BY JOHN XIONG
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Where and when were you born?
I started my duties at JCU the very next Monday (July 15th 2013).
of the BDS students starting from year 2 and I find our students extremely good, capable, intelligent, enthusiastic, and I have seen them working as a team which I personally felt “wow”. To be very frank, it is really difficult to say which year group is my favourite. Please don’t think that this is just a diplomatic answer, I really mean to say that – “You guys rock”. I can however guarantee that our JCU dental students are the best when compared to students from other dental schools across Australia. I am proud of you guys.
What is your story throughout JCU? Have you only taught oral radiology?
What is one of the best things about working here?
I have been blessed with my dream job (in JCU) in my dream country (Australia). I am passionate about Oral Radiology (no doubt that’s my favourite subject anyways) and I have been teaching this as a major subject in the JCU BDS course since my appointment. Apart from Oral Radiology, I have also been involved in teaching/supervising the students in JCU Dental clinic next door and the Sim clinic as well. Since I have a dual qualification (Masters in both Oral Medicine and Oral Radiology), I have recently taken over and am now running the Oral Medicine clinic at JCU Dental as well. Since joining JCU, I have been regularly conducting the Extraoral Radiography and CBCT licensing courses for the dentists/OHT’s/DA’s Australia wide. Supervising the Honours students and year 4 research projects is a major component of my teaching responsibilities as well.
There are lot of ‘best things’ about working here at JCU but since you have particularly asked me “one of the best things” – let me come straight to the point. I have always told this to anyone (whoever asks me this question) – The team with whom I work is simply too good, very helpful, respectful, enthusiastic, understanding, have good work ethics, flexible and what not. I have worked in various universities but haven’t come across such good team members in my whole career and that’s the “wow factor” about them. Thanks to my dear team members.
I was born on 22nd November 1979 in India. When did you move to Cairns? I moved to Cairns on July 13th 2013. What year did you start at JCU?
Which current year level is your favourite? This was the most difficult question which took a lot of time for me to answer and here’s an honest answer. I work very closely with and teach/supervise almost all
Do you have any proud moments during your career here at JCU? One of the proud moments during my career at JCU was that I received accreditation from the Queensland Radiation health for conducting the Extraoral Radiography and CBCT licensing course. This was simply like a dream come true. It was really a difficult task and for me, it took a lot of time, hard work, patience, commitment, optimism and skills to achieve this goal.
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Have there been other happiest moments in your life? Yeah there have been heaps of “happiest moments in my life”. I could write an essay on this subject. Ha ha. What do you do in your spare time? In my spare time, I love playing with my kids at home or outdoors. My wife is a chatterbox (please don’t show this answer to her, otherwise you know the consequences, ha ha) and therefore I somehow manage to be a good listener, most of the time and I love that. I love music to my core and like listening and singing Bollywood songs. I simply forgot the most important thing – “SHOPPING” is my favourite. You will see me in a shopping mall during most weekends for sure. Last but not the least, travelling is my hobby as well. Many students are a big fan of your singing, when did you start singing? Hey thanks for the compliments guys. I started singing when I was a child. When did you realise you were good at singing?
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It so happened that I was advised by my class teacher to participate in a singing competition at school when I was in grade 3. It was the first time for me and I was not very confident but extremely nervous. My mom stepped up and helped me prepare a song at home for the competi-
tion. I somehow sang the song and received 2nd place in the school and it was from that time onwards singing became my hobby. What is your favourite song? I would say - Most songs from these Album: Backstreet boys, Venga boys, Pharrell Williams – Happy song, Magic – Rude (Saturday morning), etc. Please note – “I can only listen to these songs but not sing them”. Ha ha. Would you ever quit dentistry and take up singing full time? Hey I would never quit dentistry and take up singing full time. Singing is just my hobby. Is there a quote that you would like to say? “I am not the best but I am not like the rest” What is one piece of advice you would give students? Student Advice? Don't be in a hurry to grow up. Get experience with what you love. Cope with failures and learn from your own mistakes. Be a lifelong learner. Listen more than you speak, when trying to attain new skills and knowledge. JCUDSA thanks Dr Amar for his time and sharing his story with us. We will remember to analyse OPGs systematically!
have
a
wonderful
holiday
see you in 2019 and
congrats to the class of 2018
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W O RD OF MOU TH committe e
EDITOR IN CHIEF
5th year dentistry student
HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER
3rd year dentistry student
MI CH AEL TIE N
EDITOR
3rd year dentistry student
L AU R A PU R CELL
EDITOR
3rd year dentistry student
A S HLE Y ON G
EDITOR
4th year dentistry student
PR AVEEN A SIVAN U JAN
EDITOR
3rd year dentistry student
J ULIAN OR ON OS J O H N XION G
the word of mouth committee would like to thank everyone involved in making this issue of WOM possible; writers, photographers, guests, sponsors, editors and also the jcudsa committee of 2018
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