The Tennessealant
Quarterly Newsletter of the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry
T
NBDE? More like NBD.
his brief word goes out to all you D1’s out there. It may seem like it’s far in the future, and you may (rightfully so) not have even thought about it yet, but pretty shortly after the wonderfully woeful time in your lives that is D2 Fall semester, some 8 months or so from now, you will be taking NBDE Part I. Alas, do not fret! You may have heard that the first part of the National Board Dental Examination is a rigorous, grueling, and overall daunting test. But it’s really not. For starters, as of 2012, the NBDE part I exam is pass-fail. If you get a 75, you pass; if you get a 100, you pass. Same grade. So if any gunners reading this are looking to get ahead via the first part of Boards, I’d suggest looking elsewhere. Moreover, the exam itself is only 400 questions. And sure, you’re probably sitting there now saying to yourself “Only 400 questions? Is he crazy?” But trust me, after taking a Par test every other week for 4 months, this boards exam will seem like nothing but a slightly-longer-than-average Par with easier questions. Not to mention, pretty much everything you’ll see on Boards will have been covered in some course or another during your first 3 semesters. (I’ll add here, and you’ll understand why eventually, that you should thank the NBDEpowers-that-be for not including Pharmacology.) Lastly, and I promise no one asked me to write this, the school prepares you better than you can imagine for NBDE Part I. (Side note to whichever faculty member is reading this – I’m sure they prepare us well for Part II also, we just haven’t gotten there yet.) You’ll be surprised when you start studying how much you’ve forgotten that you somehow still remember. Sure, you may need
a quick memory-jog on the structures located in the posterior mediastinum, and it may take a few reviews to recall the 2nd tallest cusp on a permanent mandibular first molar, but with a couple weeks of “refreshing” even the most esoteric details of anatomy and microbiology will come back to you in seamless fashion. So remember to relax, try to trust in the system, and keep trudging towards the light and the end of the long and dark tunnel – because NBDE really is NBD. Simon Chanin, D2 (D2 Fall Survivor) P.S. In case I need to clarify for any non-millennials reading this, NBD stands for No Big Deal. Just thought I’d throw that in there.