The Tennessealant
Quarterly Newsletter of the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry
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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.
Spring 2015 in ASDA Sunday, April 12th Prophy Cup Golf Tournament North Creek Golf Club 1:00 p.m.
Lunch and Learn April 15th: Familia Dental
Saturday, April 18th Annual Half K
Thursday, April 30th Vendor Fair Train Station on Main 5:00-9:00 p.m.
April 22nd: Cooper Family Dental April 29th: Capital Financial May 6th: OHC May 12th: Orascoptic
Tuesday, May 5th Senior Skit Night
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CMDA Mission Trip: Jordan
few weeks ago I was blessed with the opportunity to spend a week in Northern Jordan over the week of Spring Break. Brian Platt, Austin Collazo, and myself traveled with a CMDA medical mission team to serve the people of Northern Jordan. Each day we would wake up and travel to a small town about 45 minutes from the city where we stayed, and we served the townspeople from 9-5 each day. We worked in a mobile dental clinic in the parking lot of the local computer center. Each day we were able to treat about 20 people. That may not sound like much, but considering that we only had two dental chairs, two dentists, and one translator, it was a lot of people! We didn’t just extract teeth all day; we were able to do a lot of operative work as well. We also took advantage of opportunities to teach oral hygiene to school-aged kids. We didn’t just go there to meet physical needs, we went there to meet spiritual needs as well. Before we treated a patient we asked to pray with each patient, in Jesus’ name. When asked why we came all this way to treat the people of Northern Jordan, we said: “We want to show these people the same love that Jesus showed us.” That’s the real reason we went, to show Christ’s love to a group of people that had never heard of Jesus. Thomas Jenkins, D2 Class of 2017
Q&A With the Prez: Brian Plaque
When did you know you wanted to be a dentist? Early elementary school. My dream was to go to Dental School at UNC because that’s where Michael Jordan played. If you weren’t going to be a dentist, what would you be? College Football Coach What’s the funniest thing that’s happened since you’ve started in the clinic? I had to tell a patient I needed to pull some of his teeth because of infection. Patient responded, “I don’t believe in pulling teeth.” Me, “But you have an infection and it’s going to get worse and potentially extremely painful.” Patient, “I don’t believe in pulling teeth when there’s nothing wrong...” Was that dress white and gold, or blue and black? Blue and Black If you had one piece of advice for the current D1’s, what would it be? Enjoy May and June as much as you can! Come back in July ready to Grind. What’s your favorite part of being the President of ASDA? Traveling to meetings and conferences for sure! In your opinion, what is the best ASDA event of the year? I think it will be our Senior Skit Night in May! This is the first time we’ve ever hosted this event but it’s going to be a great time with all the classes and faculty getting a chance to roast and toast each other! Each class and faculty will have 10 minutes to do whatever kind of
What’s your favorite BBQ place in Memphis? Germantown Commissary Do you have any plans for you career or your location after graduation? Lots of options still on the table but I’m really interested in a Pediatric Residency. What was your favorite pre-clinical course in dental school? Gross Anatomy What’s one thing they never tell you before you get to clinic? Clinic can be just as stressful or even more stressful than pre-clinic courses. Overall it’s much more fun and enjoyable, it’s very rewarding, but the stress level is still present.
VENDOR FAIR I
t’s that time of year again! Get ready for some free stuff, because the 2015 ASDA Vendor Fair is coming up on April 30, 2015. As per usual, this year’s event is going to be held at the Memphis’ Grand Central Train Station in the Hudson Ballroom from 5:30-9:00. For the D1’s who are unfamiliar with this event you can look forward to: • • • •
Free stuff from Vendors Open bar stocked with beer and wine Chick fil a chicken nuggets and other light h’ordeurves A lot of awesome door prizes including the grand prize a brand new Apple iPad
We have a lot of great Vendors joining us this year, from dental supply companies all the way to corporate offices looking for hires. So make sure to come out on the 30th and learn what all these great companies have to offer us!