So How Has Dental School Been Going?

Since I've been bummed about losing my husband to dental school, it's probably good for you all to know that his studying has been worth it. He's had two exams and a quiz so far and has gotten a B, B+, and an A. Since he doesn't want to specialize, these are exactly the type of grades we are hoping for. It means he understands the material and is doing well, but he's not killing himself to make straight A's since it ultimately doesn't matter what grades he gets so long as he passes and is a great dentist once he is done at UPenn.

See, specialties like Orthodontics and Periodontics require additional schooling and are incredibly competitive to get into. If Joe wanted a chance at being accepted to a specialty program, he'd have to pretty much ace dental school - which is NOT easy - and have to be involved with extra-curriculars to boost his application. Both would require even MORE of his time.

He considered pursuing a specialty after being accepted to UPenn because UPenn grads have a high rate of acceptance into these programs, but shadowed some dentists who specialize and found that the work was too

 monotonous for him. He likes the variety that being a general dentist provides and the fact that he can build relationships with patients over the years. Plus, he has a strong desire to work with people with developmental disabilities and would best serve that population as a general dentist.

I'm thrilled that he's content with B's, because that's the difference between him being able to take a few hours off every now and then, and him not having that luxury.

The scary part, though, is that Penn is apparently "easing them in" during the first two months of dental school. In a couple weeks, the exams start becoming more frequent (1-2 per week) and the workload more intense. Luckily, it seems that Joe is learning some strategies to speed up his studying (probably the reason for the easing in) and will hopefully use his time more effectively. He'll need to learn to speed study since second year (D2) is supposed to be even more intense. Yay.

Mom, I took the time to edit this just for you ;) It was just too spot on not to post.

I am in such awe of Joe and how hard he is working. I could never work as hard as he is right now - I'm shocked a human can push like this. I can't imagine those poor souls who DO want to specialize... or those D2's...

Now that I've depressed myself thinking about next year, I need to post one more thing that makes me laugh ;)

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