Well, it has obviously been a long time since my last post as the title of my blog was called "April's journey to Dr. status." And now that journey has begun!

I graduated from Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine on May 28th, 2015. 4th year was CRAZY -- to say the least. It started off with lots of dental experience being the D4 and having to mentor a D3. All of a sudden I was "in charge."

During our first break - end of August - I was set to go on a trip to Ireland with my girlfriends from college. Little to my knowledge this was the exact week where interviews were held for Periodontal residency (I was hoping to have a career as a periodontist - gum surgeon). I opted out of the trip to fly around the U.S. for interviews in Ohio, Washington, and Texas. A week later I found out that I was accepted to University of Texas, San Antonio Health Science Center for their perio residency. I was pretty excited to say the least (they are arguably the top perio residency in the country!).

Right around the corner was NBDE Part 2. Thankfully I had a nice long Thanksgiving break to study my butt off and pass on the first try.

Not long after this I was having second thoughts about a life in San Antonio. Did I want to do 3 more years of school? Was it worth the stress? I had been in school my whole life and I think part of me was scared to start working. I was also scared of starting over....again. Moving to SA meant not knowing anyone and being on my own. Sure I did this when I moved to AZ, but did I really want to do it all over again? I ultimately decided that though I loved perio and dental surgery in general I could do all of that being a general dentist and staying in AZ. I withdrew from the Perio residency in early January. My life basically was turned upside down.

Now the search was on for patients for WREB (my licensing exam). Through a much stressful couple of months I found all my patients -- one of whom was my wonderful boyfriend Mitch.

Mitch and I started dating mid January. How we met is an interesting story. I was doing the online dating thing on an app called "Plenty of Fish." Slightly cheesy I will admit, but hey it was free and not all the guys on there were complete sleezeballs! I was chatting with this guy named Kris. He just so happened to be a golfer so we thought, hey it'd be cool to get out golfing for our first date. Well Kris decided to make it a 4 some and invited Mitch and another of his friends. Kris, though a nice guy, just wasn't my type. Mitch and I just clicked without each other really knowing. Mitch decided to join POF and we started chatting. We went on our first date a few days later and the rest is history. We now live together in an apartment in Ahwatukee. We love being outside, golfing (of course), trying new places to eat, watching movies, and just being goofy!

After passing WREB it was smooth sailing until graduation, but there was one problem. I still hadn't found a job. I thought when choosing dentistry as a career that finding a job would never be an issue. That was until I chose to live in a city that have more dentists per capita than most other cites (California I think is the worst, but Phoenix is a close second).

May was a crazy month with interviewing but it was also really fun. We had senior banquet - I received the American Academy of Periodontology Award (ironically). 

It was a super fun night seeing all my classmates for one of the last times and getting appreciated for all the hard work of dental school. 

I was also inducted in the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Dental Fraternity. Those that are inducted must be in the top 20% of the graduating class, have superior leadership qualities, and have demonstrated exemplary traits of ethical character with potential qualities of future professional growth and attainments. I felt honored to be inducted into a group with such attributes. 

And then of course there was odontoblast. This is our "dental prom" we have every year. I had gone my first year but not years since. I figured since it was my last year I would go have a fun night with my friends and celebrate graduating!

Then it was all over. Graduation came and went. It was one of the biggest accomplishments of my life and I was extremely humbled by it all. Thankfully my parents and brother were able to attend and made me feel pretty awesome for achieving such a goal. But it was really them who got me through it all, I couldn't have done it with such supportive parents who were always there for me during the stress and tears!

But the problem had still not been solved. No job. What good is a degree (and a fricken expensive one at that) with no way to start practicing it!? After tons of interviews I eventually found a few offices to temp in, one in Apache Junction and one if Chandler, AZ. I was interviewing heavily with two different offices (one corporate and one private). I ultimately decided to take the private practice position. I will be practicing MTF at 14th Floor Dental in downtown Phoenix in the 14th floor of the Chase Tower (such an amazing view!!), and WTh at San Tan Valley Smiles in San Tan Valley, AZ.

My new official position starts on Wednesday and I couldn't be more excited yet nervous. I will hopefully try to keep this updated a little more about my first year as a new dentist! Wish me luck :)

Oh and if anyone needs a dentist -- you know where I'll be!!

A year later.....

It has been so long since I have updated this blog and I felt the need to update everyone on how my journey has been going. 

Well I am a D2 (second year dental school student)! Can't believe it, I often times catch myself still associating with D1's. I had been told D2 year was WAY better than D1 year. Well I was fooled. Less studying yes, less stress, not a chance. I still have one exam each week, Wednesday mornings on dental material. The most stressful of this year: lab. I have learned so many techniques already this year and haven't even touched a posterior tooth yet! It's crazy the options, materials, procedures, etc. that come along with dentistry. Let me tell you being a general dentist, you really need to be the jack of all traits. I have so much appreciation for all the dentists out there that had to go through what I have so far, because its SO much work!! I fall asleep within minutes every night at about 9:30 pm. I feel about 10 years older than I really am! 

Over the summer, I stayed here in AZ. My first month was spent studying 8+ hours a day for my part 1 board exam (NBDE part 1). I took that the end of June and then flew home back to MN for the 4th of July to have some fun with family and friends. I diligently waited and waited for the scores and found out about 2 weeks later that I PASSED :) Such a wonderful feeling! (Oh the boards are pass/fail so unfortunately I don't know how fabulous I really did, haha). I spent the rest of the summer taking care of my little puppy Ty. I got him in May and had a heck of a time potty training the little turd (no pun intended). Yorkies are by far the hardest breed to potty train! Though Ty is more maltese in personality, he is a yorkie when it comes to pottying. Other than that I relaxed and enjoyed a work free, school free few months (which by the way has never occurred since about sophomore year from high school). 

Besides school this year, I have started tutoring for some extra money. I tutor the D1 class in their basic science course. Not only did I do this for some money, but I am still contemplating continuing after dental school to an Oral Surgery residency. This requires me taking another standardized test called the NBME (the pre-USMLE 1) which is a med student exam, but since the boards for dental are now pass/fail, it was decided that some scored test would be needed to differentiate applicants. So I figures tutoring might be a good way to retain all the material I learned first year, since it will all be on the NBME. 

I also got the opportunity to go home for a weekend to be a part of the Bartels/Stiles wedding! I couldn't have had more fun! I have been friends with Candy since before I can remember. We had great times in high school and even more fun times in undergrad as Bennies! She is and will always be one of my best friends and I felt so honored to be a part of her wonderful day! I loved being home to see everyone and get all dressed up! Unfortunately it was only for a few days but it was better than nothing! I won't be home again until Christmas due to flights costing so much. But I can't wait to see everyone again. 

That brings me to another question I hear all to often; are you going to come/go back to MN after dental school? I don't know, sorry! It all depends on residency, no residency, where I am at in my life, etc. I may/ I may not. That's the best I got right now. 

And since last writing, I have done a few bucket list check offs! I ran the tough mudder last Feb. It was 12.5 miles with over 20 obstacles scattered throughout. By far the hardest thing I have ever done. Trained for about 3 months before hand, and got my but kicked, and soaked in mud! SO FUN though :)  I hiked the grand canyon (South rim to North rim) this August with some of my fellow future dentists. 30 miles of hiking in 100+ degree weather might now sound too fun, but it was a blast and I would do it all over again in a heart beat. Most importantly, I go to go sky diving. Yup, jumped out of a plane! Probably the funnest thing I have done in my life! Expensive, but absolutely amazing!! As my journey continues, I will keep checking off things on my bucket list! 

Those are some of the highlights of the past year. I am so excited to learn more and eventually become a dentist in 2.5 years! Seems so far away, but time has flown by! I miss my family and friends back home like crazy, but I have formed a great support system down here in AZ. Without my girlfriends, dental school would be next to impossible! They mean so much to me! 

Well thats the update so far. Hopefully it will be less than a year before I update this again! 

Week 4

Hello all, I am sorry it has been so long since I have written a blog. To be 100% honest, I really have not had the time. I am officially a dental student in every way, shape, and form. As I had told my mom...I have diminished my sleeping time to about 7 hours a night (when I usually get about 8-9), need about 3 caffeinated beverages a day, and haven't exercise in about 2 weeks. All due to:

Sim lab on Mondays, exams every Tuesday, dental anatomy quizzes on Thursdays, 5 hours of lecture Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and then presentations/quizzes or lab practicals on Fridays. Phew....! Not to mention the 4-5 hours of studying a day and all weekend long. This is a 24-7 job. I have worked so hard to get to this point and I can't complain. I anticipated dental school to be hard and most definitely is!

I have had some fun though as well, don't get me wrong. I have been golfing a few times (which is absolutely necessary now that I live in a state where it is warm year round!), hiking new mountains, playing volleyball, drinking with friends, going to sport events, and coming up in a few weekends.....sky diving!

This is the greatest time ever! I love my classmates and everyone is so great full to be here. I do miss my family and friends back home and staying in touch with people has been tough. I continue to work hard every day and am so excited to continue on my journey.

I miss and love everyone back home and hopefully will be able to blog a little more often than I have been!  

And so it begins....

Orientation is over. Well for the most part. I do have one more day (tomorrow) which is the sim clinic orientation. Tomorrow is my official first day of school as a Dental student. Little scary!

Orientation went well. Lots of information thrown my way but mostly all was useful. Friday was the most exciting day of orientation. I received my ID badge, which really makes things official!! And most importantly my photo on it doesn’t look to shabby if I don’t say so myself J. We also got fitted for our loupes (magnification glasses). This was a big deal; they only cost about $2000. They were custom fitted which took a while, and then I got to pick the frames I liked best. I decided to go with the white frames, which no doubt look pretty dorky, but hey it will only help me see which is very important!

Friday after orientation the D2 class held a D1 vs. D2 BBQ and event evening. I have to say we have a few pretty strong guys in our class, so to put it lightly: we kicked some D2 butt! It was a good time and there was good food! Afterwards everyone went to RTO’s which is an Irish pub not far from campus. What a great night! I met a bunch of my classmates and more of the D2 class. Everyone is so nice!! What a great group of future dentists.

Saturday was recovery! Saturday afternoon a bunch of us dental students (as well as optometry) got tickets to a Cardinals game. We went early to ensure good parking and got some food/pre gamed. The yard house is a great place! I don’t think I have ever seen that many beers on tap before! After some drinks we headed to the game. What a beautiful stadium. And even better, it was air conditioned. It was a fun game, but unfortunately the Card’s lost. Better luck next game I suppose (though I have heard rumors that they aren’t the greatest team!). After the game a few of us decided to head back for some late night hot tub/pool time with more Optometry students. A great finish for the evening.

Sleep was definitely in order after a crazy few days. So I slept in and ran a few errands this morning. Then Jason (only the coolest opto. student J ) and I went hiking at South Mountain. It was very hot but a great hike. I needed some time outside and to get my heart rate going a little after the last week!

Tomorrow it all begins. The journey is here and I am ready to take it on full force! Tomorrow begins my future career…who wouldn’t be excited about that? Hope I can sleep tonight!

Orientation Day 1

Whew! Well a whole lot of sitting went on today. Got lots of information thrown my way. Some informative; others overkill. Insurance was a little over my head but I feel like after a while I will get a good grasp of what the heck health insurance involves (never have I been on my own so it was something I didn't need to worry about!).

For some reason, I got a little nervous sitting and listening. A lot of things flew through my mind. I wondered if this was really it for me. Dentistry I mean. This is what I have always wanted and now I am here, it just seems fictitious. Even though it was day one of orientation, things still haven't setteled in. My mind actually went to marrige (even though I am single haha). I thought to myself: is this what getting married is like? All this contemplation? I believe in my heart that this is where I am supposed to be, I think it just takes a little getting used to!

After the sitting, sitting, and more sitting, we got to take our photos for ID. Fingers are crossed that a decent picture is soon to come!! It felt like the DMV: smile, put sign down, smile, ok good, get ID in mail, look like crap! Hopefully this isn't the case. We then moved on to getting fitted for our white coats. A little surreal.

After a wonderful day at orientation, a bunch of dental students decided to have a BBQ at one of the apartment complex's nearby. What a great time! Who knew that beer pong could be played in the pool? :) I met lots of D2's and more D1's and everyone is fantastic. There are so many amazing people it just boggles my mind. Today was great, tommorws another day, and I have no doubt it will be equally as breathtaking.

The Beginning

Hey everyone. Well Arizona is AMAZING. Number one, it sure is HOT HOT HOT here. Never did I imagine the heat would be this overwhelming. Note to all Minnesotans - a dry heat does not mean less heat.....its still fricken hot! The drive was very long but I made it in 2 days. Upon my arrival I started getting things for my appt. immediately (literally). I even had a bed to sleep on for night #1. Impressive I thought. With all the hustle and bustle of the arrival I completely forgot to eat and yes even drink. Finally I decided to stop at Subway, little did I know nearly passing out would occur. I thankfully got some food in my stomach and had some food. Drinking water is an absolute MUST! Adjusting to the time change was hard, I had many restless nights at first but am beginning to acclimate.

I have met many amazing people. Everyone here at Midwestern is so fun and from all areas of the U.S. which always makes for good stories. I have been all over seeing as much as possible while I am not busy with school. I have gone to 2 golf courses (an absolute must of course), checked out the night life in Scottsdale, went to a few bars in Glendale, went bowling, climbed Camelback Mtn., tubed down Salt River and have gotten more than enough pool time (ohh and alcohol too!).

I am very excited for classes to begin and to meet more of my classmates. Most importantly I am ready to get into a routine! If you know me well, you know I love school and I am very excited but very nervous. I just need to remember that they obviously saw something in me to accept me to dental school and I need to maintain confidence in myself!

Orientation starts tomorrow and continues until Friday afternoon. I have already ordered my scrubs and gotten my parking pass, so I need books, loupes, instruments, my laptop and all those fun gadgets.

I am loving it here but missing everyone at home too! This is my first time living in another state, especially one quite far away. I miss and love all my friends and family and I know they are all rooting for me! Hope you all keep in touch and follow me in my journey! More to come :)