To help our future students (you!) get ready for the clinical program, we asked our current students to share their advice. Here are their suggestions and we hope that their experiences and advice will be helpful to you.

  • (From the author, me) – Your classmates are your family, help each other out! share, spread the joy all over, not only in your close ‘clique’…  it makes a world of a difference coming to school to meet your FRIENDS. It’ll come back around. You are not competing each other, you are each other’s back. I recommend study groups! great for bonding, venting and coming up with really funny ways to remember all the details (;
  • Before entering the program, I was very nervous yet excited to begin this journey (especially in the pandemic.) One thing that I wish I knew about before entering the clinical program is how rewarding the outcome will be when your patients are happy. My first patient senior year was a clinic patient who was a smoker. He had periodontal disease and heavy staining. I was very overwhelmed, however, my patient was very happy with the job that I have done. He told Dr. Archer that he has never gotten extensive care like this before since they rushed at all of his appointments in private practice. I was so proud of myself and so grateful to have pushed myself. To the future Dh students, as hard as it may be, never give up and always push yourself to do better. All of your hard work will pay off!
  • One thing I wish I knew before entering the DH clinical program is that it takes up a lot of your personal time. Be prepared to not have the type of social life you may be used to or none at all. The material is not comparable to the previous classes you’ve taken and can seem overwhelming so developing a studying technique would help you immensely. You must put aside a designated amount of time towards studying and reading chapters in order to understand the material and do well on exams
  • One thing that has helped me in the DH program is having a planner. It is really helpful to stay organized, especially when there are multiple tests/assignments due at once. Another tip is to prepare everything in advance and not save things for the last minute. This can get very overwhelming and cause a lot of mental strain. The most helpful tip I would give is to work in study groups. This has helped me so much and I have created many friendships. Although it’s only been around a year, the friends that I have made have become family to me! 🙂
  • 1) Make time for yourself; 2) Exercise to keep your mental health; 3) Compete with yourself! Don’t look at other students’ successes. Your failures are the building blocks of your future accomplishments.
  • Review the topics before class. This will help you ask questions to the professor when they go over the lecture. Review the topics soon after class. Do not read everything at the last minute. Make good notes as you listen to the lecture.
  • 1) Make friends who have your back 2) Create study groups 3) Ask for help when you need it!
  • 1. Write out your notes. Writing it out will help with memorizing. 2. Organize yourself and the information you learn from each class. Try to get a planner so you don’t miss out on all the assignments and exam dates. This will prepare you when you start seeing patients and will need to make appointments. 3. Watch your ergonomics! This is the most helpful tip I can give since you will eventually be seeing patients in a private practice and will have to sit for long periods of time to assess them. Sitting correctly in the chair will make a huge difference in the quality of care you can provide to your patient. 🙂
  • 1. Make friends and be each other’s support. 2. Don’t compete with others, collaborate instead and it will take you farther. 3. If there is a problem, voice your opinions and concerns
  • 1) Read your materials before lecture/clinic. Helps a lot. 2) Study in groups!! 3) Find you time and time to destress
  • Carve out time for family and friends. Make sure you have a good group of friends in the program (nobody can do it alone!)