Hey and good luck for the year ahead! I'm really fascinated to read your journal throughout the year.
As someone else who was also considered med and dentistry, what about the profession intrigued you? If you don't mind sharing, where are you studying? I understand there are quite a few rural dentistry courses, so if you're going rural, how have you approached that?
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I have always wanted to work in healthcare. Being demanding and extremely challenging, med was always attractive to me, but during my gap year I shadowed both General Practitioners and Dentists (among physios, nurses and aged care workers) and liked that there is more technical and manual element in dentistry, the part where the dentist fixes you. Since I was small I've loved creating things, in the form of crafts, sewing, knitting and cooking. I didn't know I could make good use of my manual skills in competitive professions (other than surgery :o) so when I heard these skills are necessary in dentistry, I thought this is for me. Of course I am yet to begin my course and it might turn out completely different from what I expect, but right now I am really excited to start! I am studying at La Trobe! I am happy La Trobe has an emphasis on rural healthcare, where the professionals are in real need. Personally I have always lived in the city but don't mind going rural if it means I might be of more help to communities in the future. If I can make some difference even to a small number of people or small communities as a dentist in the future that would be super great.
Hey!
I am really looking forward to learn more about your dentistry journey and experiences, as I don't know too much about what it involves at the moment! What made you have such a passion for dentistry? I also love swimming and doing crafty things and play the piano! What did your gap year teach you - how did you grow and change as a result of it? I've been reading some uni journals and gained a lot of insight from different perspectives which has been very illuminating, so I'm excited to follow your journey!
Really happy you are getting to fulfill your dream!!
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Yeah!! Hope this journal will give you some insight into dentistry, and also uni in general. Healthcare is a field I had an interest for for a long time, and in particular medicine and dentistry was particularly appealing because of the responsibility and the ability to have an impact on people to a large extent. I hope my passion for dentistry will grow even more as I advance into the course and later into working life as a professional.
My gap year let me meet many people from various ages and various professions. Volunteering, shadowing in healthcare and part time job helped me gain some degree of understanding about working life, and this really taught me that whatever you do for a profession, you must do it with pride and a sense of responsibility. Overall, gap year made me become more open-minded and have a broader view in the broader scheme of things.
Really cool! Again, looking forward to becoming a little more educated haha. I'm sure it will help heaps of students in the future, too. :)
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Thanks! And I'm looking forward to start uni!!