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March 11, 2005
It Comes Down to One Test
Eric takes the Northeast Regional Boards on May 5 & 6, which determine whether he will graduate with a license to practice dentistry. For this test he will have to perform a specific set of dental procedures on live patients.
You are probably thinking: "Well, he has been in dental school for almost 4 years so he should be able to pass without a problem." It's actually not so simple. First he has to find his own patients and they must meet specific criteria regarding dental and overall health. Because the school doesn't really help with providing NERB patients he posted fliers and he put an ad up on Craigslist. So far he has gotten a fairly good response and he spent Friday afernoon screening nearly 30 potential patients.
Once he has his patients, he must make sure they are reliable. If someone does not show up he fails the exam. Many dental students all over the nation resort to offering monetary rewards to patients to ensure that they will be present for their licensing exam. This is on top of the $1300 they already shelled out to just pay for the test (which, by the way, is not included in the budget by Harvard's financial aid officer)and the cost of hiring the necessary dental assistant to help out during the exam.
During the test his dental work will be overseen by a single examiner. This one person will have the power to decide whether he passes or fails and it is all based on one exam. None of his work over the past four years will be taken into consideration. Also there is no process of appeals. If he fails he will still graduate but he will not have a license and will have to retake the exam in 6 months.
So that's quite a bit of pressure hanging over his head. And to add to it, he has been told twice by the Air Force recently to make sure he gets his license.
Posted by Julee at March 11, 2005 04:07 PM
Comments
wow..i didn't know you had to pay for that...i'm not sure about dental students from malaysia, but the medical students "use" the patients that are in the ward and the school pays the patient a certain sum. Good luck with patient hunting!
Posted by: letti at March 14, 2005 02:56 PM
WOW!!!! That seems CRAZY to have to find your own patients and that this one test is the only determining factor in passing or failing and that you would have to wait 6 MONTHS to re-take if you fail - that is a LONG time!!! I'll be sending good dental thoughts his way! Thanks also for the kind comments about embracing my mommy body you left on my blog.
Posted by: Lisa at March 14, 2005 08:18 PM
I thought Jason's were bad, but that is ridiculous! Like students in any medical program have that kind of cash floating around...and have to hire assistants? No pressure there!
Posted by: Colleen at March 14, 2005 08:33 PM
Yes, that is a whale of a lot of pressure, but I would bet my money on Eric in a minute. That's almost like doing a dissertation; you are on your own, not get it done. But as usual I will be doing my part on the prayer end--love to you G
Posted by: granny at March 14, 2005 08:34 PM