Life as a First Year Dental Student in USM

It's been almost one month of rest and break. One whole month to pick up my pieces. (I don't think they will ever be complete again.) I will be back to USM Kelantan real soon. And this blog, i guess will be left quite alone as I venture into second year of dental life. I am not a philosopher on anything, as people seem to think I am, I am just normal as you are and trying my best to achieve my dream. Therefore I will write to share briefly, about what's my life as a first year university student, and a little on "dental student" in USM.

1. Meeting new people of the same goal.

They are not just your your batch mates, it includes your course mates,and Uni-mates. We all have the same dream, the dream to graduate on time, get a degree and serve the community. You may or may not come to a point where you need to improve yourself in certain aspects that you think you slack in. Because, you will come to realize where you stand among your peers and whether or not you need to push yourself more. You will be introduced to a Buddy System, where you will be taken under the wing of a senior of your respective course, they are always there to help you as long as you ask. Sometimes, along the way, you meet new friends, you start comparing with old friends, and then you start to realize which of them are worth your time to cherish. You will hear alot of rumours about how good somebody is or how bad somebody is, but don't ever judge them without dealing with them beforehand, you never know who will they turn out to be in your life. Be more open and sociable, even then,  I am trying to step out of my own comfort zone, still am. It will never hurt to know more people. In some occasions. People sometimes misunderstood you, but the main reason people misunderstood you was because you may have portray something different that you had intended to, for that you can blame no one but yourself, and I hope people give you second chances, make good use of it. With that being said, people you meet in University are much more mature and capable, in fact at times, you may feel intimidated, hurt , but don't give up, stay focus, learn, persevere, and you will be on your way.

My Batchmates

2. It's all about adapting. 

Some of us, me, for example, will find it hard to adjust to the changes. You are basically competing against time and you yourself. Being more independent and wise in making choices, more practical and shrewd in making plans and decisions. You can't expect your lecturers or doctors to give you a full-time guide. You can't expect people to wait for you. Trust me, I have learned it the hard way. People change in every circumstances, and if you don't change accordingly too, it's not their obligation to wait for you. People leave you behind, and that's the reality of life.  If you are having problems, solve it as soon as possible, but remember being independent does not mean you can live alone. There are people around to help, just ask. Find your method of studying. I have a good friend that said something that's true that I will always remember, he said you should be studying, not reading, so get it right the first time everytime. Observe how your friends study, ask them for help if you need to because i am sure they are more than willing to lend a hand.  

Helping each other during practical session

3. It is definitely not honeymoon, but there can still be vacations. 

You will realized, or feel ( to be exact)  that life as a dental student is tougher than a medical student, ( personal opinion here, not judging ) even though, in reality they are equally challenging. It can be stressful at times, but you are not alone. Practical can be hard at times,but you just have to chill and carry on. Eventually, you will achieve what you want to. Find a way where you can relax yourself. Besides, first years have the privileged to be involved in all sorts of events, so those are the times where you will enjoy yourself, meet new friends and gain new skills. You will also be attending events organised by some of the students, that is where you take time off. The field and sports complex is always open for you whenever you need it. (USM Kelantan does have an awesome jogging track, one of my favorite place to be alone. )There will be short breaks here and there, and your dental family will have planned outings, or you can go for short trips, it's endless,  ( There's whole lot of Malaysia that you have yet to explore, just saying, haha.)  

Dental Outing

Dental Night

Christmas Night

Borneo Cultural Night

Malam Kebudayaan India (MKI)

Chinese Cultural Night

4. Dental Syllabus. (USM)

First year are more on basic sciences and theories. Hence, you will have a lot of lectures and practicals. You will also have clinical sessions( sort of ) where you do tooth carving, wire bending learn how to make a tooth model, get exposed to dental tools etc. You would think you are done with those stuff that you have learned during pre-U. The truth is, you are not. Biology is a big thing, and basically you do study whatever the medical students are studying, maybe with less focus on pathology and patho-physiology(?) of most of the human diseases,  as we focus more on oral biology and pathology, but as you move on the years, you will still have to know as much as the medical student has to. But, it doesn't hurt to ask your medical friends for help or their notes if you think they help. One of my dental senior gave me her medical notes that she got from her friend. I have a few medical seniors who offered me their help as well. You can even consider exchanging notes with dental students from other universities. Reading all from one book doesn't work at times.

In your first year, you will be learning about cranio-facial biology, human biology, embryology, cellular biology, human physiology, human anatomy ( of course ) , biochemistry, immunology, basic human pathology, basic pharmacology, oral biology, oral pathology etc. You will learn about professional development and First Aid as well. Exam-wise, we have 2 term examinations and 1 Professional Exam (Finals). USM is the only government university ( if not mistaken) where you have to pass your Professional Exam to proceed to second year, there is no such thing as a remedial exam for first years. If you're most unfortunate, I am afraid you will have to repeat first year.

As a dental student, I would advise you to start collecting natural teeth ( an advice passed down from my senior , long before I was even offered a place in USM) from dental clinics, be it private or government as you will be needing it for you practical and clinical in the coming years, the "more" the merrier ! These teeth are used to make your own tooth model, where they will be put to good use in your second year.

Tooth Carving of Insicor

Tooth Restoration

75% completed Tooth Model : where all the natural teeth comes in

"Clinical" session in USM Dental Clinic

Attention :
Written entirely based on personal experience. May you have a greater one than mine.

If you stumbled across this while still preparing for entering your 1st year of University before registeration day, http://bluebutterfly1699.blogspot.my/2015/08/things-to-do-before-university.htmlhere is something to help you out :)