Once you are on the verge of completing the 4 years of your dental graduation, then you have the next big question in front of you.
What after this?
Many of you will like to go for higher dental degrees in your country.
Some would like to go abroad to settle as a dentist by giving exams like NBDE, DDS, ORE etc.
Questions to ask – How to proceed after dental graduation?
- Ask yourself – What is your priority? Do you want to study higher in dentistry or you want to work as a dentist right away? Ask yourself thousand times and answer faithfully.
- If your priority is clinical practice then you should not waste time in preparing for higher dental exams.
- But if you are motivated to go for higher dental degrees in your country or abroad then go to next set of questions.
- Do you still love and feel motivated to move ahead in dentistry?
- Are you willing to do the hard work? (It includes hours of study & revisions)
- Are you ready to evolve? (It includes understanding to changing rules and always changing exam patterns)
- Are you ready to adapt? (It includes adapting to a new country and workplace. For dentists, who are planning to work abroad as a dentist)
- Are you a self-motivator?
- Can you work hard and study consistently for several months?
- Do you have enough time and finance?
- Can you stay without ego?
- Do you take yourself too seriously?
Conclusion & Take Away Points for Dentists.
Some may directly jump into clinical practice.
If you plan to directly go into clinical practice then you will need to have a different mode of approach which you can read in the article below:
HOW TO MAKE A GOOD CLINIC IN MINIMUM INVESTMENT
(A Guide for all the young dentists) This article is for all those dental graduates who have passed or are soon going to pass and planning to open their dental clinic/set up. You will come across many articles on the web and also here at dentalorg.com that will talk to you about dos and don’t s while planning for a dental clinic.
But if you are into that group of dental graduates
who are aiming and willing for a higher dental education and career in your own country or abroad,
then you need to ask yourself many questions before you set off on the journey.
These self-questions are very crucial.
Don’t avoid them!
Faithfully ask yourself these questions and then decide if you are really up for the long days & expenditure for the higher dental education in your own country or abroad.
Q1. Do you like Dentistry at this point?
image credits:imgur
If you are reading this article then there are 2 scenarios.
- Either you are very motivated to look for options that will be the best for your future dental career.
- Either you are fed up and feeling that dentistry does not provide you enough options for a career growth.
A self-motivated person who enjoys learning dentistry has the best chance to succeed in Higher Education Dental Entrance exams as well as in their professional career. Most of the aspirants fail because they pursue PG/NBDE etc just for the sake of a better career.
They just aspire it but they are not completely into it, which is the first thing that is needed to qualify in these highly competitive exams.
The biggest reason for people dropping off in midway in between the preparation is the loss of motivation and interest.
You got to love it to DO it.
Ok ! Even you don’t love it!
But you must have the attitude that – This is my career and my chosen expertise and I am going to do anything to be successful in it.
Q2.Are you willing to do the hard work?
The next question you need to ask yourself is “Am I prepared for the long hours of dedication for months?”
In the question number 1, in the previous slide, we discussed that you require motivation to move ahead in dental career. But motivation is just not enough.
You will feel very motivated seeing or by reading the stories of the previous successful candidates.
But are you motivated enough to go beyond the dreams of success to actually work for that success?
- A lot of hard work – Preparing for Pre PG exams/ NBDE Exams or any other higher dental education exams is predominantly about a lot of reading, concentration, patience, and endurance.
- Long repetitive training – It’s a training process in which you have to do repeated task with full concentration to improve your understanding and responsiveness and there is no easy way around it.
- Hours of preparation every day – In short – You will need to spend atlas 10 hours in your preparation every day.
- Leaving out enjoyment – You will need to cut down on many things that consume your time like Television, movies, outdoor activities. Even though you might enjoy doing them, but you are forced to leave them. You need to save time for preparation.
- A huge sense of Insecurity – You will always prepare with a certain sense of insecurity as even after all the preparation, there is no guarantee that you will succeed in the exams. So, mentally you need to be strong to face the fears and keep preparing.
- Questions from friends and relatives – Many of your friends/relatives will question your decision – How much you will read? You might see your cousins working earring and enjoying. But you will have to stay focus.
If you can’t spend long hours or if you don’t have the endurance to handle the pressure, you are likely to regret later.
This post will guide you with points that you must ask yourselves before you decide on any form of Dental Higher education in your country or abroad.
image credits: pixabay
So, ask yourself again “Am I ready to enter into hours of studying, practicing and revising?”
Remember – Succeeding in highly competitive dental exams depends on improving your exam survival skills and knowledge.
Just like any other activity like a sport, you need to train your mind and reflexes to work successfully in the exams.
That is only possible by studying, practicing and revising. (Repeating the process over and over again)
See Next Slide
For Self Question # 3 & 4
Before you decide to prepare for a higher dental exam
Q3. Are You Willing to Learn & Evolve?
image credits:pixabay
Preparing for PG/ NBDE / MOH/ ORE etc or any higher dental exam inside your country or abroad
demands storing lots of data in your mind and the training to solve MCQs fast and correctly.
It needs lots & lots of reading and then recalling the subjects back at the right time.
Remember you can’t keep thinking of a solution.
There is simply no time to do that. The answers should be spontaneous.
So, in the end, it all comes down to ” How willing are you to learn and evolve ” to face the exams.
Can you Adapt?
For dentists who want to work abroad as a dentist must ask themselves – Can I adapt to a new culture in a new country.
Every country has its own way of social rules, a way of dentistry and consumer rules.
So, one needs to study it properly before making a plan to move abroad as a dentist.
Otherwise, all the new ways will come as a shock to you.
Q4.Are you a self-motivator?
Picture Credit: ChiBird.com
Preparing for higher dental exams is a tough job.
Many times people lose hope and it seems this mammoth task that is impossible to complete.
At that time you have to take yourself off the ground and start again.
You are aiming for Masters / Higher Education !!! and expecting someone to keep pampering you is foolishness. So, are supposed to motivate yourself. That is the only way how the success stories are written.
Q5. Do you have Consistency?
To master the particular subject and to become best in it, needs a lot of regularity and discipline.
Discipline & consistency here doesn’t mean that you become like a school going kid trying to cram up everything.
Here it means that you know how to control yourself and keep your study consistent.
The higher education dental exams are so tough that in order to succeed in them, you need to be very consistent in your preparation.
Q6. Are you an organized person?
picture credit: Free Clip Art
I know dental students/dentists have lots of subjects and work to do, this makes them look like the most unorganized person. But here I am not asking you to keep your table clean and your room well maintained, here I am asking the about the mental organization?
- Do you have the plan and tendency to set priorities, which work should be done when?
- Can you plan up properly how to study so many subjects?
- Are you able to balance the long hours of study and other daily commitments?
- Are you ready for the long years of study without much financial strain until you start earning?
Anyone can say on face value that he or she is consistent. But do not ever tell lies to yourself. Sincerely ask yourself all the points mentioned above.
But do not ever tell lies to yourself. Sincerely ask yourself all the points mentioned above.
There can be many such questions depending on the individual in consideration.
So ask yourself, if you will be able to maintain all these things during preparation?
Think sincerely and try to find the answers. If you feel from your inside (considering all the financial and educational facts) that you are up to the task then go for the goal.
But after assessment, if you find yourself lacking in any of the factors required to succeed in the highly competitive higher dental exams, then it is better that you change your goal.
See Next Slide
For Self Question # 3 & 4
Before you decide to prepare for a higher dental exam
Q7. Do you have time?
Preparing for higher dental exams require lots of quality time, what type of plan you have?
Are you in an intern or working as a house surgeon?
Are you planning to run a clinic at the same time? – This one is a bad option.
Q8. Are you a sticky person?
Preparing for PG or any Higher Dental Exam is long term process you can’t get confidence overnight.
People don’t know what’s going to happen until the day of the examination, but you have to stick to your goal.
Can you do that?
Q9. Are you willing to risk your one year after graduation?
Have you assessed your financial power?
Basic thing is that you must decide the importance of your attempt, are you going to give only one attempt or keep on trying?
Choose wisely because time is money.
In this time your financial backup plays a major role. You cannot keep on trying and be trying for the exams. It not only takes time out of here career but also valuable finance.
So, you must make a plan beforehand as to how many attempts you are going to give yourself before you successfully qualify the exams.
There is also the financial requirement.
Whether you try for higher dental exams abroad or in your own country, it needs money. If you are planning abroad dental exams like NBDE etc it is going to cost you a great many dollars for a single attempt. So, you do not have the luxury of trying the exams multiple times.
Hence, it is very important that you practically analyze the financial power you have.
If you do not assess the two main points mentioned above (time & finance) you will end up losing both time and money without any gain to your career.
Q10. Can you blend humility and ego?
A humble person is the one who has the maximum chance to succeed, having humility is good but keeping a healthy ego is necessary.
What’s the Difference between Humility and Ego?
The difference between Humility and Unhealthy ego is very thin.
It’s interesting that both humility and ego has the same base origin – the desire for success.
Everyone is striving for success and sooner or later everyone achieves some degree of success. But whether that initial success leads to bigger success depends on whether you have humility or ego.
But whether that initial success leads to bigger success depends on whether you have humility or ego.
What Happens if Case of Humility?
Humility will make you realize that this initial success in just a stepping stone.
It will keep you grounded.
It will keep you motivated.
It will make you see the bigger picture and goal in life.
It will also make you understand that success and failure are the two sides of the same coin.
It will make you grateful and motivate you to strive harder for more success.
What Happens if Case of Ego?
Ego is like an addiction. It makes you high for a temporary period of time.
It takes your focus away.
You get so drunk in your success that you stop progressing in your craft.
You get into that zone where you feel that you are just the best without realizing that there are others also who are working hard for success.
This is what ego induced pride does and it makes you oblivious to the fact that you are gradually lagging behind in the race.
The moment you become full with the unhealthy ego – it drags you away from the correct course of action.
It gives you that false sense of invincibility when there is none. Why ? Because ego can! That’s why it is called a vice.
Keep Humility which will keep you grounded.
At the same time, humility will make you work harder as you are more rooted in reality.
This will increase your confidence in a healthy way and make you more careful.
So, healthy ego makes you more careful for success.
Q11. Do you take yourself too seriously?
You must have a sense of humor among all the seriousness.
It’s an exam to evaluate your knowledge in a particular subject, it’s not about evaluating you as a person.
If you are unsuccessful it doesn’t mean you are a failure, life doesn’t end here,
Don’t just kill yourself every day!
Laugh around and be light.
This will improve your chances of getting success.
Working dedicatedly for a cause and at the same time not getting overly tensed and paranoid about it is an art and to be successful in anything you do, you must master this quality.
Conclusion & Take Away Points for Dentists
This concludes the article. I hope you did get some useful tips that will help you in your dental exams and higher dental career. Don’t forget to browse some other amazing articles that will help you in your dental career.
I agree that after the dental graduation it gets very confusing. You will get bits of advice from so many quarters.
But not every advice will be good for you. So, if you have read the article till now then let us recap all the questions that you need to ask yourself before you decide on trying for higher dental examinations.
(Whether in abroad or your native country).
Questions to ask – How to proceed after dental graduation?
- Ask yourself – What is your priority? Do you want to study higher in dentistry or you want to work as a dentist right away? Ask yourself thousand times and answer faithfully.
- If your priority is clinical practice then you should not waste time in preparing for higher dental exams.
- But if you are motivated to go for higher dental degrees in your country or abroad then go to next set of questions.
- Do you still love and feel motivated to move ahead in dentistry?
- Are you willing to do the hard work? (It includes hours of study & revisions)
- Are you ready to evolve? (It includes understanding to changing rules and always changing exam patterns)
- Are you ready to adapt? (It includes adapting to a new country and workplace. For dentists, who are planning to work abroad as a dentist)
- Are you a self-motivator?
- Can you work hard and study consistently for several months?
- Do you have enough time and finance?
- Can you stay without ego?
- Do you take yourself too seriously?
