Pulp Nonfiction, My Journey – My Dream!
By Jemma Hanson, with Resident and New Practitioner Committee Board Liaison, Dr. Bradley H. Gettleman
My journey to becoming an endodontic resident began many years ago when I was a young girl growing up on an island in the South Pacific. That’s correct, I grew up in the jungle, not the most popular place for an endodontic practice. I recall developing a terrible toothache when I was in 8th grade. Visits with three Indonesian dentists over the course of almost two years resulted in complications including fracturing a mesial cusp, files twisted into insufficiently anesthetized canals, and infected tissue left beneath newly packed gutta-percha. I was further traumatized by unprofessional yelling by one dentist and another’s plea for my father to order additional dental equipment from America. Not until our return to California was my pain-free life restored by an endodontist. I remember him asking, “What did they do to you?” after flipping back and forth between the radiographs and my mouth. Thankfully, hours of tedious work saved my tooth allowing me to regain my childhood. During this trying time, I realized I wanted to dedicate my life to relieving people of their dental pain while enabling them to save their teeth.
The first big step in the process was making it through college and getting accepted into dental school – that can be an article all in its own! Let’s just say I thoroughly enjoyed college – at the beach! I’m just kidding; I mean at San Diego State University. As much fun as it was to ride my motorcycle along the coast, I was actually a library nerd and did everything I could in order to grow and be a competitive candidate for dental school. I graduated Cum Laude with a heavy class schedule, taught college-accredited classes, exhausted the executive positions in clubs, and gained experience working in dental offices. I did everything I could think of, but didn’t get an acceptance letter until my third application cycle. Don’t ask how I handled the two limbo years during these cycles – it was depressing and confusing! However, it was during this time that I gained a mentor who trained me to be his assistant office manager at his startup endodontic practice. This experience was invaluable in my dental education and now I’m extremely grateful that I did not go straight from college to dental school. Just like mom and dad always said, “everything happens for a reason.”
Speaking of mentors, my current mentor would never forgive me if I didn’t give him some credit in my acceptance to endodontic residency. He says he refuses to take any credit because I was the one who studied, interviewed, lost sleep, stressed, and endured the entire experience, but he’s also the one who choked up on the phone after my first acceptance and said, “WE did it!” Just some advice – please get accepted because your mentor’s health is at stake! For the purpose of this article, I’ll refer to the mentor to whom I almost gave a heart attack as “G”. Anyway, get yourself a dedicated mentor! This was the number one reason I am now able to live my dream.
G told me to get good grades. This was something that was a no-brainer for me as I’ve always been competitive with myself. However, I didn’t study for the grade alone; I studied for the knowledge. I like to know what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. This is why your grades are so important – they’re a reflection of how much you’ve learned, and endodontic residencies know this!
Here’s the next step – commitment. G sat me down and his serious tone came out (uh oh). He told me I would have to be happy only doing endodontics for the rest of my dental career. Reality check! I would never be doing esthetic veneers again! I loved cosmetic dentistry and was even pretty good at it. But, after this conversation with G, I went back to the root of my dental passion – my toothache in Indonesia – and committed to endodontics. I needed the intense, focused education from an endodontic residency in order to execute the degree of care I hoped to deliver. There was no turning back from here.
Locked into my decision, I knew it was go-time! Early in my third year of dental school, I began studying for the ADAT. Phew this was an intense three months! I was told this test wouldn’t hurt me but would only help me as it was not a requirement. After my interviews, I learned the complete opposite. Take this test seriously! Endodontic residencies seemed to zone into the scores applicants received as high scores show you are a good test taker, critical thinker, and have a wide grasp on dental knowledge. Plus, the test is a barometer to which all applicants can be compared, regardless of where they went to dental school.
We’re in the business of people, right? We focus on people all day in order to restore dental health, relieve pain, and prevent disease. Don’t only focus on your patients but also focus on your colleagues! Network! Colleagues and the network you develop are invaluable. G “voluntold” me to become a member of the American Association of Endodontists (AAE) and attend the annual meeting. He thought in addition to attending some excellent educational sessions I may have an opportunity to meet a few residents and learn about the endodontic residency programs. This turned out to be not only a good idea but a GREAT idea. I learned about the culture of each endodontic residency I was interested in thanks to a multitude of helpful residents and program directors! I also learned that these big-deal endodontists were real people looking for colleagues that would benefit the endodontic specialty in more ways than just the ability to complete root canals.
Networking has always been my strong suit. Research has not. The only research experience I had before dental school was heavy lab work and reports in my genetics, biology, or ecology classes in undergrad. I knew I needed more experience not only for my application, but also to understand the research process so I could better comprehend the science behind the articles I would read and techniques I would learn in endodontic residency. I had no idea where to begin as time truly wasn’t my ally. Thankfully the research department had a project that had been left on hold by a former student that I was able to join in on. This eased me into understanding the workflow, structure, and follow-through of research.
Another educational opportunity for me was our endodontic study club at school a.k.a “Root Camp,” or as some of us called it, “G-uncensored.” This study club offered all kinds of information on endodontics that was not part of our regular curriculum. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every session, not only because G bought us pizza, but because it was very interactive with subjects chosen by the students. Becoming an officer/president of the study club during my fourth year of dental school was more than something I did to enhance my application. This enabled me to help dental students who were interested in endodontics as well as establish the “Root Camp” curriculum.
“Root Camp” helped give me the enthusiasm I needed in order to write my personal statement which was both enjoyable and stressful to accomplish. I found myself reflecting on exactly why I was here writing it and exactly where I wanted to be. In a sense, it reassured me of my desired destination – an endodontic residency. It was important that my passion and person were portrayed in a concise way. The hardest part was trying to figure out what to write about. How do I fit my entire story in one page? The amount of drafts I went through in one month was almost embarrassing. I would send my drafts to endodontists, classmates, family, friends who knew nothing about dentistry, and someone who knew everything about grammar and punctuation. Thanks to everyone’s feedback, I was able to write a personal statement I was happy with.
Let’s talk about interviews. They all seemed to happen at the same time. I was encouraged to accept all interview invitations, but also was unable to do so because the ones I received were scheduled on the same week or even the same day. Be prepared for this. It’s important to determine what your top programs are before interviews invitations are extended. Try to educate yourself about the culture of the programs, including their faculty members. Read about their projects, history, education, etc. Try to determine if they will make good mentors for you. Be yourself, be excited, but also make sure you elaborate on the qualities you have that make you a good fit for the given program.
Acceptance day – possibly the best day of my life thus far. I did it! Or rather, WE did it! Acceptances were handed out as early as a few hours after the interview concluded. I interviewed at my number one school first and didn’t get a call that night. I was crushed, but I headed to my next interview with my head held high. A few hours after my second interview, I was accepted to that school and was given 48 hours to accept the offer. A bottle of champagne was popped that night as I thought the final step of this process had been reached! To my surprise, I received an offer from my number one school the next day. I was in literal shock and couldn’t even make out words to “G” over the phone to tell him the news. What a rollercoaster of emotions that week was. It was time to celebrate; however, I am fully aware that the real work has yet to begin.
I’ve been given the opportunity to live out my dreams. I’m not sure how many people on the planet get to say that. This is something I could not have achieved without the support and encouragement of my family and the assistance of a mentor who believed in me. I wish all the best to those of you who have this same goal. Remember that 100% of endodontists are dentists, but only around 3% of dentists become endodontists!