wannabdentist Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 i am a nurse for now but want to be a dentist. living in winnipeg,manitoba. any suggestions nybody or is there sumbdy who wz a nurse and now into dentistry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.drill Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 i am a nurse for now but want to be a dentist. living in winnipeg,manitoba. any suggestions nybody or is there sumbdy who wz a nurse and now into dentistry? There was a nurse in my dental class as well as the class ahead of me. Pretty common. Make sure you have the pre-reqs, write the DAT, and apply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannabdentist Posted April 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 thanks for boosting up my confidence! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flintabatty Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 roger that, a doctors wife who used to live where I'm from got into UofM dentistry a few years ago, was a nurse i believe... apply under the special category where you have to write an essay to go along with your application, its all in the application bulletin put out every year around January available from the faculty's website or from university center admissions office on the fourth floor within the UofM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adversary Posted April 5, 2007 Report Share Posted April 5, 2007 For most schools, your undergraduate degree is irrelevant. As long as you are a competitive applicant - good DAT scores, good GPA, etc, you will have an opportunity. In my class, I have colleagues in Commerce, Education, Insurance, Pharmacy, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biology, etc. You should focus on those components I mentioned above. Good luck with the application process and do post any questions you may have. This is a good time as a lot of people just went through interviews, etc and are still around on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannabdentist Posted April 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 well i think i m ok with pre requisites, i mean i can do good in my GPA . but the thing tht scares me is an interview.what if i cant get through this interview ??/:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adversary Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Well, that does happen. You prepare as much as you can and you draw from your experiences and knowledge. Remember, this is just like any other hurdle they threw at you - GPA, DAT. Some people do get stuck and never pass the interview stage. However, others manage to overcome it. At least your fall-back career isn't bad either. Some people have no backup plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.drill Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 well i think i m ok with pre requisites, i mean i can do good in my GPA . but the thing tht scares me is an interview.what if i cant get through this interview ??/:( I interviewed applicants this year. Trust me. You REALLY have to screw it up to "not get past" the interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laxman Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Hey Dr. Drill, I don't know if you are able to release this type of information, but would you be able to provide us with the criteria that you and your colleagues used to grade the interviewee's answers? What would constitute awarding a 5 for an answer etc. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannabdentist Posted April 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 is the interview objective-based on the book'ish knowledge or critical thinking where u ve to resolve a problem based on case studies and priortizing things??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.drill Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 Hey Dr. Drill, I don't know if you are able to release this type of information, but would you be able to provide us with the criteria that you and your colleagues used to grade the interviewee's answers? What would constitute awarding a 5 for an answer etc. Thanks Sorry. I am not permitted to give out such info. The point of the interview process is to get to know you. If you spit out answers you read on some forum, the whole interview process is pointless. There are already plenty of sample questions online, so you know what type of questions to expect. The key is not to memorize any answers, but to prepare a formula for how you want to deliver those answers. For example: - first talk about how the situation makes me feel. - then talk about how it affects others involved. - then talk about how to gather adequate info to make an informed decision. - etc. The CDA interview is modeled on the classic business interview. If you need help, go to your students union and ask if they give an interview seminar. Most schools give them for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laxman Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 Hey dr. drill, Thanks for the reply. I've already had 2 cda style interviews so I have a pretty good idea about the questions and (hopefully) have a decent method to answer the questions. I was looking for the criteria, but as you said, you can't give that information away. Thanks anyways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllSmiles Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 The whole "CDA style" interview doesn't seem as straight forward as one would think...I've had friends who interviewed at schools that claimed that the questions were CDA style (i.e. situational and behavioural) but then they were asked some totally off the topic questions that they didn't expect...like current events and math questions..makes me a bit nervous. I guess we have to be ready for them to ask us basically anything... Also, if we are asked a question and it just so happens that we have a really good anecdote from a situation we had with our significant other is it proper to use that? Or should we totally veer away from that subject of being in a relationship and try to think of another anecdote? I heard that sometimes the interviewers can use the fact that you're in a relationship against you (they twist it around and start asking you personal questions about how your relationship will be affected by moving away/going into dent school). Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.drill Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 I heard that sometimes the interviewers can use the fact that you're in a relationship against you (they twist it around and start asking you personal questions about how your relationship will be affected by moving away/going into dent school). Any ideas? I've never heard anything like that. Probably a story someone made up to try and scare people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laxman Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 I actually answered a behavioral style question using my relationship as the example. The question was something about give me an example of a time you had to deal with someone that was angry with you. That was the first thing that popped into my head so I went with it and hopefully they liked my answer...we'll see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flintabatty Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 I think everyone is trying to analyze this too much. Obviously some prep as mentioned will help (much like a job interview), but being who you are and coming off as genuine is going to score you points IMO. If the interviewer likes you, you will get a better score. That being said, its hard to be genuine if you dont know who you are! and thats sometimes harder when youre younger (20 or there abouts). I dont think this stuff is objective as its made to be, it is after all a human interaction, involving all the same relationship mechanisms as any other. But then again, maybe i'm wrong on this? anyone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.drill Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 I think everyone is trying to analyze this too much. Obviously some prep as mentioned will help (much like a job interview), but being who you are and coming off as genuine is going to score you points IMO. If the interviewer likes you, you will get a better score. That being said, its hard to be genuine if you dont know who you are! and thats sometimes harder when youre younger (20 or there abouts). I dont think this stuff is objective as its made to be, it is after all a human interaction, involving all the same relationship mechanisms as any other. But then again, maybe i'm wrong on this? anyone... Actually, the interviewer liking you has very little to do with the interview. The interviewer has a list of things provided by the CDA they need to listen for in your answer. If you hit all these in your answer, you get full points. The interview is structured to be as objective as possible. It's the CDA that is awarding you points for your answer, not the interviewer. If you spend you interview trying to impress the interviewer rather than properly answering the question, you'll do poorly. Of course the process can't be free from some sort of bias on the interviewer's part, but don't overestimate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flintabatty Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 dr drill, maybe you misunderstood, No need to try and impress, people see through that sort of thing, what I mean is, you need to be aware of the social situation, you need to gauge if your witty anecdotes would be taken as witty or stupid and immature. The interviewer like you say is subject to bias, so having a pleasant smooth interaction with them is going to make it easier for them to give full points. Trying to "impress" the interviewer is exactly what I meant by analyzing everything and trying to give a scripted answer, showing your prowess as a potential dental student. But i suppose you know more than me about this I guess it depends on who is on the panel too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllSmiles Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 Do the interviewers mind if you ask them to repeat the questions? I know they like to hear your thought process on how you formulate your answers...anything else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adversary Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 No, the interviewer does not mind if you ask them to repeat the question. In fact, I went off on a tangent and one interviewer repeated the question. If you meet the answer key, you get the points. It's that simple - a lot more objective than the medical school interviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllSmiles Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 So basically you have to think about what they want to hear so they can give you points based on the question's criteria. That is a little sad...kinda takes away the whole "getting to know your personality" aspect of it. What if a person words something in a different way and it isn't on the criteria list, then too bad for him/her? A person could totally lie throughout the entire thing if he/she knew what the interviewers were looking for...how What about the honest students who are genuine? If he/she doesn't say the "key word" then they get a low mark? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllSmiles Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Another thing...do they give part marks for the interviews? I looked at last year's average of 81.74% and I don't see how they came to that percentage. If one scored 28/35= 80%, or 29/35= 82.86%, but nothing in between. So there must either be part marks or it's scored out of more than 35 pts. (I thought it was worth 35pts since I thought we were asked 7 CDA questions worth 5 pts a piece). I know this sounds nit-picky but like most of you, this is my first choice for next year and I want to get in on the first try....therefore it's best to be as prepared for it as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tode Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Individual interviewees don't get part marks... I think you're confusing median and average If three people were interviewed and they scored 28/35, 28/35, and 29/35, then their average is 28.33/35 = 80.95% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllSmiles Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Hmmmm...yeah...so basically we have to shoot for 28-29 out of 35 at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adversary Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 A person could totally lie throughout the entire thing if he/she knew what the interviewers were looking for...how What about the honest students who are genuine? If he/she doesn't say the "key word" then they get a low mark? Yup, it happens. I am amazed by some of the people they accepted into my class. I would never trust my teeth to them - not even my personal information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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