Hi everyone,
I know it's been ages since I've last blogged...I've been pretty busy! But hopefully I'll be able to make up for it in the next few days! :)
Dentistry is an interdisciplinary field to work in. This means that various subject fields are combined whereby different professionals work together to provide people with service. In this case this service is dental care. There are many different individuals who work together within a dental team. Such individuals include, but are not limited to, Dental Technicians, Dental Hygienists, Dental Practice Managers, Dental Nurses and Dentists. Each of these individuals play a key role in the dental team and it is therefore necessary for such individuals to have excellent team working skills. The following link provides you with a handy booklet regarding careers in dental care. This booklet has been produced by the NHS and no copyright is intended by any means. http://www.4shared.com/document/MJFw-Rq0/Careers_in_Dental_Care.html
Personally, I have decided to study to become a Dentist. In order to do this within the UK, there are two main routes which can be followed.
1) Undergraduate Dentistry - This usually involves a 5 year University course whereby students are taught a variety of modules within various fields of Dentistry. Depending on the University, teaching and assessment are carried out in different ways and it is therefore important to do prior research. In order to apply for an undergraduate Dentistry degree, you need to be undertaking some form of further education. In the UK this may be A-levels, BTEC, Highers, International Baccalaureate etc. Some universities also have a stated number of places available for international students. Either way, you would need to be studying science based subjects when applying to university. However, some universities do offer students a 'Foundation year'. This is for students who are not studying science based subjects but who would like to read Dentistry at university. It should be noted that such courses would take 6 years to complete. More detailed information is available on the University website or on the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service website (www.ucas.com). This is the site which most universities use to allocate their places.
2) Graduate Dentistry - Some universities offer graduates the opportunity to complete a 4 year Dentistry degree. Other universities may offer graduates the 5 year Dentistry degree. Most universities require the student to have undertaken a science-based undergraduate degree before applying for graduate Dentistry. Again, more detailed information can be found on the University website.
The UKCAT
Increasingly, Universities offering Dentistry degrees are asking students to take the United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test. This test currently involves 4 sub categories of Verbal reasoning, Quantitative reasoning, Abstract reasoning and Decision analysis. Further information, including the universities which currently require the UKCAT, can be found at www.ukcat.ac.uk. It has to be noted however, that the UKCAT can only be taken once per application cycle (per year) and has to be taken in the summer of the year before you plan to go to University.
This year I completed my AS grades in Chemistry, Biology, Maths, Psychology, General Studies and Critical Thinking. I have also recently completed the UKCAT, so I'd be more than happy to answer any questions which you may have. From September, I hope to continue studying Biology, Chemistry, Maths and General Studies to A2 level and I will hopefully be applying for Dentistry in October.
Zahra :)
