The new found stress of a final year student

  Posted by: Dental Design      28th June 2019

Embarking on her dental career, Charlotte Gentry considers the pressure placed on dental students.

I am sure I’ve written about stress at some point earlier on in my dental career. However, on just completing the written aspect of my finals examinations I feel it needs to be addressed again as it has been on a whole new level.

Throughout the whole course, the stress has obviously been there and we are constantly bombarded with ‘the stress when you become a dentist is so much worse than what you’re experiencing now’ or ‘you wait until you’re in the real world. I have absolutely no doubt that practicing is highly taxing, but is it really comparable? I think everything is relative and what seems like a fairly straightforward situation to one, can be extremely taxing to another.

The past few months I have found extremely difficult. It has to be said, I have hugely neglected myself. The pressure of finals and the fear of failure have meant I have worked round the clock seven days a week. This has not only been at the expense of my relationship (I quite honestly don’t know how my partner has put up with me – and its fair to say he now realises how much I do around the house!) but also, my health and finances. I have had to sacrifice much needed shifts in order to study and that has put stress on me in another dimension, just making things worse. I felt that I didn’t have time to stand cooking healthy meals, so I’ve eaten junk. I absolutely know that this is completely the wrong thing to do and can actually hinder your learning – but everyone knows what it feels like to feel consumed by something.

I guess some people may be thinking – blimey how is she going to cope with the demands of being a practicing dentist? I like to think I’m someone who can leave what happens at work, at work. I’ve hated having to finish my day at university and come home and think about it again in order to study. I am actually very much looking forward to the 9-5 and then not having exams or assignments to study for when I get home. However, as I said, I am not undermining the stress of working life – but I really do believe it is all relative and perhaps the stresses of university are what prepare us for dealing with the demands when we get into practice.

Mental health of students is something that has been in the media of late. I genuinely believe that this course has had a negative impact on so many people’s mental health. To be honest, dentistry as a whole clearly has some impact on dentists health, as we as a career have one of the highest suicide rates. I look around at fellow students and have seen changes in them. Heightened anxiety, exhaustion and insecurity are definitely prevalent and have been traits we have developed over the five years due to the pressures and expectations.

Although I feel that stress and mental health wasn’t hugely addressed in my first years, I am so pleased to see that Birmingham have really recognised the feelings amongst students. We have had some amazing resilience training bought to us by professionals to help us cope with stress and our welfare tutors are incredible. Our tutors have openly recognised the pressures on the younger generation these days, not only at university, but outside too and to know someone understands and has realised this, is actually really nice to hear.

I have no doubt my practicing life will be stressful, but in a different way.

I will take the lessons I have learnt from University forward with me to enable me to cope with whatever is thrown my way.