Holy Schmoly…

My study set-up…soon to be dismantled :) ^

Well it's that time…you know, that time I have been slaving away for and stressing for? Come on… it's BOARDS time!! I was pretty sure that the day before my boards I would be a nervous wreck. I thought I would be pacing, frantically reading notes, and calling friends who took it for advice. Boy was I wrong…I did all that yesterday! (JK.) No, no, no in all seriousness, I do feel surprisingly relaxed today. I am reading through a few notes and I plan on being done with studying rather early in the day. For me, preparing for boards has been much more of a marathon than a sprint. I started preparing a while back (January?) and I have kept a decently steady pace throughout. I knew when I woke up this morning that this is my rest day, a day to be proud of the work I put in, be confident in what I know, and not to worry about all the stuff I don't know. I am actually a little excited for my test tomorrow, finally able to relieve my aching brain of all this extra information and then dash off for a much needed vacation with my husband. I hope you all have a lovely Memorial Day. Happy Monday! 

D3?!

My treat for being a 3rd year! ^

Two years ago, I could not imagine being done with the first 2 years of dental school…it seemed forever away. Well, I am happy to report that as of 10:00 am this morning… I am officially done with my SECOND year of dental school! (I think I passed my final this morning:) 

These past few years have been a whirlwind, to say the least. I decided to look back through my schedule and see exactly what happened… like how many tests and quizzes I took. 

Here are the results: I…

• did 2 Article reviews
• did 6 Group Projects
• saw 2 Standardized Patients
• took 11 Competency's 
• took 63 Tests
• took 158 Quizzes
• And 100's of hours of lecture and sim clinic time
• 153 credit hours (>4 year bachelors degree)

Crazy right?! I am going to lay low for a few hours today and try to get some boards review in later. Hope your day is bomb.com :) Happy Monday! 

How I am studying for boards

Where the magic (?) happens! ^

I figured since all I do is study lately, it is only fair to give you a more in depth look at my method of getting insane amounts of information into my brain. FYI: NBDE part I has 4 sections, Gross Anatomy, Biochemistry/Phys, Microbiology/Pathology, and Dental Anatomy. 
While still in the "gathering supplies" stage of boards studying, I had heard that if you do dental decks (DD) twice, then you will pass. Being the worry filled person that I can be, I thought, "Well if it is practically gaurenteed… then that is what I will do."  That was way back in January though, and I only made it through Gross Anatomy and part of Biochemistry and I was bored of them. So I decided I needed to revamp my plan. 
Plan B: I had been sent a huge all inclusive NBDE study guide from a friend of mine awhile back. I had opened it before I started DD, but when I saw the crazy-ness the document contained, I freaked out and decided I wanted nothing to do with it. After my plan A (DD) failed, I decided to give the document another shot. I had each section printed out (about 500 pages total) and bound and I dove in head first. I started with the Gross Anatomy (GA) again and I carefully read all 120 something pages and took notes in the margins (to ensure active studying). Then when I finished I went back to the beginning and wrote my own note pages on what I thought was the most important, or stuff that I was forgetting a lot. Then, I re-read my notes and I took two practice tests on that section. Exhausting. 
I did that for all four of the sections. I know, I am off my rocker. 
After doing the read, re-write, review, test method for each section, it brought me to about 5 days ago. (yes, it took that long… keep in mind I was in school full time while doing this… if you forget that it seems like an insane amount of time to accomplish the task at hand.) 
So now what? I am about a week and a half away from my test and I am feeling like I am forgetting information as fast as I cram it in. 
My plan for now until boards is as follows. I went all the way back to GA again and skimmed the document and re-read my notes I had taken (and added some). Then I did 200 practice questions out of First Aid Questions for NBDE I, followed by a practice test from the ADA. Yesterday, I did the same process for Biochem/Phys and today I am working on Dental Anatomy. Saturday I will tackle Mico/Path, and then start cramming Sunday morning for my Behavioral Psych Final on Monday (yes, I am still in school). The rest of that week will consist of old exams, and review of information I can't seem to remember (there seems to be a lot of that). Then May 31 I take my test! YAY! And the morning after I leave for vacation with my husband :) 
Wow. I just re-read all of that…and I sound nuts. Haha. In all honesty, I just don't want to have to take this test again. My Dad always told me, "If it's worth doing, then it's worth doing right…the first time." I agree and I am studying for this test like it is going to be the hardest test I will ever take…shoot for the moon, eh? 
Thanks for reading all this non-sense. I am excited to get this test out of the way, have a short break, and start summer school. I believe we will be in the clinic a lot, so I will have tons to blog about. Happy Friday! 

Sorry for my absence…

I finally got a kitty!!! It is very exciting. Honestly though, I can't completely blame the lack of bloggage (that's a word…look it up.) on him… I also have been doing some spring cleaning and a bit of board studying. My boards are less then 2 weeks away! Yikes! I will be better about blogging though…pinky promise. Happy Hump Day!

Celebrating the small stuff

Obviously, the thing to do when you reach 10,000 views is to make fun sugar cookies. Duh. ^

Holy Heck! I have officially reached 10,000 site views on my blog! That is a big deal…to me anyways! When I started this blog a few months back I never would have thought that it would have gotten 10,000 views, especially with in the first 2 months of it being live!

Yesterday when I told my husband about the number of views, he sounded a little confused. He said, "Is 10,000 a lot of views for a blog?" His comment made me think for a second, is 10,000 views a lot? To answer that, I don't know if it is, but to me it is! I did not expect 200 views on this blog, I just decided to put it out there because I enjoy doing it. My Mom does a wonderful job of celebrating the small things in life, whether that be 100 days of marriage, working out everyday for a week, or blog views…10,000 of them. I figure she is one of the smartest people I know, so I am taking careful notes and doing the same…celebrating the small things. 

I am extremely humbled by the support I have gotten while working on this project and I am excited to continue to document my experiences. 

P.S. The page views do NOT include my own… I know it crossed your mind :)

Happy Saturday! And celebrate something small today! 

I honestly thought this day would never come...

I finished my denture case! I know! Crazy, right?! Today I spent several hours in lab finishing festooning (adding detail to make them look life like) my denture case. I was so engulfed in the process... that I neglected to take very many pictures. I know, my most posted about topic and I don't even have a grand finale of photos? Fail. If you have been living under a rock and have missed all of my previous denture posts, then you can get caught up very easily… click here, here, here, and here!

Ugh… I didn't even take a picture of the finished maxilla :( Fail.

Name that tooth...

This is a new game I have been playing with myself… it is called "Name that tooth." I am so burnt out on reading studying material that I have resorted to pulling out random teeth (not my own obviously) and setting them on the table and figuring out the tooth number, and then listing as many facts as I can about it. Not sure if this is effective, but I can't read anymore. 

I tried to move my board test day up… like sooner.. and I got shut down. Everywhere is booked solid, so I guess I will have to keep playing study games with myself. 

Happy Sunday everyone! Give your Mom a smooch today. 

The Show Goes On...

Enjoying the beautiful view during cocktail hour ^

During the delicious dinner^

Dancing the night away^

Last night was our end of the year banquet and it was a blast! So many people showed up and the venue could not have been more beautiful. Class videos, photo slideshows, student awards and tons of dancing made this night memorable. It is always refreshing to get to spend time with classmates outside of school…people are so much happier and carefree :) The theme of the evening was "The Show Goes On" and as another year comes to a close and we get ready to jump into summer school, this message rings very true. Solid night last night! Thanks to everyone that put it on!

Mental Health Day

Nummy^

Too bad they don't get me into shape by just looking at them. ^

It is absolutely amazing the things I find to do when I don't want to study. 
Here are a few examples:

1. Bake cupcakes
2. Paint my nails
3. Shop for a dress for end of the year banquet (I already have one)
4. Buy running shoes
5. Actually go for a run (that was the shocker)
6. Watch a movie (Love and Other Drugs)
7. Clean the house
8. Visit my husband at work

Yes, these are all things I did yesterday to avoid studying… pretty impressive if you ask me. I thought I had no energy (which is why I convinced myself I couldn't study) yet, look at that list of things I got done yesterday afternoon (all very important things). 
That's the thing with dental school though… You can't do school stuff all the time… even when I am really busy and there is plenty to be done… somedays you just need a "Mental Health Day". 
I put "Mental Health Day" in quotes because it is a phrase my Mom used quite often when I was growing up. I don't get the chance to brag too often about my parents but in all honesty… they are the deal. Growing up most kids played hooky every now and then…myself included. However, when I got to high school my mom allowed me to cut the fake sick gig and she would say, "I think you just need a mental health day." She would call the school and tell them I wouldn't be in that day and then I would spend the day relaxing. A few disclaimers: First, this was not a common occurrence. It happened maybe once a semester. Second, I was only allowed to do this if my grades were good. With that being said, "Mental Health Days" were one of my Mom's greatest ideas. They refreshed me even though I had a million things I could be doing… life lesson right there huh?! There will always be something that needs to be done, but don't forget to take care of yourself and rejuvenate so you don't burn out. Yesterday was one of those days for me… I needed a breather and a break. So, thanks Mom for taking most of the guilt out of it, as I deemed it a "Mental Health Day."
Here's to today being productive as well…but maybe with more of a school emphasis. Happy Wednesday!

Me and my beautiful Mom at my 6th Birthday party. ^

Manic Monday

Benzodiazepine? Barbiturate? Opioid? Cephlasporin? Clindamycin?

Manic Monday fo' sho'. Currently, I am cramming for my pharmacology final. I have an Endo competency tomorrow, so that means practice tonight :) Sorry for the lack of posts over the weekend, but in all honesty…it was filled with studying. Happy Monday.