UADS Holds Seminar On Mental Health

UADS held a webinar titled “Personal Health, Emotional Stability and Wellness Talk for Fresh Preclinical Students.” The seminar was delivered by Dr. Olayinka Adekugbe, a United States-based dental practitioner and Assistant Professor at A.T. Stills University–Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health. The webinar was so creative and engaging that the report below cannot fully capture the energy that Dr. Olayinka possessed. The teaching style itself was its own lesson, full of the grace embodied by good lecturers and all who have mastered the art of speaking.

Dr. Olayinka interspersed a lot of information about herself into the presentation. She shared the highs and lows of her time in dental school, including how she resat an MB exam. She also went on to win the award for Best Student in the Medicine MB exam. She was involved in many church fellowship activities while in dental school. As part of her job as a lecturer, she also teaches dental students about good health and coping with stress in school.

She spoke on the important topic of stress in dentistry. She mentioned the peculiar nature of dental training, starting from the swotting and bookishness of the preclinical years, where the added stress of dental anatomy can complicate an already precarious balance, to the punishing Pathology and Pharmacology postings and examinations, to the clinical postings and the ever-present confusion surrounding them. Eventually, students have to almost entirely reorient the anatomy learned earlier in preclinical years to suit dental school terminologies; distal, buccal, and other dental jargon, and move on to learning to model teeth and all the other vagaries of the dental school experience.

She also shared some insights and advice on dealing with stress in school:

- Dentistry requires a lot of mindfulness and focus. She stressed that dentistry was fiercely monogamous and that all students would do well to understand that “side-chicks” (clubs, associations, and extracurricular activities of all sorts) should be managed very judiciously. After all, the aim is to become a dentist, for whatever reasons pertain to different people.

- Always remember the aim. Whether it is to become wealthy, to be called a doctor, or for one’s parents, remembering the “why” of chasing the BDS degree would help keep one oriented and grounded.

- Understand yourself. Students should learn how different things; such as sleep, types of food, or stress, affect them.

- Have good support systems. Support systems could be classmates, family members, or old friends. She shared her experience of having a tight-knit group of friends who were fellow Nigerian dental students when she studied in Boston.

She also shared tips more specific to the dental aspect of dental school:

- Practice, practice, practice. Much of the stress of dental school can be traced to having to deal with practice-heavy subjects, such as Tooth Modelling. As such, discovering new ways to get better at such topics can be very helpful. Regular practice is essential.

- Toward the end of the meeting, she emphasized speaking up. When things get too heavy or too tough, she encouraged students to speak up and talk to someone.

She also stated that she could be reached through the president of the association if any students find themselves in need of help. The meeting ended around 5:28 p.m, after a few questions from attendees.

Salami Wisdom