I am Zainab Rafique, fourth year dental student in Gulf Medical University. I hereby share my experiences which I gained during my 4 weeks elective training program in Manchester University, United Kingdom. During these 4 weeks, I was working in Oral Maxillofacial Surgery department.
The hospital was well designed and the staff was very helpful and kind. The team I worked with was full of spirit and dedicated. I was astonished at how well they took care of patients. They work extremely hard and around the clock to make sure they do their best to help the patients. They will enduringly answer all the patients’ queries, show them how much they care about the patient and will give them the charge of a making a informed decision after providing them with all the information required. They will discuss benefits, risk factors and alternative treatment options to make sure the patient feel like they are in control. Working with team was surreal and amazing at the same time, because after a while I developed an amazing personal bond with them. This experience changed my life for better it broadened my horizons and and improved my communication skills. I learnt how to love my profession even more.
During these four weeks of training, I observed and learned how to take Patient History and perform examination on patients at the consultation clinic of oral surgery and oral maxillofacial surgery. I observed Exodontia and surgical extractions under local anesthetic, IV sedation and general anesthesia. I learnt how to prep the patient pre-operative and post-operative. During the training I observed how to take care of sterilization in Operation Theater and how to scrub up properly to make sure the patient is safe. Patient care is always the first priority. I saw many cases of implant placement and complete clearance of the teeth. I was very mesmerized to see the technique and effort it takes to make sure the implant is the right choice. Few cases even included young adults who needed implants depending on their case. The most interesting procedure I observed in operation theater has to be hard (bone grafting) and soft tissue grafting. It was unbelievable how surgeons could perform such amazing procedure with such high quality of care. I was also given a chance to observe Joint hypodontia clinic and Joint Implant Clinic in which I observed the rarest cases in the area and how team of different specialties would come together to find a solution. The team of doctors will go through each case with team of orthodontics, team of restorative dentistry and team of surgeons to find the best solution to the patient problem. They would inform the patient of the care plan once they all have agreed on the same care plan. Seeing how they would discuss and respect each other opinion made me respect their professionalism even more.
I want to thank Gulf Medical University and its staff for helping me with the application and supporting me through this journey. The whole experience of my elective training was informative, educational and fun. It will always be one of the best experiences of my life.
Name of the student: Zainab Rafique
Major: Doctor of Dental Medicine
Expected graduation: 2021
Training period: Summer 2019, 25 days (5 August 2019-30 August 2019) from 7 AM to 6 PM
Training site: Manchester University Dental hospital, Central Manchester hospitals, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Trafford General Hospital, United Kingdom
