Interview questions

Do you think pre-reqs taken as an undergrad are important to have prior to entering dental school?

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If you saw a friend cheating what would you do?

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Tell me 3 best and worst quality of yourself.

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What is your opinion of the lowering number of us citizens with Health Insurance?

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You are in the middle of an exam and you notice your friend cheating. What do you do?

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Of all the students to choose from for MWU's next class, why you?

Being able to empathize with our pts in the military and having seen the success and pitfalls of dentistry for 5 years has given me a good indication as to the type of dentist I want to be. I believe i can uphold MWU mission with my plans to work with the Veteran Affairs or continue working with the military.

If while you were attending dental school a friend of yours started using drugs, what would you do?

I dont think drugs is the type of problem that you can wait and hope that your friend stops. while in the military, Ive seen the trauma and destruction that drugs can have on families and so I would approach him/her and explain to them that they may think getting caught taking may be horrible but it may very well be the incidence that saves their lives. Thus Id encourage them to come clean but if...

What is the single biggest problems with healthcare in the US today?

I dont think it would be far from the truth to say that probably one of the biggest problems that our health care faces is fraud. I remember a few weeks back listening to NPR and hearing that fraudulent claims costs us something like 10 billion dollars and so I think there needs to be more spending on the investigation of these claims. Im sure our investment would pay for it self in the recuperation of false claims.

If you could meet anyone that is not related to you, dead, or a religious figure, who would it be?

I had a mentor in the military my first two years. HM1 bardwell and he was from barbedoes and had a thick accent but anyways he has helped me out everytime I came across an obstacle and i never got to thank him. I would like if i could see him again to just buy him a meal and tell him how much hes helped me get where I am.

Why would you be a good dentist

I think being a good dentist is far more than having the required clinical skills, and I believe that by being able to

Two things you dislike about dentistry?

I think having experienced military dentistry made me realize that I don't enjoy having to deal with the financial aspect of dentistry as much. It was very boring to have to come in on a Saturday and count the dental beans. Also we always seemed to have a problem communicating with our lab techs and that presented a problem with rescheduling our patients

If you could do anything for 24 hours, what would it be?

I think id have to say orbit mars. Ever since I watched Carl Sagons Cosmos documentary, I loved the idea of finding life in space which would be an amazing think to witness in our lifetime or we find out that we are the only ones alive which seems even harder to believe given the our vast and probably infinite universe.

Three things you would teach your children

I think the best and probably most effective lessons that can be taught are the ones that I've experienced myself and thus I would want my children to know that there are just some things their kids will not forget such as being beaten or even worse called stupid. Id want my son to be respectful of his wife and call her names because no child wants see their mother being belittled. And Id tell my daughter to not be in such a hurry to grow up because some of the best things in life occur before getting your drivers license.

What are 2 strengths and weaknesses?

I would like to think that my strengths are that I am goal oriented and approachable. The military has taught me to focus on the problem at hand and and I think part of solving any problem as a company or class full of dental students would be more easily accomplished if everyone was approachable. Two weakness are that I try to avoid confrontation (returning items) or that I fear public speaking. But both are things that I am continuing to work on such as confronting the man that cheated in my class or majoring in public health classes.

If the state school will call you for interview will you go there? did your state school invite you for interview?

I would think that one always needs to keep their options open and take every interview invitation seriously thus I would attend.

Do you think you can handle the course load?

If you asked me that 5 years ago I would most likely have been uncertain of the answer. However, with each accomplishment that I achieve whether it be working 2 full time jobs or staying on the deans list with a full course load while working in the military I gain more confidence that if someone else can do it, I can. It may take me studying 6-8 hours of studying instead of 5 hours but sitting here now I dont see any reason why I would not be able to excel in your program.

What is your definition of success in dentisry

In our dental clinic, we would crunch the numbers monthly and send it off to the admin guys to see how many dental bucks we made for the government, But on a more personal level,I would define success in dentistry as seeing pts walk out of our office a little more confident than they walked in. Having suffered from tetratcycline stains one of my main drives of becoming a dentist was to fix my teeth and now that they are fixed, I am able to do that for others.

What is the most difficult decision you've had to make in your life?

Its ironic that my toughest decision was so easy to make at the moment. With a stroke of a pen I signed a 5 year enlistment in the military. Throughout those 5 years Ive continually reflected on it and wondered if I made the right choice. But you know, even though my family and friends continue to tell me that the military was a waste of time I truely believe that if i had not joined I would have the tools or be as dedicated to my goals as I am now.

Do you have any questions?

Student interviewer: can you tell me one thing that you do not like about MWU?

Who is your hero?

There are many people with a certain characteristic that I admire such as carl sagons ability to make a tough concept understanding for the normal man or richard findmans way of thinking about life and the things around us. But I dont think Ive ever held anyone to being a hero of mine.

Tell us about yourself.

Well I come from a household of 7 siblings and i was always the child that couldnt be molded by my parents. And when I joined the military they thought they would soon have 6 children.

Why MWU

Well after having my initial schools I then looked at each individual school and did research on each and for MWU I was sold when I found out the low 5:1 student to instructor ratio. Having been in the military and attending many colleges I knew that being able to have direct contact with my instructors were going to contribute a big part in my success. And all the faculty and upperclassman really made a good impression on me because it felt like everyone worked really hard to try and make us feel welcomed and to have in place an environment that is more about collaboration rather than competition.

Why dentistry

Well i always felt that because of my tetracycline stained throughout my teen years have Ive always yearned to learn about my problem and maybe even one day fix it and so I chose dental assisting in the military as a means to help me become a dentist. I think having suffered from that has made me appreciate what a good dentist can do for a patients confidence.

What was one decision that you've made that you regret?

When my siblings and I were young our parents fought a lot and one night my mom locked herself in the restroom as my dad was kicking the door down. my brother and I laid in our beds just starting at each other because we didn't know what we could do. I thinking back I regret not standing up for my mom that day because I feared what my dad would have done to me.

if you could go back in your life and change one thing thats withing you power what would it be?

When my siblings and I were young our parents would fight a lot and one time my mom was hiding in the restroom from my dad as he was pounding down the door. I was about 13 and I remember my brother and I just in bed staring at each other while my mom was screaming in fear. I regret not coming to her call. I regret not standing up to my father that day because i was scared of getting hit myself.

Under what circumstances would you steal a piece of bread.

You know if theres one think Ive learned from being in a battalion is that decisions are not always white/black. sometimes you have to choose between the lesser evil of the two and in this case if say my niece was starving and I couldnt work or beg for money, then I dont think Id have a problem facing my conscience at night from stealing a piece of bread for her. Of course certainly pay back the debt when I get the opportunity but at that moment my nieces life would come before my morals.

What do you do for fun?

well before I started devoting all my time to studying for the DAT, I loved to work on my car and when id run into a problem I couldn't figure out such a a noise in the engine id go on a run at mile square park and think about things that it could possibly be from. There's something about being under the hood of a car or just waxing my car that is very soothing to me.

What career would you do if you couldn't do dentistry

well for the longest time as a kid i also thought I wanted to be a cop. Most of the time I prefer to be indoors such as today, but i also wouldnt mind having a mobile job.