Current employer: S3 Dental
Current job title: Associate Dentist
Current location: London
"Having been born and brought up in the midlands, I rarely had an opportunity to visit the coast or seaside before moving to Plymouth. When I did, I couldn’t believe how many amazing little beaches and little spots by the sea you can stumble upon around Devon and Cornwall."
Tell us about your career path since graduation.
I’ve recently graduated from the Peninsula School of Medicine and Dentistry at Plymouth University and I am therefore only just starting out on my dental foundation training year. This is a pre-requisite for all UK graduates wanting to work for the NHS. I am undertaking my DF1 year in the South East London Scheme at S3 Dental, Eltham.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to get in to the same line of work?
I would certainly advise anybody who is interested in dentistry to carry out as much work experience as possible in busy NHS practices and in quieter private practices, and also to undertake hospital placements to get a real feel for the profession. It was only once I had done this that I knew for certain that this was the career I wanted to do. Moreover, Plymouth Dental School offered a great taster day to anyone considering dentistry as a career: it was a day packed full of information about the course, about Plymouth, and most importantly featured a hands-on session in the Simulated Dental Learning Environment (SDLE) which gave a great insight into the practical side of dentistry.
How did studying at Plymouth help you?
Although relatively new, the dentistry course at Peninsula gears every student towards entering into the ‘real world’ medical profession and does this in a really efficient and friendly way. We started seeing patients in our first year, unlike almost every other dental school, and I feel that this gave us the confidence to perform more complex treatments in our final year.
What is your favourite memory of studying at Plymouth?
Having been born and brought up in the midlands, I rarely had an opportunity to visit the coast or seaside before moving to Plymouth. When I did, I couldn’t believe how many amazing little beaches and little spots by the sea you can stumble upon around Devon and Cornwall. It’s not everywhere you can finish clinic at four and be surfing (trying) by half four!
Do you stay in touch with other Plymouth University alumni or lecturers?
I met and made great friends with a bunch of people whilst in Plymouth, both students and members of the teaching staff, and I hope to keep in touch with as many of them as possible. The Plymouth/Peninsula Dental School Alumni group has recently been formed after five graduating cohorts and they have already organised their first event in November, which I will definitely attend.
For more information about studying dental surgery, please visit our BDS Dental Surgery course page. For more information about our range of courses visit the Peninsula School page.
If you would like to find out what other alumni from the University of Plymouth are currently doing, please visit the medicine and dentistry interest area.
