Notes from a Minority in Medicine

The Bad and The Good 

In honor of Black History Month, I thought that now would be a good time to share a few notes on my experience as a minority in medicine. African Americans are considered highly under-represented in dentistry and the color of my skin has definitely had significant impacts on my journey to become a dentist. It's beyond difficult for me to open up about the scars of my past, but I feel passionate about sharing my story because I want to shed light on a situation that still needs improvement. But most importantly, I don't want to "become silent" about the things that matter.  

The Grace of God

I have never been so happy to see a Friday as this week was terrifying for me. I was awakened at 4am Tuesday morning by a text message from my mother saying that my father was in the hospital with chest pain and tingling in his arm. At that moment, I really wished that I could be oblivious, that I didn't have the medical knowledge that I do because the worse case scenario was running through my head. As I flung things into my suitcase, I was making a mental list of possible diagnoses...angina, stroke, heart attack? And all the while, I'm hours away from home. 

HeartBreaker

While I'm a girl that loves mixing and matching different patterns and seemingly clashing colors, sometimes I feel prettiest and most complete in a simple ensemble. Exhibit A...this shift dress has quickly become one of my favorites. Dressed down or dressed up-it works for so many occasions. 

Gift Guide: Valentine's Day for Him

Ok ladies, Valentine's Day is just around the corner. While some may view it as a holiday for women, I happen to think that the men in our lives deserve a little love too! But men can sometimes be difficult to shop for so I took care of the work for you. Here are my gift suggestions for every kind of guy.  

Notes on A Long Distance Valentine's Day

Celebrating Valentine's Day when you are in a long distance relationship can be lonely. Trust me, I would know! Husband and I dated long distance during college and now we are super long distance while we both attend grad school. Last year we were fortunate enough to spend Valentine's Day together, but this year we will be apart. If like us, you are unable to be with your SO this Valentine's Day, know that it is still possible to make your loved one feel special. And to help get things started...I'm sharing some of my favorite LDR gift ideas. 

A Day in the Life of a Dental Student

Stab Lab

If you read my January Review, you know that one of the things that I recently covered in dental school was how to numb a patient. When we learned how to do things like drill on teeth and make dentures, we practiced on mannequins with plastic teeth. The plastic teeth are actually harder to work with than real teeth, so it was a good simulation. But you can't mimic major arteries, nerves, or canals in a dummy head. So in order to get real life experience for numbing patients, we injected each other! Here's a peak at my day. 

A Month of Revitalization: January Review

Can't believe that the first month of 2015 has already come to a close! And what a month it has been. After my ridiculously busy December, January was all about slowing down a bit and focusing on both myself and the start of a new semester in dental school.