On June 2, 2006, thirteen health professionals attending the Community Campus Partnership for Health Annual Conference visited the University of Minnesota campus as part of a conference site-visit. The University of Minnesota Health Careers Center (HCC) hosted the conference attendees and shared information about the programs and services of the HCC and about the partner schools in the Academic Health Center, of which Dentistry is one.
The School of Dentistry then presented the conference attendees with a unique opportunity: trying their hand at dentistry. They drilled, they filled, and they applied dental sealants on dental school training mannequins, all under the watchful eye of dental students who pitched-in to welcome the visitors during their visit. Attendees were impressed with the facilities, but even more excited about the opportunity to actually do the work of a dentist. The feedback from attendees is reflected in the comments of two attendees: "This was an excellent opportunity for hands-on learning about both dental skills and the people skills necessary to be a dentist;" and, "I really enjoyed seeing the excitement on the part of the students as they were teaching us!"
The School of Dentistry offers this very same experience through a program sponsored by the HCC known as the Health Career Investigators. During the summer, over 75 high school students visit campus and get to "try-on" health career. As part of the Health Career Investigators program, students gain insight into a career in dentistry through asking dental students and faculty about the day-to-day practice of dentistry and hands-on learning.
These unique programs are two of the many ways that the School of Dentistry and the Minnesota Health Careers Center fulfill their goals of serving the community by creating and participating in projects and services to educate about oral health and encourage and engage pre-health learners in exploring dental careers, making informed career choices, and becoming qualified candidates for admission to dental school.