Job Shadow

Planning 10 is all about teaching students how to be prepared for adulthood, and there are many useful things that we learn throughout the year to help us do just that. We have already learned how to save and spend money wisely (we had a guest speaker come in and talk to us), plan short and long-term goals (which we do a lot in PLP), and how to move forward into future careers and what steps we have to take to get there.   Every year the grade 10’s take part in the Planning 10 Job Shadow. Students have to contact a worker and go and shadow them for a day. I did mine with Dr. Mike Prescott – a dentist who works at the Park and Tilford Dental Clinic. I chose to shadow at a dental clinic because I have always been interested in dental procedures. My Dad is a dentist, he works with Dr. Mike, and whenever my family goes in for routine check-ups I get a short glimpse of what dentistry is like.

Step 1: Brainstorming and contacting.

As soon as this project was pitched to us I knew I wanted to do mine at a dental clinic. Since I’m already pretty interested in pursuing a job in dentistry it would help show me what the job is actually like and if I would enjoy being a dentist. Getting in contact with Dr. Mike was really easy. A few weeks before the job shadow I emailed him telling him about my project and asking him if I could shadow him. He was happy to say yes and we set up a good day to have me come in. Now that I had my date it was time to set up and organize my shadow.

Step 2: Interview Questions.

I knew beforehand that I would be getting to see and hear about a lot of different procedures and exciting medical work, but what I really wanted to hear about was Dr. Mike’s personal opinion on dentistry.  What’s fun about the job? What about dentistry does he enjoy? What does he not enjoy? Getting a professional opinion on the very key aspects of his job would be single-handedly the most important thing I could learn from the shadow. Since Mike Is a co-owner of his Dental Clinic I thought it would be really cool to ask him about what it’s like being your own boss. Once I finished my questions I was ready to go to the shadow and on June 5, 2018. Instead of going to school in the morning I journeyed over towards his clinic.

Step 3: The Job Shadow.

I arrived at the Dental Clinic 30 minutes before opening so that Mike could give me a quick tour as well as show me some of the preparations before the first few patients. I was surprised by the amount of prep work he does and how long each step takes. He has to make sure each operatory is fully ready and clean and has to review his agenda many times before the first procedure is done. He made it very clear to me that there is always more prep to be done every morning. After the morning scramble to get everything ready, patients start to come in and he quickly got swept away by the hoard of incoming procedures. Dr. Mike chose a wide selection of patients and procedures for me to observe. Of course, most of his attention was focused on his patient but he tried his best to explain everything that was happening. One of the coolest procedures that I saw him perform was replacing a patient’s “Crown”. A Crown is basically a protective cover that you can put over a tooth. For this procedure, Mike has to create a 3D model of the mouth to replicate that of his patient. He then sends the model to the lab and they create a crown that fits over the top of the damaged tooth. Dr. Mike has to make sure that the damaged tooth can fit the crown and that it is not going to be too loose or too tight around the other teeth. Then, once the crown is ready, he cleans the tooth, makes sure the crown fits and then puts it in.

It was really fun and interesting watching him do such complex procedures with such precision, and before I knew it, my day at his office was almost over. This is when I asked him some questions about his job. One of my highlights from the interview was when he showed me X-rays of all the different teeth and the before and after pictures of a procedure called implanting.

Another highlight was when he told me what it is like owning a dental clinic. This was very useful to hear because if I ever want to own a business I know what to expect and watch out for.

Pro – you get to manage yourself (no boss) – sometimes pick your own holidays – job security – higher income
Cons – bills to pay – payroll (payday to assistants and workers) – a lot of work and managing (the paperwork can sometimes become quite tedious!) – installing new software and fixing equipment

The interview went really well. I learned from Dr. Mike that in order to become a dentist I would need to show great aptitude, work hard, and be prepared to put in 8 years of schooling after high school as well as keeping up with continuing education throughout my career. My interview with Dr. Mike can be heard in the below podcast.

I really enjoyed talking to Dr. Mike because of how passionate he is about his job. From the interview, I learned so much about the ups and downs of dentistry and about all of the different procedures and preparation he does every day. I got to learn about his educational path and he told me that when I’m a student searching for a job to always go out and experience the job for myself.  

I sure did learn a lot from job shadowing Dr. Mike, and seeing what dentistry is actually like just re-enforces my drive to become one in the future. I can’t thank him enough for letting me talk to him and experience what it is like to be a dentist.

Thanks for Reading!