asda district 8 articul8or: winter '14-'15
DESCRIPTION
Quarterly Newsletter of the 8th District of the American Student Dental Association.TRANSCRIPT
The Articul8or
The American Student Dental Association is a national student-run organization that protects and advances the rights, interests and welfare of dental students. It introduces students to lifelong involvement in organized dentistry and provides services, information, education,
representation and advocacy.
NLC to Annual Session: This year is flying by.
Vol. 7: Winter ’14-‐‘15 Bringing District 8 together since 2013
Summis:
District
It is hard to believe that we are already less than a
month from THE BEST WEEK EVER! It seems like NLC
just happened…
Halloween weekend brought hundreds of dental
students to Chicago, Illinois for ASDA’s 3rd Annual
National Leadership Conference. We all enjoyed a long
weekend of informative breakout sessions, inspiring speakers, and, as always, a healthy
dose of ASDA fever. As a group, District 8 enjoyed caucusing with District 9 and taking part in our 2nd Annual
Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament. Unfortunately, an “Ocho” did not win this year. We also had a great evening
sponsored by Heartland Dental with awesome appetizers and drinks.
I always feel like everyone really ramps up their ASDA engagement after NLC. I can’t wait to see all of
District 8 back together again at Annual Session and to see what we have accomplished as a group in the past
year. If you didn’t already know, District 8 has a candidate in the very competitive battle for Speaker of the
House (read all about her on the next page!) As always, we are sure to take home
some bacon from the Gold Crown Awards. I am also confident that we will-‐ again-‐
be the most fun District Caucus. See you in Boston! –Christine Lucachick, MN ‘16
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Q & A with Jane Yang, District 8’s Speaker of the House Candidate D8: What is your main motivation for running for Speaker of the House? I've greatly enjoyed everything I've done within MN ASDA as well as everything I've learned from National ASDA, and I'd really like to take my involvement within the organization to another level. I think it's great that a student group such as ours has a strong national presence and power behind the wheels, but we wouldn't be as strong as we are today if it weren't for our members and everyone that participates within ASDA. One of the key roles of speaker is to influence and guide other members to become more involved. The role of speaker should be to demonstrate to others that a well run and well planned meeting can accomplish great strides within an organization of our size, and it is by having well organized discussions that we can then focus our strengths for the coming year to accomplish the goals and task that were set out. D8: I know the Speaker of the House candidates don't have platforms, but if you did, what would be on it? What issues do you think are most in need of urgent action? If I were able to have a platform, the number one issue on it would be the elimination of patient based exams. I think this is the most important topic that needs to be addressed by dental schools, students and professional organizations across the nation. It is a gross ethical violation to the continuity of care for patients. As dental students and future practitioners, we are taught in school on the importance of prevention but the usage of live patients in board exams has contradicted this methodology of teaching and is in no way beneficial to the patient. As health professionals, our goal should be in the best interest of patients, not testing methodologies. D8: If elected Speaker, how would you balance your local ASDA obligations, school, and personal life? If elected Speaker next year I will have to balance my local ASDA obligations as President as well as the national role of Speaker. I'd like to think of myself as a very organized person, I constantly check and maintain my personal calendar with reminders of everything that is due, exams, class schedule, tests, events, and other requirements. I try to stay as up to date on school as I can so that I can my free time to devote to other tasks, like ASDA. I have also begun my outline for the transition towards being President for MN ASDA next year. In addition, I also see a lot of potential, talent and willingness in our MN ASDA members, and I believer our ASDA chapter is only as strong as the committee that help guide our events for the years. So as I transition into the new role, I do want to work closely with our committee members and making sure that everyone is clear and understands the overarching goals for the year. Finally, in terms of my personal life, I think it is utmost important to have a life outside of dental school and taking those well deserved breaks when needed. Personally, I think the most important aspects of one's personal life should be to have friends,
family and significant others that accept and understand the obligations that are required and being able to work together to balance things out. D8: If you had a patronus, what animal would it be? Ideally I would choose a panda, but something a little more aggressive would be better…so a black and white polar bear. Haha. D8: If you couldn't be a dentist, what would you do for a career? If I wasn't going to be a dentist, I think I would have loved to work for a consulting group. D8: If you had to describe your life using only the title of one song, what song would that be? Janie's got a gun (Haha, JK!) I would choose Flicker by Porter Robinson. D8: What is your favorite dental procedure so far? Amalgam build-‐ups...they are definitely challenging to do (at least so far in pre-‐clinic) but very rewarding if it goes right.
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Q & A with Dr. James Zenk, ADA District 10 Trustee D8: What has been your favorite part of being an ADA Trustee?
Being surrounded by dentists that love their profession, are very dedicated and successful, and want to see dentistry continue to be the best profession in the world. Everyone is upbeat, like minded and positive in their lives and careers and up to date in their practices. I am very fortunate to be assigned to an international delegation representing the ADA at the FDI -‐ an international dental organization that promotes world wide oral health. I have been able to meet and work with dentists throughout the world in developing oral health programs for developing and under-‐developed countries. I have enjoyed visiting the 5 states in our district and supporting their state and local societies -‐ the Power of 3 (national, state and local) all working together to help all of our members succeed. I love working with the next generation of dentists-‐ through ASDA and the New Dentists Committee, tackling the tough problems with education, licensure, student debt, job opportunities, etc. I am a people person-‐ I love dentistry and love talking to people. This job has given me more ability to hear and act on their concerns and issues.
D8: Sounds great! On the other hand, what have been some challenges? It is a challenge to devote the time needed for the reading and proper preparation required for all of the meetings while
still working in my dental practice full time. It is also hard to turn negatives into positives-‐ convincing non-‐members of the value of belonging to their professional organization. Logistically, I live 3 hours from the airport on a 2-‐lane highway-‐ I have to miss a lot of time away from my office to just travel to the airport. D8: You are certainly a busy guy. What do you like to do in your free time?
I am a grandpa of 7 grandkids-‐ love spending time with them. I love the outdoors -‐ fishing, hunting, skiing, walking, etc. I’m also a huge sports fan-‐ love following the Gophers and all of the MN professional teams. D8: Many dental students are hesitant to take on leadership roles in organized dentistry do to the large time commitment. What advice do you have to such students?
Do what you can -‐ set priorities-‐ family, work, church, etc. There will always be something you can do when the time is right. Volunteer for small jobs that have a definite time line-‐ volunteerism forces you to organize your time. Don't get over committed right away or you could burn out. D8: What would you have done if you hadn’t become a dentist?
I would have been an optometrist if I had not gotten into dental school – I always knew I wanted to be a part of healthcare. D8: What is the number 1 thing you wish you would have known as a new dentist?
I wish I would have had more business experience as a young practitioner. I had to learn the hard way and make mistakes. I really looked forward to CE meetings where I could get advice and sharing of ideas with friends in similar situations. D8: What do you think is the biggest change facing dentistry today and what can we as dental students do to prepare for it?
I think the biggest change has been the growth of large group corporate dental practices. They are attractive to new grads with large debt. However, I still believe that most graduating dentists still want their own offices where they can run their own business and be more successful.
D8: Final thoughts?
You have chosen the best profession in the world. J
Gingersnap Mocha Cookies Adapted from a recipe by Dr. Mercedes Porter
Ingredients For the cookies ½ cup (8 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature ½ cup packed brown sugar ½ cup molasses 1 ½ tsp. water 1 tsp. baking soda 1 ½ cup all-‐purpose flour 1 ½ tsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. ground cinnamon ¼ tsp. ground cloves ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg ½ tsp. salt ½ cup granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies into For the filling 3 Tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips 3 Tbsp. milk chocolate chips 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature ½ cup powdered sugar 1 tsp. hot brewed coffee
Instructions For the cookies 1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt, set aside. 2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add molasses and mix to combine. 3. Add hot water and baking soda and mix. 4. Add flour mixture and mix until well blended and no streaks of flour remain. 5. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and form the dough into a ball at the bottom of the bowl. 6. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. 7. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. 8. Place the granulated sugar into a shallow bowl. 9. Use a small cookie scoop (or spoon) to scoop tablespoon-‐sized balls of dough. Roll balls of dough in your hands and drop the balls into the sugar rolling the ball around in the sugar to coat evenly. Place sugared dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets leaving 2 inches in between cookies. The dough is easiest to work with when it is chilled, so if necessary, in between baking the sheets of dough, return the dough to the refrigerator to keep dough chilled. 10. Bake 10-‐11 minutes or until tops of the cookies are cracked and edges feel set. 11. Cool cookies completely. For the filling 1. Place both types of chocolate chips into a small, microwave-‐safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate in 1-‐minute increments until the chips are melted and smooth. Stir and then set aside to cool for 10 minutes. 2. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the melted chocolate into a clean medium bowl. Add butter and use an electric mixer to beat the butter and chocolate together until smooth. 3. Add the powdered sugar and mix well. 4. Add the hot coffee and mix until well blended, smooth and creamy. 5. (Note: If the filling is too runny, add more powdered sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time; if too stiff, add 1 tsp of coffee at a time until desired consistency is reached.) 6. Lay out half of the cookies upside down on a clean counter or baking sheet. I like to scoop my filling into a small ziptop bag, cut one of the corners of the bag off and use it as a piping bag to pipe about 1 Tbsp. of filling onto the cookies. You could also simply use a spoon to spread the filling onto the cookies. 7. Top with remaining cookies to make sandwiches and enjoy.
Dr. Mercedes Porter is a practicing dentist and pre-‐clinical instructor at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. She is also an exceptional baker and has been featured on the Today Show, Kare 11 News, and was selected this holiday season to work with Caribou Coffee on the following recipe. Be sure to check out her baking blog, “Satisfy My Sweet Tooth” !