Transcription
If you're older, like me, I want you to feel confident and comfortable. It's painful. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to say it came easy for me. Get help, and it's going to be easier.
[Music]
Hi everybody, this is Adel William, and today with me is Dr. Ruth. Uh, thank you for her time very much. She's currently studying in Temple University. She's originally from Italy. She graduated a little bit, uh, a few years back. And the reason I wanted, I requested her to be here with me and have this interview is because I get a lot of people who have graduated back in the early 2000s and '90s and are about 40 years of age and wonder if they want to apply and if schools will accept them. So I wanted to touch upon that topic with Dr. Ruth, giving her own kind of like a testimony about her experience coming from Italy and applying to dental school and studying. And beside this, we will also talk about in the second part about being a hygienist or becoming a hygienist in Florida. So thank you, Dr. Ruth, for being with us. And thank you for having me and helping me getting accepted. Thank you.
So, Doc, here's the first question. There's a lot of people, I trust me, who are in their 50s, 40s, and they reach out to me, and they are wondering, like, "Can I do this?" And usually my words are, "Yes, you can." But I want you to talk to them right now. They are looking at you, they are watching at you, they are getting inspired. So tell them if it's doable, if it's worth it, what's the mindset.
Okay, so thank you for thinking about me for this, um, interview. And even though school is extremely busy, and we all know that, and we hear that, so whoever is listening, they know school is, uh, everyone saying school is crazy and all of that, and it's true. It's even worse than your worst nightmare. But the thought is, do you want to do it? Should you do it? How old are you?
So let me just go back a little bit and very briefly tell you a little bit about myself. I am, um, right now 51 years old and, uh, in a little bit, I will be 52 years old. And whenever I was thinking about in this, um, process, uh, I thought I was going to be finished by the time I was 50 because, you know, I planned my career was going good. I had my own office and everything. The only thing, and we're going to be super transparent, even in Italy, people may think it's a very advanced country. I'm a woman, uh, by that time of my career, I was having the recognition, but I did not have the financial stability. And looking forward, I was not going to have that in my life or career. So there was a lot that I wanted to do with dentistry, that I wanted to do with my life, a lot of things I wanted to accomplish, and USA was the only place where this was possible. So also, I did not want to leave, um, Italy if I did not have something that was able to support me financially. I did not have the background, um, you know, the financial, um, ability to support myself and do the process until I got accepted unless I was working. So I could not accept. And with all due respect, with assistants, because they're super important, and also the doctors that do that, I have my big respect to them. The problem is, financially, it was not feasible because I could not afford my own place and all of this. So when you're older, you have to consider if you want to live with someone, if you can afford that. And trust me, I was ready for everything. But problems happened immediately when I tried to live with other people. It's not that easy. You're already set in your ways, you have your own independence, whatever it is. It's not that easy, even though you like people. Living with someone else is not a feasible option. So that's why we went to Florida for hygiene. And, uh, it was amazing. That was a great experience. It allowed me for the first time in my life to reach my goals, which were financial stability. And this is very important. And I'm sorry if I'm going back and forth. It's very important because the process is so intense that if I did not have a foot in dentistry, making good money with something lesser, you know, respectfully, but it's lesser than being a dentist. My financial stability was so good already that it allowed me to apply to the schools I wanted to apply to. It allowed me to get help because you do need help. That's a very important thing that we want to talk about. Uh, it's not as easy as you think. That was my mistake. The first year, everyone was saying, "You're so good, you're so popular." I was popular, strangely. You know, people knew me because I liked social media. So I, um, put my work on social media, got a lot of opportunities, and all of this is great. But the wrong thing that happened to me was, I, it was a lot of people that were saying, "Hey, you just show up, they'll accept you. They want someone like you. It's your perfect candidate. It's, you know, not too old," blah, blah, blah. But then when you start getting the interview, because I did get the interview, so that was true. I was getting the interviews, but I was not getting accepted. And there, something was wrong. And you have to do that self-evaluation. What is it that I'm doing wrong? And you think you're humble, you think you accept everything, you think you portray this, but unless you have someone professional that can help you, and this is where you came in. I was seeing following you on social media. And after one year of not being accepted, waiting until the last interviews went great. So you can't tell why was I not accepted? And I'm telling you why. For whatever reason, I did not give them the assurance. I could not communicate with them that I was really willing to do everything, to eat my pride, and accept whatever dental school asked. And you also said one thing one time that I didn't believe, honestly. I mean, I appreciated it. It was one second of, um, help, self-esteem boost. You said that I was too good. And so whenever you're getting rejected or you're not getting accepted, you do think about that and you're like, "Really? Am I too good?" I did a lot of bench tests. I didn't pass them. And so you start wondering, "Am I even understanding what the criteria is? Why am I passing the..." So it's very emotionally intense.
Let me add something, Doc. My dad used to teach in a university, and he used to say teachers don't like to kind of people: one who knows everything and doesn't want to learn, and the second who knows nothing and doesn't want to learn. And I tell people, is that you want to be somewhere in the mid-range. If they feel like this person is overqualified, they know a lot, they're going to come in and start teaching us. And most of the faculty is around, like, some are 30, 40 years old, young people. And you're like, they are scared of you being there. And learning from hygienists. I remember I was being told by, like, not to be like, I was getting a beating, literally hammered, how to properly give an I-block by a hygienist. And I was like, "You, I knew like anatomy doesn't follow books." By the end of the day, like, just because in the book it says to go this way, it's not going to work out. But you have to swallow your ego, and you have to get the job done.
So here's one question. People who reach out to me who are in their 50s or above 40s, my their question is, number one, can they get accepted? Number two, is it worth it? And number three, is how difficult it is. So how would you answer that?
Okay, let's start with the easy one. Uh, is it possible to get accepted? And I'm living proof that it is possible because I got not only one acceptance, I got three acceptances. And I also got acceptance in the hardest school to get into because whatever we want to say about it, Indiana only had 15 spots, um, Temple only had 10, and Pittsburgh only had six. And Pittsburgh for me was a mistake because I was so disappointed one day that I didn't get accepted somewhere that that night I applied to Pittsburgh. I was still on time. So again, also that's another thing. It's really, I mean, I know, I get it that it's important to apply early. And I did the first year, the second year, so much was going on that I did not have the time to do as early as I wanted. And a lot of, almost all of the schools I applied at the deadline. So that's my experience. Again, I'm not like you, giving advice knowing the trends and everything. My experience has been this year that I was accepted. I applied at the deadline to the point that I applied to, uh, Alabama on Sunday, on Monday, I received the invitation. I thought, "Oh my God." The, how many invites did you have? I applied to eight schools and, uh, received six invitations. So, and it, and it got accepted to Pittsburgh, to Temple, to Indiana, and got invited by UAB. And which else? So I got invited by, um, so UAB, Alabama, um, Buffalo, um, USC. USC, I declined because, um, PBLN. Okay. Make your all thought by then. Finally, I was accepted in Temple. And Temple for me worked better for my, my thoughts. Uh, then I got invited. So Indiana, Colorado. What did I get invited out? So I, I went, I, I almost, it's funny because you think you never forget, but I do forget which ones. But of my list, the second time around, I only applied to programs that had, uh, 24 months. In the past, I had done also, uh, a little longer. So I applied to TS and was interviewed in TS, and I was one of their best candidates. But TS, uh, didn't go through. And honestly, thank God, because mentally, I could not accept to do 29 months of dental school. I just could not. I would have been miserable. And so when you, when you're applying and you're older, do think about these things. Go for it for the 24 months programs. Make a list, see where they are, apply to all of them. Rejection.
So, is it, how hard is it? Uh, it's very hard. It's not easy at all. Uh, what gets you the interview? And not even your bench skills because people say, "Be super, you know, super good." I was super good, and honestly, today I can say I was super good. That is not what matters. When I finally was accepted and was getting my moments at the beginning, someone said to me that I did so good in the interview that they said that didn't matter what I did in the bench test. That, and I did, I did good, of course. But that's why the preparation is so important. And I'm glad I understood that because that interview, and what you taught me, helped me get my spot, you know? I finally was able.
Here's a question. Before, when you did not get any professional help, and you were giving interviews, and you can speak, you're from Italy, you're highly confident, you work, practiced for a couple of decades. Uh, you've. So now, on the second time, when we did preparation, what were the key areas that were different for you? Like, this time, what did you think went different that you got accepted to three schools?
So what happened was, which is reality, I applied the first cycle after COVID. So that was a problem because because you don't have the money, unless you say, "Hey, do you give me a discount if I pay, uh, all at once?" They know that you have the money to pay, and that's what matters. It's truly, you said it many multiple times, it's truly a, a money business for them. So not only that, but why do they prefer younger candidates? Let's be really, really honest. If you're, they are stupid? No. If you're, if you're older, trust me, I figured this out because of my, it's almost going to the close of one year. So the reason is, if you're old, the chances that you will also, uh, go to residency are much slimmer. Are much slimmer, and, uh, close to zero because you are qualified, you know how to do everything. All you need is a license. And, you know, you're not going to give them more money. So the person that's younger can also, is insecure. And so they will accept the two years of indoctrination that you cannot do anything because they really, in school, they teach you that you cannot do Endo, you cannot do Prosto, you cannot do anything without getting, except for, except for ODs and comp exam and BR. That's what you can do. Otherwise, you get sued. Because, and they manage to work that in your head if you have not worked in real life, you know? Because, um, they're very good at that. They don't give you, I'm sorry, because I'm in Temple, and this is between people, and I don't care if it gets to them because one, one other thing that I know, one other thing that I know is that they don't kick you out. You know, I mean, I'm not saying anything. I'll stop you. What I'm going to tell you, I was called to in disciplinary action a couple of, not disciplinary action, no, no, no. I was actually, somebody complained about me to the dean of Colorado, and they called me in the office, not the dean, my program director. And they kept telling me like, "You, they, they didn't have a strong reason, but they kept telling me, 'You're going to behave better. Do what we are telling you.'" Until the point they got to the, they saw I'm not listening. They said, "Listen, just graduate, go out, and then do whatever you want to do." Like, while you're here, just lay low, get your degree. And you're right.
I'm going to sorry, I'm going to cut you in between where you said they indoctrinate you. That's such an important thing. I wish I could scream and tell everybody the reality. The education system in the US is a business. They politically and mentally they make you weaker. They tell you you can't do this, you'll get sued. Trump got sued so many times and became the president. Get, get sued a couple of times, trust me, you'll still survive. You'll live. You will become a good dentist and a businessman. So don't worry about that. The school has, and that's the thing. So what you were saying, I totally agree that they indoctrinate you, scare you. And there are so many poor people who need treatment, and they are creating insecure dentists who can't do extraction, who can't do endo. And these people need help in the rural area. So, so this is why, this is why I really, I'm getting to that point. And, and sorry, we keep interacting each other, but I like the dynamic. I hope you don't mind. Um, because he gave me ideas on how to develop my answers. And I really want, I'm looking straight at the camera. I want, if you're older, like me, I want you to feel confident and comfortable. It's painful. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to say it came easy for me. Get, get help, and it's going to be easy. Or, and you have a very strong chance of getting accepted because then you can prove and express yourself in a way that helps. Because I want to say this, what was missing for me was the ability to communicate effectively. I was taking courses, but still, you can always learn. And if you have that mindset that you can always learn, then you're going to be respectful of the person that does it for you. I admire your ability because this is something you have, and not everyone has, uh, your ability to help the person tell the story, communicate more effectively, know when to stop, know what to say. And there is a technique to that. Anything can be learned. Anything can be learned. And the people that you have helped, I'm pretty sure all of them got accepted. Um, and that's a very strong business card because we look at the reviews. In Florida, I understood how important they were. Reviews are so, I used to live thanks to the review because I didn't know what grocery store to go to. I didn't know what, where to go wash my car, where to go get gas. And so I relied on reviews heavily. And thank God, this country, there's a lot of people that do good reviews as far as detailing the experience. And that's great. So back to us, and what do we do from here? And so you can do it. You will get accepted. You need to invest. So that's a business decision again. And once you're our age, if you worked, you make business, business decisions, right? So you have to think, "Do I can afford it? How can I afford it?" Um, is it worth it? Because then we're talking loan. If you don't have the money ahead to pay for the school, $250, $300,000 easily go into this project. And also, let's not, um, diminish. Life happens. I'm 51. Never had an accident my whole entire life. I was planning everything. I was preparing for everything. I got into an accident that destroyed my car last year. I'm glad I'm safe, but at the same time, it created me so much stress and anxiety and problems with six exams in one week. And you who are listening, are you willing to do that? I'm the first one who talks maybe about reality. It's time. It's not easy one bit. In Italy, though, we say when you're in the dance, you keep dancing. Like, you find yourself in the middle of the dance, you keep dancing. And how can I justify to myself what I'm doing? Because of my passion, because of those people that you are talking about. Because strangely, and you know what happened the other day? So my new car, I'm still scared. It's snowing, it's icy. I get scared. I hate the snow and I hate the ice. I saw your student. I get myself in the car. Wait, this is great because this is good for who's listening. If you don't mind. So I get in my car. My tires are down, right? I go to pump my tire. I don't know how. I'm wearing my scrubs. In the US, you wear your scrubs to school. You don't wear anything else. You don't exist. You're just a student or whoever you are, but you wear your scrubs. So I'm trying to pump the air, and this guy said, because I said, "I'm sorry, I come from Italy. I don't know these things. Can you tell me how do I do this?" Right? Number one, they're very helpful. So it's beautiful to live in the US. He said, "Are you a doctor or someone in the medical field?" I said, "I'm a dentist." Because I'm used to dentists being bashed and not considered doctors, right? Kind of like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm not really a doctor." And he goes, "Oh, thank you so much for coming to a country to help us and for your service." And I'm, "Wow, wow, wow, wow." I never got that. And so it is worth it because there's, and also another patient who needs to have all extractions was missing all his appointments. I knew because of my experience, with all due respect, but I knew he was scared. And so when he came, we, he missed appointments with me too, made me waste my time. I have my competences to do, but still, when he finally came, I looked him in the eye and I said, "I mean, I, I work." I said, "I understand that it's, you have three teeth and they look crazy, but I understand that losing the last ones of your teeth is really, really intense." And the other day, we had to postpone him, and he said, "I think I win the lottery finding you." So these people need us. They need our compassion. They need us. And the money will come with it because it is still a job that gets you good money, right? Can you confirm that?
Oh, yeah, yeah. It, it depends. Yeah. If you know dentistry, for example, one of the things I just, I'm recently exploring that if you know some specialty skills, like if you're a general dentist, because right now, dental schools are not training anything to their normal GP. But if you come out as a graduate and you can either do ortho or wisdom teeth or mandoo or TMJ or sleep devices, you can kill it. You can easily be the master. So, so if I think for us, it's actually we are an advantage if we can do some specialty thing. So, yeah, you make even good general dentist bread and butter, like you said, honestly. So whoever is listening, whatever you know how to do here, you have zero competition because the level of general dentistry is out of control. And even the level of specialists. A friend of mine sent me a picture of an implant because of an ordeal that she was going through with her dentist. And I said, "Who put this implant?" The surgeon. And so at the end, she asked, neurosurgeon, she asked me, "Who was at fault?" And I'm like, "This is crazy to me." Sadly, because I was in a moment that I needed myself a little encouragement. I, to, I was telling myself through the whole conversation, "Zero competition, zero competition, right?" Because if an oral surgeon could put that implant in and not be feeling any type of way, we're fine. We're just fine. And we are fine. We are going to be fine. So my advice is, get Adriel's help. Get yourself in a school. Go for it. Because in life, if you don't do the things, and Co taught me that, if you don't do the things that are your passion, your even just a desire, your plan. I want to see how it works. In the US, um, there's been people that were even 56 years old. And I know from TS, so it's rare, it's harder, but that's why you need training on how to convince them that you're not going to judge. You're not, because I don't, I mean, you know, I make my own opinions, but I don't go around bitter or angry. Or I just, that helps you survive those considerations. Help you survive through school because school, it's really tough. I'm not.
So in the interview, my question is now coming down to a little bit practical advice, more for the people who are in their 50s planning to apply. One thing I know, I am right now dealing, I try to treat myself better now physically. Like, I think dentistry, the day you get good at it, something starts to hurt. That's the one thing I'm trying realizing now. But so taking care of your health is very important. The other thing is, you said, take help. Another thing you mentioned, pick the schools which are shorter. Be focused at them. When you were going in for interview, when you were writing your personal statement, and I remember I had this discussion with you, is that when you are experienced and you have done things, don't show so much that they become insecure. There's a book by, I forgot the writer, "48 Laws of Power," Robert Greene. He says like, the first rule is, "Never outshine the master." Like, you go in an interview, and you don't want to show all you have that your own faculty get insecure by you. So here's my question. Was when you were writing your personal statement, later we worked on your interview part. Where did you, because you only have a few minutes of their time, how did you use it to show your capable but not to show that you're over-capable? So how did that work out for you?
Honestly, I did not worry about that. I tried, by the way that I talked, um, to be reassuring and humble. In the sense, you taught me one sentence that I think has made the whole difference. They will ask you most times, "What type of, um, uh, pro, what does this patient need?" I show you an X-ray. In Temple, in particular, it was very, very clinically driven. The interview was only 30 minutes. And so I was given scenarios. So what they want to see is that you have a comprehensive approach. They ask me, "What's the, um, characteristic of a dentist? The best characteristic of a dentist?" And with what we're learning, compassion, but communication. A lot of dentists, even here, they do not treat the person as a human being. So everything is connected. When you talk about ethics, autonomy, and they're big on patients' autonomy, consent. How can they give you consent if you don't, uh, if you don't explain to them what you're doing? So you, without going too crazy, and you know, you helped me learn to not talk too much, to say one or two thoughts, but show them your thought process. So you see an X-ray, you start talking about the X-ray, show them that you see everything, that's fine. Um, they ask you, "What do you think needs to happen?" So always say that you need to, um, have a clinical examination based on the X-ray, on the scenario they gave you. Ask them questions. Sometimes to me, they didn't tell me the age of the patient, but that mattered in that particular scenario. So I said, "I'm sorry, I didn't get the age of the patient." And the doctor was very pleased. I could see that he was very pleased that I asked that. And, uh, and then I told them what I knew. And so in that moment, that's what they're looking for. So you, you present yourself as experienced. You have to show what you know how to do. Just don't start saying, "Hey, I do this, I do that." Just say straightforward what the protocols should be or what the options can be, and they will appreciate that. So that's what I think. You're not going to shine them that way, you know? Yeah.
But I understand what you're, and that's what we discussed during interviews. Whenever they show you the statement of, I mean, on the statement of purpose, I, at that time, you were not doing the help with the statement of purpose, you were just doing the interview. So I got, I got help for that too, because I could not afford not to be accepted. And so I had a professional help for that too. And honestly, it was very strict and straightforward and synthesis, like you said, no life story. Every one of us, unless you have something really significant for which you want to go into dentistry more, needs to go with the whole life story. That's boring. And that's going to be more or less the same, you know, "I saw my dentist, I fell in love with dentistry," blah, blah, blah. So instead, since it's a statement of purpose, that I understood to be true from the question of some schools, you need to show them your plan. Statement of what's your purpose? "I want to come to the United States to be licensed and practice dentistry in the United States." Simple like that. What's your background? "I had my own office. I worked for clinics. I did this CA courses or residencies or masters or whatever." You know, you list them. You list them. If you did them, why not use them to your advantage? And that's what happened to me. That's what got me the interviews. The fact that my CV proved that I was involved in dentistry throughout all my life, you know? So very, very basic. Because in that's what, and I got six interviews out of eight. So that's not bad.
Okay, uh, my next question was, Doc, and and the last, I'm going to talk about, uh, the Florida part because a lot of people are wondering that. And I encourage them to go to Florida, get the hygiene license, make more money, live a better life, and then apply to DST school. So people who are watching right now, who are in their mid-ages or even older ages, who are looking for help. Your, your suggestion you made was, have some money, apply to how many schools do you suggest apply?
I, my suggestion is 10 to 15 schools. That's what I say. And you definitely suggest applying to getting professional help for the programs, right? For everything? Yeah. Because remember, we did not only do general interview, but we also did school-specific interview. And so, and it's very important because if you, you're the one, and we thank you for your work, for real, because you're the one who keeps up with what type of questions, what type of even answers or approach you should have in your presentation. And it's school-specific. It is school-specific. So whenever I was in the process, I went all in because I'd rather know. I tried everything. Yeah. Then then be regretful. That is it, maybe because this, that, the other. There are some answers, there are some preferences. To me, I made peace with all of that because eventually I was accepted with the bench test, I was accepted with no bench test, I was accepted in the small, small school. So all of my prejudices or preferences, some schools do have preferences, and there's nothing you can do about that. And so, but at the same time, once you go all in with your conscience, you're fine. And to me, um, Florida was a big help because I've learned how the American system works. So when you're my age, are you have you been involved with the dental system in America? Because they want that. They want the experience, showing that you are willing to not lower your standards, but okay, the difference with a young person and the adult. I had my own office. So how do they believe that I'm not just trying to see if I can win a little game and then, okay, that's fine, it's not working, you know, too much stress, too much trouble. And I have my own office. Why do I want to leave my own office? By being a hygienist, I did something that was lower than my level standards, than my, than my, my level. Uh, and I did very well. I got a very good, um, letter of recommendation from them. That's very important. The letters of recommendation from real people who know you, who see your passion, or see your commitment, and all your hard work will pay off. And Florida is very open. Majority of hygienists in Florida are dentists. So you will find work. They're not going to be a lot of people used to say before I started, "Oh, no, they don't like to hire, um, dentists." So where were you living? Tampa, Orlando, Tampa. So my question is, so you said you can get a hygiene license. What's the process, Doc? Somebody who's trying to see, I know people in New York who want to move and get the license, make more money. How do you get it?
It's very easy because if you need to pass the boards to start this, uh, process. First step is the board. Go to their website. Number one is to go to, go to the website. But if you pass the boards, you're already halfway done. If you didn't pass the boards, pass the boards because the dentistry, the boards of Dentistry is the single one prerequisite to get a license in Florida. Okay? They, um, make it equivalent to have passed the boards of Dentistry to the boards of hygienist. So that would be something that any state requires that the hygienist do the parallel board. So our board is enough for Florida to qualify for the theory part. Then you need to do the practical part and the, um, couple of other exams, but they're so small that you can, I did everything in one weekend. So you have, we have a practical exam that's going to be on a mannequin. And that's a big change because it used to be on a patient. And for us, it was a nightmare. So that's on a mannequin. So basically, you're going to have a couple of exercises on a mannequin, clean their teeth, and whatever, find the calculus, clean the teeth, prop the teeth. So very, very easy. Uh, that part, uh, is one day. Then you have the laws exam. And any state, you need to know their laws for, you know, when do you renew your license? What do you do when you work with some, I mean, very basic questions. Nothing out of the ordinary. Literally studied half an afternoon, and the day after you passed the exam. Uh, the other one is an OSI. And the OSI one is very similar to the board, but more specific. And remember, the hygienist does not need to know as much as a dentist. So it's super easy. A couple of, you know, candida, couple of, uh, pathology that you can see in the oral cavity, but very, very straightforward again. And, um, if you pass the boards, you remember stuff for that exam. And those exams have a result immediately. You finish the exam, you know if you passed or not. And once you have all of those, you only need the BLS certification. And that, that's another couple hours of training somewhere. And that's all that you need. And then you send in all your paperwork, and they give you the license, and you can start practicing. That's how easy.
Okay, thank you. So my, and on average, if you remember, about an year, on average, how much does a hygienist make in Florida right now, an hour?
Honestly, I don't know the average. I was able to get $50 per hour from day one, and that was plus bonus. So that's pretty good. That's in, in Ohio, that's the hygienists who go to school and everything, they are making around 50 as well. So that's a pretty decent. I think $50 per hour, I think is still a good pay as compared to, I lived on, I've seen works on $7 per hour too. So it's pretty good. I think if you can live wisely, you can.
So, not taking more of your time, what, any last piece of advice or word that you will suggest to people who are applying, who are looking for help? Any guidance, any word of encouragement you will give to them?
So the word of encouragement is, think very well and through that, unfortunately, the reality of it. Think very well and through. Can you afford it? Is this really what you want? Because at our age, this is the final step of our career. So you're going to be, um, stepping away from whatever you have, uh, to the unknown. Are you willing and mentally resilient to, uh, face rejection? Do you have a good support system? Because you need to have people in your corner that will remind you, uh, how good you are. You have to have those people by yourself. I don't know if I could have made it, honestly. And as you were saying, for instance, for me, I do see I'm not to the level that I was in my dental school. I'm happy I studied back home. I made that consideration. I had to accept I was not going to be a straight A student. And I'm telling you why. Maybe you will be, so more power to you. For me, I had to accept that and be humble because I prefer, what did I need to do to get better grades? I needed to study 24/7. But I didn't want to because I knew those things already. I was not getting that feeling, "Oh my God, if I don't know this, it's dangerous." No, I know those things. I'm not good with quizzes. I would rather go to the gym every day because that's what I'm doing. I'm taking care of myself mentally. It helps me take a break because school is go, go, go, go, go every single day. Yep. And, uh, when, when I quit there, I, I would go home and and work on the computer for school. No, you. I go to the gym. Thank God, it's right there. So I do go there. And I'd rather spend one or two hours in the gym because I need to be healthy by the time I'm finished. I can't afford to be in pain. I can't afford to, you know, start breaking something like you said. And I know how important it is because I made that consideration before I even started this whole process. The only way to be healthy in dental, it's very vexing on your body, is to take care of your body. That's all there is to it. Otherwise, you'll be in pain constantly, and that's not good. So, and that affects your mood too, you know? If you go to gym, most, most dentists who end up in drugs, if you look at newspapers, there's so many people. And if you ask them, they were in chronic stress, chronic pain, muscle pains, they had loans they had to pay off, they got into drugs every day, and they just, it's down a rabbit hole. And I think you need to put a stop. If you can't work four days, work three days. If you can't, like, switch your procedures, maybe moving to ortho, doing less surgery, doing like, whatever works. Stop doing molar endo or just switch it on, play with it. But yeah, health is a very, what good is money if you don't get the time to enjoy it? So that's why Florida was my healing place because Florida gave me two things that for a person my age, sun matters. But at the same time, um, what's very important, it was my healing place. There was so much beauty. Work was so easy. Honestly, that's another thing. Work was so easy. I worked countless hours back home. The financial security, the, the beauty of what I had, time to enjoy life. And so I know that that's what I'm going back to for me, you know? Everyone else can be in other places, and you still find places to have fun because you do make such good money that you will be able to pay your loan. Just give yourself grace. Accept that it is what it is, and it's fine. I'm very fine. I was so scared of not passing some exams that getting a C and knowing I'll get my license, and that's done. So keep it moving. That's all you got to think. Keep it moving.
So, any piece of last advice you want to give before we finish this call? And I appreciate your time, Doc. I know you have exams on Monday too.
Get help from Adriel because he's, he's the best. And, uh, I really mean it. That's the reason why I'm taking the time today. I want to be, if any good needs to come of it, age really is just a number. People don't care. People around me don't care, honestly. So it was, but you start thinking all the time that you get rejected, that it's because of your age. And maybe it is, who knows? The good thing is that once you finally get in, no one cares. No, everyone thinks I'm 30, and I don't look 30. I mean, I know I look my age, and I'm fine. I don't have any issues with my age. But also, so sorry, this is important, and I forgot. Almost dentistry has so much to give you, both with, um, practical dentistry. The minute I walked into the school, they asked me if I wanted to stay and teach. If I wanted to become faculty. Uh, they have such a need for faculty everywhere. They'll take you. In our country, being a faculty means that you have to have publications, this and that, the other. No, there's 70-year-old dentists who are still coming to the clinic. So you can pay your loan or live off of dentistry. Get that off your mind. Oh my God, what if this happened? That happens. Dentistry has so much to offer as far as, uh, possibilities in the US that I don't think I had in my own. I could never be a faculty in my own country. And then I think, you know, I'll, I'll do dentistry until I have fun. And when I don't have fun anymore, they will repay your loan if you, uh, go to the school, or I don't know, other schools probably also have repayment loan programs, nonprofit. You go to any nonprofit, whether school, whether a community health center, and you, it pays you because they are federal. Uh, yep, that is possible. But that should not be the issue. The issue is resilience, support system, and professional help to get in. That is, uh, my, the sooner you get in, the better, because it does go by fast. No matter how stressful it is, I cannot even believe that it's almost one year, and so I'm almost done. Cuz I, I think, I think ahead. It does fly. It's true. And so by the time you're there, there's also support in the school, honestly. So yes, there's good and bad, but there's so many nice people in there that will help you. Uh, fellow students. Don't close yourself to the first difficulty. Even complain, because by complaining, maybe you find someone who cheers you up. And, you know, take advantage of all the resources. But it's, you make trauma bonds when you're going through difficult times. People in wars, people in trauma, makes really good friends.
So thank you for your time, Doc. And people who are listening, I want to let you know that not only do I help with the interview prep, there are a couple of students I filter them out. I work with a specific number of people every year doing fellowship now, where I help them writing their personal statement, resume, talking to them, selecting which schools, filling in CAID application, supplemental application, and interview prep. So if you're willing, if you're looking for help in all of this, my number is going to be in the description. You can reach out to me on WhatsApp. And hopefully, I'll see you in a more meaningful video. I would put some videos up here. You can watch more. And thank you, Dr. Ruth. And thank you for your time.
Thank you. Take care. Great day all of you and good luck getting accepted. Bye-bye. Bye.