January was a busy time for our ASDA members. With many zoom and in-person lunch-and-learns, socials, and a conference, we had the opportunity to keep our members engaged and to grow together as a chapter.
The L&L opportunities in the month of January were abundant! Not only were our students hard at work with the beginning of the new semester, but they were able to attend in-person and Zoom presentations throughout the month to further their learning. Our first L&L was from the Michigan Dental Association on Insurance & Risk Management, where students who tuned in learned how to manage their malpractice situations and insurance reimbursement from various sources. Best of all about that L&L was…. the free amazon gift cards for those who attended! We are thankful to all of our vendors who know how much us dental students love to shop on Amazon, so they served us well. Next, there was a presentation by a fellow Michigan DDS graduate Dr. Patrick DiDonato who had the privilege of experiencing both the private practice and dental service organization atmosphere. Attendees were able to receive the outlook and comparison among these different workforces, including payrolls, advanced CEs, business management, and ownership. Then, we learned about a company called Burst where a dental hygenist came and presented their products, including a Burst electric toothbrush created with great craftsmanship and advanced technology to detect which areas in the mouth need more attention upon completion of brushing. Lastly, there was another financial based L&L from DEB financial where David Bragman spoke to upperclassmen with a target objective to teach dental students how to manage their budget as soon as they graduate from dental school. One of the best advantages of being an ASDA member is that we get access to a countless number of L&Ls with respectful speakers/presenters who are experts in their products and services.
ASDA members from each dental class were also fortunate to attend the first in-person districts conference since 2019! This year our members joined four other dental schools to attend the district conference in Columbus, Ohio from January 14th to January 16th. Events throughout the weekend included learning about building a high performing team, managing student debt, negotiating a contract, life after dental school, organized dentistry, sustainability in dentistry, licensure reform, and medicaid/medicare. Our members also had the privilege to network with vendors and students from dental schools across District 6. One of the most engaging parts of the conference was when students participated in round-table discussions about health, licensure reform, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our school’s ASDA chapter even won the award of “Leaders and Best” as we have the largest student organization at the dental school and have hosted countless events throughout the past year to continue to bring members closer together.
Overall, January has been a memorable month for our chapter, and we look forward to more conferences and more opportunities to become well-rounded professionals. We are thankful to have started out the new year and semester strong and look forward to many more events to come.
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