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The field that I would like to specialize in would be pediatric dentistry. When I was in high school, I volunteered at a youth center. I lead groups of children, directing activities such as board games, sports, arts and crafts, and cooking. I quickly realized that working with children was something I would want to do in my career.

Starting in my first year of undergraduate classes, I volunteered at a children’s hospital, as I wanted to gain experience working with children in a healthcare setting. I was assigned as a child life and hospital support volunteer. Some of my main tasks were to visit with patients in their rooms, offer caregiver respite, and talk to parents or guardians about hospital programming. I initially found the experience axing and uncomfortable. I had trouble handling my emotions, as many of the children were terminally ill and their families were grief-stricken. From the advice I received from one of the caregivers, I learned that it’s sometimes best to take a step away for a breather. We are all human and emotions are inevitable, not to be shunned. It really put things in perspective to hear that even a professional can experience emotional hurdles. But what I really took away from this experience was how to support someone who’s emotionally compromised. Knowing that I had the power to alleviate or soothe agitation by communicating with compassion, I wanted to find a way to continue having that influence in my career.

I’ve always enjoyed working with children. My aunt owns a daycare and in the summer I will often work with her off and on for a few weeks. Working with children has its own challenges. To confirm that I would want to pursue a pediatric specialization, I found a pediatric dentist to shadow. I spoke with her about why she pursued pediatric dentistry, and she had a similar proclivity for working with children. I asked her about strategies she uses to quell fear and uncooperative patients, which was one of my primary concerns. She explained that she will often allow patients to dictate the pace of the cleaning or procedure. “Communication and control are key”, she emphasized.

Extracting from the range of experiences I’ve had working with this population, I can confidently say that pediatric dentistry is a field of particular interest to me. Of course, I will have to gain experience in the pediatric dentistry clerkship and others to determine if it is truly the path I want to pursue.

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