DMD 16 Students Present on Their Experiences in the International Externship Exchange Program
Faculty, staff, students, and residents from Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) packed into room G-301 at 100 East Newton Street on Thursday, March 10, 2016, for two special presentations from DMD 16 students who participated in GSDM’s International Externship Exchange Program in 2015—both the program in China and the program in Japan and Thailand.
The International Externship Exchange Program at GSDM, which has been in place since 2013, allows fourth-year DMD students to travel to international dental schools for two to three weeks and, correspondingly, for dental students from the international schools to visit GSDM. The exchange program provides the GSDM students and the international students with firsthand knowledge of the ways in which dental schools in different countries operate.
The program is coordinated by GSDM’s Office of Global and Population Health.
Currently, GSDM partners with three schools of stomatology in China—Shanghai Jiaotong University College of Stomatology (SJUSS) in Shanghai, Fourth Military Medical University School of Stomatology (FMMUSS) in Xi’an, and Peking University School of Stomatology (PKUSS) in Beijing—and dental schools in Japan and Thailand—Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) in Tokyo and Faculty of Dentistry Chulalongkorn University (FDCU) in Bangkok.
Two groups of four DMD 16 students, with faculty team leaders, visited these five schools this past year. One group visited the three schools in China, while the other group visited the schools in Japan and Thailand. The program gives GSDM students an opportunity to be exposed to a large variety of clinical experiences, while also being immersed in different cultures.
In 2015, Dr. Michelle Henshaw served as the Faculty Team Leader for the students in Japan and Thailand, and Dr. Laisheng Chou served as the Faculty Team Leader for the students in China. Dr. Henshaw is a Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Health Services Research and Associate Dean for Global and Population Health. Dr. Chou is a Professor and Director of Oral Medicine and Liaison to the Dean for Asian Programs.
At the presentation on Thursday, March 10, 2016, after the approximately 70 attendees took their seats, Dr. Henshaw welcomed everyone and recognized a few special guests: Ms. Roberta Turri, Managing Director of Operations at Boston University Global Programs; and Ms. Lilly Huang, BU Associate General Counsel.
DMD 16 students Mohamed Bayoumy, Nicolas Branshaw, Kayla Cuddy, and Jae Kwak presented first about their experiences in the International Externship Exchange Program in China, which took place from September 1 to 21, 2015.
The student’s post-graduation plans are as follows. Bayoumy will be participating in the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at GSDM. Branshaw will be participating in the post-doctoral program in Orthodontics at Marquette University’s School of Dentistry in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Cuddy will be participating in the general practice residency program at Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine in Stony Brook, New York; Kwak will be participating in the post-doctoral program in Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Texas School of Dentistry in Houston.
The students explained that during their many days of clinical hospital rotations at the three Chinese schools, they were able to observe a high volume of many types of oral surgery procedures: CT Scans, 3D technology, complex cancer surgeries, cleft lip and palate repair, and many more. They were also able to experience a significant amount of patient contact, something that they say was very helpful.
The students each had their own specific dental education interests that the schools in China took into account when planning their visits: Mohamed Bayoumy’s interest is oral surgery, Nicolas Branshaw’s is orthodontics & dentofacial orthopedics, Kayla Cuddy’s is general dentistry, and Jae Kwak’s is pediatric dentistry.
While most of their days at SJUSS, FMMUSS, and PKUSS were spent in the hospital operating rooms, during the weekends the students were also able to tour the cities that they were staying in. In Beijing, the students visited the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall of China, and the Temple of Heaven. In Xian, the students visited the Terracotta Warriors, the City Wall of Xian, and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. In Shanghai, the students toured The Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower, the Shanghai Bund, and the Old City of Shanghai.
After a brief question and answer session, the students who participated in the International Externship Exchange Program in Japan and Thailand presented next on their experiences. The students were Alyssa Mazzoli, Matt Mara, Lana (Minh-Phuong) Le, and Vanessa Thai. They were in Japan and Thailand from September 1 to 16, 2016.
The student’s post-graduation plans are as follows. Mazzoli will be participating in the general practice residency program at Samuels Sinclair Dental Center in Providence, Rhode Island; Mara will be participating in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program at GSDM; Le will be working as a general dentist in Boston; and Thai will be participating in the general practice residency program at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Medford, Mass.
At TMDU, the students were able to take part in two clinical rotations a day in eight different departments and clinics: orthodontics, sports dentistry, implantology, oral surgery, operative dentistry, the fresh breath clinic, prosthodontics, and the undergraduate clinic.
They said that in the oral surgery department at TMDU, the oral surgeons service about 6,000 patients with about 30% of those patients needing extractions and the remainder requiring operations for oral cancer and other craniofacial surgeries.
While in Tokyo, the GSDM students were also able to tour some of the city’s most popular attractions during the weekends. They visited the Meiji Shrine, the Tsukiji Market (the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world), the Skytree, Shibuya Crossing in downtown Tokyo, and many other attractions.
At FDCU the GSDM students visited many departments and clinics including the implant and esthetic clinic, the oral diagnosis clinic, pediatrics, oral surgery, the pre-clinical laboratories, the Pakkred Orphanage, and the undergraduate clinic. The students also visited a hospital and delivered a presentation to the FDCU students, who delivered a presentation to the GSDM students as well.
They said the Pakkred Orphanage for children with special needs was one highlight of their time at FDCU. The orphanage’s 500 children are treated by dental residents at FDCU, who come to the orphanage three times a month.
The students also talked about the pre-clinical virtual reality simulators that FDCU has, which provide a 3D image of a mouth that pre-clinical students can perform procedures on and get immediate feedback from.
On the weekend, the team explored Bangkok with their new FDCU friends, visiting the Grand Palace, the Emerald Buddha, the Summer Palace, the Wat Mahathat, the Jim Thompson House, and other historic landmarks.
According to the students, the dental education at TMDU and FDCU is similar in many important ways to that of GSDM: there is a strong research component at TMDU and a strong commitment to community service at FDCU—both things that GSDM is also focused on.
The presentation ended with a brief question and answer session, which was followed by a loud round of applause from the packed room of GSDM community members for all the student presenters.
“The International Externship Exchange Program at GSDM continues to provide our students with highly important clinical experiences as well as powerful cultural experiences,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “I want to thank the eight students who participated in the program in 2015 for being positive ambassadors for GSDM across the world, and for delivering two fascinating presentations.”
The 2016 International Externship Exchange Program will be accepting applications until March 21, 2016. Please click here or email Lisa Collins in the Department of Global and Population Health at lisacoll@bu.edu for more information on how to apply.
Photos from the presentations can be found on Facebook and Flickr.