BDSA Bristol Conference update

BDSA Bristol Conference 2017
Finding the path to your future: a holistic approach

The journey that students travel to reach their end goal is an arduous one. This challenging five-year course gives us an extraordinary opportunity to change the lives of others one smile at a time. We began to shape ourselves into the perfect candidate from the age of 16 when choosing our A-levels. We continue the effort to mould ourselves into the ideal dentist by succeeding in academic exams, practical aspects of dentistry and considerable amount of administrative work. Despite these obstacles, patients help us recognise that we are truly fortunate to be at the forefront of a highly specialised area of medicine.

As we know, dentistry is a forever-evolving field of science and technology. In a rapidly developing world, finding our niche within dentistry is another hurdle to overcome. Whether we choose to focus on preventing peri-implant disease, or innovate apps in an effort to digitalise the future of dentistry, or discover the forthcoming dental health needs of our population, we expect to improve the health care of our patients. The upcoming conference offers a vast variety of lectures on the specialties within dentistry and its underlying theme will highlight the importance of a holistic approach towards dentistry. This concept originates from the early works of Florence Nightingale, yet is still embedded within routine medical practice today. As the future generation of dental health care we must advocate and promote a view of ‘no care without holistic care’ as stated by Lisa Crooks at the RCN Congress 2016. It is important for students to build a relationship with patients beyond their symptoms and appreciate them as unique individuals.

Regardless of the path we decide to follow beyond graduation, I strongly believe it is vital for us as students to understand that it is not only the welfare of our patients we must protect but also our own. By accepting a lifestyle with a holistic approach ensures our physical, emotional, and social wellbeing, which in turn will provide us with a positive outlook towards our patients. This conference is set to offer some interesting viewpoints and expert opinions on the matter.

The conference provides a platform to unite dental students across the UK, networking via a multitude of activities including a trade fair on the final day and planned social evenings throughout the conference. BDSA proudly promotes the bridging of students from all UK dental schools via two events annually only, which is a luxury we should endeavour to attend. The biggest dental student event of 2017 is not one to be missed on the 23rd March – 26th March 2017.

For further information visit us at http://bdsabristol.co.uk/ and like our Facebook page for updates at https://www.facebook.com/bdsabristol2017.

Mansi Patel

BDSA Bristol Conference Organiser 2017