As part of the Welcome Week series of introductions, BUDSS greeted the latest cohort of dental students with true Birmingham hospitality.
The week kicked off with an exclusive session for students living at home. It was a great opportunity for the students to meet each other and the welfare staff. Some older students, also living at home were invited to the common room to pass on their tips and answer all the questions the first years had.
Students living in halls of residences were accompanied by BUDSS reps to make their first journey to the hospital. As they walked to the nearest train station, more dental student secrets were exchanged. The students were then showed how to navigate from Birmingham New Street with its brand-new Grand Central Centre to the Dental Hospital. This didn’t prove too much of a challenge as many of the freshers nowadays hold a Duke of Edinburgh award!
The first years got their taste of dentistry on Thursday. Each student had a chance to get messy in the 8th floor plaster room, casting their own stone models. A big thank you to Mr Murphy and Mrs Walker who were available on hand with glitter to add a bit of sparkle to everyone’s models. The students then sat in the phantom head lab with some BDS3 for another opportunity to have some questions answered. From the 8th floor, the freshers went all the way to the basement where they were sized-up for their clinical tunics – a proud moment for all!
On the Friday afternoon, everyone gathered in AMLT where the BUDSS committee gave some light-hearted insight into each member. In traditional BUDSS spirit, the common room was converted for the dental freshers fair after. The first years left with their bags full of goodies, from pens and highlighters to full bottles of mouthwash! Everything was warmly received from our kind sponsors who attended – Wesleyan, DDU, Dental Protection, GSK and Curaprox. That was just the beginning of the fun as as the Domino’s delivery soon followed with pizza for all. For those who were left a little parched, alcoholic and non-alcoholic punch was available with a very good sized ladle!
We would like to wish all the new freshers a fantastic journey at the dental school and we’ll support them along their way to becoming Birmingham alumni!
BUDSS love x
BrumDentists 