General Dentistry AEGD Residency Personal Statement

AEGD General Dentistry Personal Statement

It would be an especially great honor for me to be accepted to the Dental General Practice Residency program at the ____ ____ Medical Center because of my profound admiration for your program, especially your dedication to providing oral health care for patients with special needs and medically complex patients. I look forward to long hours serving these patients and providing them with encouragement and support. I particularly look forward to rotations in Urgent Care, attending to patients who need immediate attention.

For me, giving my best to my patients is a noble experience, defining me not only as a professional but also as a human being, and bringing me the greatest joy imaginable. I thrive in such an environment where I have the chance to have contact with many professionals and to practice many aspects of dentistry under the supervision of world leaders in their respective areas of specialization. I admire your dedication to improving the facilities at your health center, especially the placement of the Cone Beam Computed Tomography Unit, which is an invaluable tool in modern dentistry. Understanding the oral health needs of communities would be a great opportunity, it will be an invaluable experience to use my knowledge to improve the oral health of people on the community level.

An Iraqi dentist, 26, with advanced training, I crave lifetime learning and international exposure, beginning with a full immersion experience in a general dentistry program in America. I keenly look forward to a rigorous actualization of my entire skillset taking full advantage of the newest and most advanced techniques and high-tech resources, laying a solid foundation for excellence in treatment and research. 

‘Do something that would help others in need and do it passionately and perfectly’ my father would tell me as a child. Born in Baghdad in 1996, I was a highly energetic kid, curious and searching for problems to solve. I spent hours fixing my bike and broken toys and grew into an affable perfectionist taking delight in people, especially improving their lives in sustainable ways.  I have been working in government-funded hospitals for the past couple of years and have been privileged to treat hundreds of patients from different ethnicities Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, initially under supervision, almost all have been poor.

These people are usually kind and simple. They come not expecting much, but are generally happy with what we are able to do for them, I find their trust, happiness, and gratitude to be most rewarding and fulfilling, providing me with meaning, purpose, a sense of destiny, and sheer joy.

I completed dental school at Tishk International University in Erbil, Iraq, in the Kurdish areas of our country where we have lived for 17 years, after fleeing sectarian violence in the capital, Baghdad. I will always be grateful to the wonderful doctors and teachers at Tishk coming from all over the world. Dr. Naghshbandi (D.D.S., M.S. in Periodontology and Implantology) was my principal mentor and he inspired me to pursue further education in the USA. An American-trained specialist dentist, with extensive knowledge of advancements in dentistry, I reveled in his vast knowledge, expertise, integrity, humility, and dedication. As his student, I dreamed of becoming like him one day so that I would be able to return to Iraq and stimulate professional organization and advancement at home, helping my people who so desperately need my support and assistance, I aspire to be like my mentor in the future, inspiring others in the same way that he inspired and taught me.

I seek nobility as a professional, and for this reason, volunteer work has a special attraction, a moral standing that pleases me greatly. Hence, I hope to progressively have the liberty of focusing almost exclusively on the treatment of the underserved and to engage in research concerning ways that we might be able to meet their needs better in the future. I want to be remembered as a highly skilled professional who is kind, humble, and dedicated to attending to the needs of the global poor on the structural as well as individual levels. It is my hope that my experiences in Iraq will help me to contribute something of value to discussions in your program.

Thank you for considering my application.

General Dentistry AEGD Residency Personal Statement