After being shortlisted by winning first place at the King’s Heat which took place at the Dental Institute on the evening of 13 November 2013.
Elizabeth made it through to the final of this nationwide dental clinical skills competition after competing against 22 of her fellow dental students from the Dental Institute by demonstrating her clinical skills in undertaking a metal ceramic crown preparation on an upper canine tooth. Zamena Janmohamed was placed runner up and Sheila Nguyen came third.
Organised by RCSEd and sponsored by DENTSPLY, this dental clinical skills competition is the first of its kind in the UK and is running in 14 of the UK’s dental schools this autumn/winter 2013. At each of the heats, final year dental students are given the opportunity to showcase their clinical skills against their peers, with the top student from each heat shortlisted to win a travel and accommodation package to compete in the Grand Final of the competition which will take place at RCSEd on March 6 2014.
The overall prize the top 14 UK finalists will compete for is an expenses-paid trip to the Chicago Dental Society’s Midwinter Meetingin February 2015, courtesy of RCSEd’s Faculty of Dental Surgery.
Commenting on making it through to the Grand Final of the Competition, Elizabeth said:
“I am delighted to have made it through to the final! I enjoyed the experience of competing in the heat as it gave me the opportunity to show some of the skills that I have been working hard to get right over the years. It was an informal, fun event, with a friendly atmosphere. The time pressure made it challenging, and I could have maybe done with an extra 15 minutes or so!
“I never expected to win the heat and I am looking forward to taking part in the next round in Edinburgh. Making it through to the final has not only given me confidence in my ability, but will also give me the chance to meet some talented finalists from other universities.
“It is a great competition to be a part of and it can hopefully help me in the future. The competition offers a fair and unbiased judgment of your skills and can only reflect positively on you. It will definitely increase my confidence and hopefully help me improve further. RCSEd is a well renowned, historic organisation and to be affiliated with them is of great value. It will be wonderful to visit the College in Edinburgh in spring and get to know more about the organisation, as well as meeting some of the people involved.
“I am very excited by the thought of competing for the ultimate prize of a trip to Chicago. I have never travelled to the US before and would love to visit. I’m sure the competition will be tough in Edinburgh so I will have to keep my fingers crossed!”