Jennifer Drever (DDS class of 2021) is a trained dental hygienist who won the Class of '88 Leadership award in 2018. She convocated November 20 with her Bachelor of Medical Sciences degree.
Jennifer is involved in several School of Dentistry extracurricular activities and serves on the class's social committee. Despite being busy at school, she has a busy home life as well. Read on to learn more about this fantastic role model and inspirational leader in our school.
Tell us about your background.
I was very interested in a career in health care because I enjoyed science but wanted to work with people. I chose Dental Hygiene because you can build long-standing relationships with people. I obtained my Dental Hygiene diploma in 2009 in Hamilton, Ontario and practiced in Southwestern Ontario as a RDH in general practice and an orthodontic specialty office for 3 years before moving to Alberta. I obtained my registration to practice in Alberta and worked for four more years in Edmonton while taking prerequisite coursework to get into Dentistry.
I have two kids at home, a six-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son.
What made you transition from Dental Hygiene to Dentistry?
I wanted to go back to school for dentistry because I discovered I was more passionate about overall oral health than I had originally thought. I wanted to become involved in more aspects of patient care and help inform and guide their treatment plan in a more patient-centered way than I could before.
I find dentistry to be really exciting because it's science- and technology-based and it's always evolving and changing. It allows me to work closely with people and keep variety in my work from day to day. This field also interests me because I like seeing patients of all ages and socioeconomic statuses.
What are your plans for the future?
I would like to open my own practice.
What are you involved in at school?
I organized the 2018 and 2019 SHINE Dentistry Golf tournaments, was on the executive team for the 2019 DSA Winter Charity Ball, and co-founded the Women's Empowerment Lunch and Learn (WELL) with my classmate, Tasha Hou. The WELL sessions feature prominent female guest speakers from the dental and entrepreneurial community to discuss female- and equality-specific challenges in leadership roles and career-driven lifestyles. I also serve on my class's social committee.
Why do you choose to be involved in all those things?
I want to be involved within my community and positively represent my profession. Volunteering is also a great opportunity to network and meet new people in this surprisingly small community. Giving back to the community is important and I also do it to be a positive role model for my children.
How do you find the energy and motivation for your studies on top of everything else?
I have always been an extremely goal-oriented and busy person. I multi-task really well, and am very organized. My husband and I even took on a major home renovation while I've been in school! Just last week we even ripped out our main bathroom down to the studs during our fall reading break. We just make it work well somehow. My husband and I both work as a team, and in any team, communication is paramount.
Do you also have any further advice for students about school-life-extracurricular balance?
Although many may see additional commitments and extracurricular activities to be exhausting, I have always considered them to be a great way to maintain variety in my schedule and network within my faculty and future profession. This has been a long road, and you can't live it like a zombie just to get to the end goal. The entire journey is what makes the end goal worth getting to.
What do you think about the program here?
I love how approachable the faculty are and anyone who is seeking information can always get their questions answered. I like that the clinic tries to be more patient-centered and less criteria-based. They strive for you just to be a good dentist.
I really like being in the clinic. Seeing patients has reminded me why I embarked on this journey in the beginning. I'm grateful for the additional medical training we received at the U of A because many patients have multiple comorbidities and it's important to have an understanding of the conditions and treatments they are undergoing.
What advice do you have for students entering the program?
If I could give any advice, it would be: "Don't study to get the best grades, study to be a good dentist. At the end of the day, the test doesn't matter, but your patients do and the relationships you build along the way are what will lay the foundation for your career."