Indiana-Newcastle Exchange
In June we had the pleasure of hosting a group of dental students from Indiana School of Dentistry, USA. The Indiana students spent a week experiencing life as Newcastle dental students. BDS student Emma McAlister shares her experience of hosting the Indiana students here in Newcastle.
30 October 2024
During June we had a lovely visit from our colleagues at Indiana University School of Dentistry! The exchange included eight second year dental students from America who came to experience a week in the life of a Newcastle dental student. As one of the Newcastle hosts, I had been attending zoom calls during the year to get to know the students and learn about what life is like in their dental school.
Friday was the first official day of the exchange. It started off with a presentation from the Indiana students about the healthcare system in America. It was crazy to hear about how much treatment would cost there and the fact that everyone relies on medical insurance to cover their treatment bills. After a few fun facts about ourselves we had a quick tour of the hospital and headed to the gift shop to stock up on university merch. On Friday evening we held an honorary American themed Dental Society social to welcome the students to the city. This included the Crown and Bridge being covered in American flags, balloons and any other decorations you could think of.
On Saturday morning we met at the train station to go to Durham for the day. Thankfully the clouds parted and it was a really sunny day for us. We visited the local market, visited the cathedral and had a bite to eat. We had lots of fun getting to know each other and discussing the differences between life in Newcastle vs Indiana. I had lots of questions about American trends I had seen on TikTok and what they meant. That evening we made a trip to Tynemouth to have a bonfire on the beach – toasting marshmallows and collecting driftwood for the fire (Tynemouth has now been completely cleared of wood by us). Although everyone ended up smelling so much of smoke I ended up taking everyone’s laundry back to wash!
On Sunday we had a very relaxed day, going for a typical British Sunday roast in the afternoon (which is apparently quite close to a Thanksgiving dinner minus the Yorkshire puddings). We then introduced the students to the student hub that is Wetherspoons.
Monday saw the start of clinics for the Indiana students. I had students shadowing me on both the emergency clinic and child dental health. The children’s sessions had to be my favourite, the children loved to hear the American accent and asked lots of funny questions.
On Tuesday we took the students to a classic pub quiz night in Jesmond. Split into two teams, sadly none of us won – my team beat the other team which is all that mattered really!
On Wednesday the students took part in Brush Up, a voluntary society run by the dental hospital in which students visit primary schools/refugees/mum and baby classes to spread awareness about dental health. The students really enjoyed this and liked the fact they were able to get involved in the local community. We were also treated on Wednesday evening when the Indiana staff took us out for dinner!
After another day on clinics on Thursday we got our results for our Stage 4 exams so we enjoyed a night in Newcastle city centre to celebrate. We enjoyed learning more about American culture and listening to lots of their stories.
Friday saw our final day together. After finishing up on clinics, everyone involved in the Indiana project (including staff and students) went out for a lovely final meal together. After this we said our goodbyes and wished the students well on their onward journeys to visit some more of Europe. We were very jealous as we prepared for another week of clinics!
We really enjoyed this opportunity to take part in the Indiana exchange. We learnt a lot about America, their healthcare system and the differences they face compared to the UK. We have made some amazing international friends who we hope to see again – hopefully this time we get to visit them in the USA! I would really recommend for future year groups to take part and keep this tradition between the dental schools going.
Written by Emma McAlister
Stage 5 BDS
If you are a current dental school student and would like to get involved in our next exchange please email dental.sciences@newcastle.ac.uk for more information.