March 5, 2024
Stacie Davis Social Media Takeover
To invigorate Social Mission Alliance’s social media presence with student perspectives on issues related to social mission in health professional education, on the first Friday of each month, one Health Justice initiative member gets the opportunity to posts about themselves, activities they’re involved in, and their interests relative to social mission across all of SMA’s social media platforms (X, Instagram, and LinkedIn).
See below for the content from the social media takeover by Stacie Davis on March 1, 2024.
Hey! My name is Stacie Davis and I am the SMA Health Senior Health Justice Fellow. I am a 4th year dental student from St. Louis, MO who is currently studying at Howard University College of Dentistry. After graduation, I intend to work as a general dentist in the DC area. I also intend to work closely with public health departments and advocate for the continued advancement of Oral health initiatives in the DMV community and beyond.
My journey to this point started as a pre-dental student eager to learn how to change my dreams into reality. As a minority applicant, I participated in various programs that focused on nurturing pre-dental students to be competitive applicants. Every summer and school year I participated in extracurricular activities related to the field of dentistry.
As a rising sophomore, I was accepted to the Summer Health Profession Education Program (SHPEP) at Howard University as an Intern. SHPEP selectively accepts undergraduate students from economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds into a free 6-week summer program that explores their interests in medicine, dentistry, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, public health, and more. My participation in SHPEP propelled me to partake in a Medical Dental Mission Trip to Nicaragua through Mizzou Global Brigades, a Dental Preparatory course at the University of Minnesota, and eventually employment as a dental assistant. I would not have known about or considered these opportunities without my experience at SHPEP. Thankful and committed to paying it forward, I later became a top Ambassador/recruiter for the program.
My journey to being accepted into dental school was not easy partly because the Dental Admissions Tests. As I was attempting to balance school, extracurriculars, work, and family, I often did not allocate enough time to be successful when I took my exams nor was I honest on the quality of my studying.
I had to apply to dental school twice because the Dental Admission Test. This is a standardized test that weighs heavily on application. The test is weighted on a scale of 1 to 30. The national average is a 17. My first two attempts I scored 16. Which is in the 40th percentile. I applied anyway. Received one interview but eventually stayed on the waitlist. Nonetheless, I went with a new plan but kept my same goal. I took a gap year. Invested in myself and studied for an entire summer in addition to taking out a loan to eliminate the need for obtaining a job to pay for another application cycle. I studied 8 hours a day for 3 months after graduation using Iprep Dental DAT Course.
After taking my test for the third time my score shifted from the 40th percentile to the 86th percentile with me receiving a 21. This propelled me as an applicant to where I was accepted to 5 dental schools and eventually committed to Howard University College of Dentistry. Ultimately I know I would not have been able to do it without my friends, mentors, and family for their support.
I was told early on that my ability to be accepted into dental school was going to be challenged due to the fact that only 3.8% of dentists are Black in America. This percentage proved that dental school classes were not representative of the US population. This realization caused me to scour through the American Dental Education Association Dental School Guide and create an excel sheet of schools that accepted multiple applicants who were Black.
Screenshot of article, Limited, uneven progress in increasing racial and ethnic diversity of dental school graduates (Salsberg et al., 2021)
As indicated in the Mullan Institute of Health workforce equity, there are a number of schools that have not accepted black applicants into their matriculating classes over consecutive years. This factor caused me to be selective in the dental schools I did apply to. After being accepted to multiple dental schools I informed my mentors and fellow predental students of this inequality and hosted a workshop for minority students about pipeline programs that could enhance their application.
Although I was fortunate to continue my pursuit as a dentist, I can’t reiterate the need for minority applicants to be able to consider any dental school without having to consider statistics about their acceptance of black applicants. Use this Health Workforce Diversity Tracker to learn more: https://www.gwhwi.org/diversitytracker.html
When deciding what school I wanted to go to I knew that I wanted to be surrounded by individuals who supported me without limits. After attending the Howard University SHPEP program, I not only fell in love with DC but the community that I saw the HUCD was going to provide. I know that I would not have to experience certain microaggressions and that I would be surrounded by individuals who came from backgrounds like mine. I ultimately am grateful to HUCD for the people that I have met along the way and know that I have met friends, mentors, and colleagues whose friendship will last a lifetime.
Throughout my time at HUCD, I have been fortunate enough to advance my leadership skills in positions such as the Class of 2024 Executive Board and Student Council positions. My leadership has progressed from being class treasurer, student Council class Representative, Vice President of Student Council to now President of Student Council. I have also been involved as a Summer Health Professions Education Program Intern, SMA Fellow, and my Church’s Health Coordinator. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Be the Change you wish to see in the world”. With all of these positions, I hoped to make at least a fraction of the change I know is needed in the world.
Although it’s still a work in progress, many hobbies have allowed me to take much-needed mental breaks from all of the stress life as a health professional student brings. Some of my favorite hobbies have included traveling, playing golf, painting, watching movies, trying new restaurants, taking care of my 8 plant babies and spending time with friends and family. Mental Health is so important and I hope more students take time to pour into themselves no matter how busy they may be. You can’t give you all with your cup overflowing or empty.
Serving others has been on the forefront of my career. I was fortunate to not only do so in my leadership positions and mentoring pre-dental students but also locally and internationally. I have been fortunate to participate in Remote Area Medicine and provide free dental care to citizens in the region. In addition to that, I was able to partake in my second Mission Trip to Jamaica and provide free dental care to its citizens as well. Knowing the need for dentists to give back to those less fortunate. This trend is one I aim to continue as a dentist locally or internationally.
I was blessed and excited to be accepted into SMA for the 2022-2023 cohort. Not only has it expanded my knowledge base on issues of health Equity and workforce equity in health professions training. It has also opened doors to opportunities I never expected. As a fellow last year, I was able to converse with Senate staffers about the injustice that I have witnessed as a dental student and budding practitioner. In addition, I was able to join others in tangible recommendations that will benefit US citizens in regards to health equity. This year I have been fortunate enough to return as a Senior Health Justice Fellow and support other fellows while continuing to expand my knowledge base.
I also have been fortunate enough to join other SMA members and health professional students in DC in an event hosted by Blackdoctor.org as a panelist during their 8th Annual Top Blacks in Healthcare Thought Leadership Conference session called “Wellness on the Yard: Prospective of Gen Z”. This then allowed me to be featured in their collaborative commercial with Toyota and spread my story to others. Click Here to Watch: “https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2AZY4vrzyj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link”
Washington DC has been a home away from home. It has always reminded me of my home city (St. Louis, MO) but it also offer more. I fell in love with its diverse culture, cityscape and abundant access to activities and opportunities. After graduation, I plan to continue to lay new roots in the DC area and work for local Public Health Dental clinics and private offices. I always be proud to be from the LOU but I am excited to see what the DMV has to offer in the future! As I approach this new phase I also cannot reiterate the gratitude that I have had from multiple organizations such as Howard University Board of Trustees, National Dental Association, DC Dental Society, Delta Phi Sigma Sorority Inc and more for rewarding me with scholarships that have helped decrease the financial burden that professional school brings. I also want to again thank my village for their unwavering support throughout the years. I would not have received this DDS without them.
This concludes my Takeover! Thank you for following me during this SMA Future Feature Friday Takeover!
