Analysis Of Daniel Sim: Empathy, Values, And Dentistry

Empathy, Values, and Dentistry
Daniel Sim on how he integrates these in his life
Walking into a cosy café near the University campus, I see Daniel waiting. He has a professional, yet warm atmosphere around him. Upon seeing me, he gives me a friendly smile and a wave.
Graduated from the University of Otago just last year, Daniel is currently practising at the Dunedin hospital, as well as at the Dental school. This may be why, but he can easily relate to my struggles and joys of being a second-year dental student. A thought crosses my mind. “How does it feel to be part of this 263-assignment as an interviewee rather than an interviewer?” I ask. Daniel shakes his head in disbelief, “It feels so weird, I remember doing this assignment when I was

So, what led Daniel to work in a hospital rather than a private clinic? “First of all, I’m a Christian, and I believe it is my duty as a Christian to provide service to poor and sick people.” As a firm believer of Christ, Daniel wanted to treat patients in the hospital, as these people are usually very sick or financially insecure. “Dental care is expensive in New Zealand.” Even Daniel finds dental treatments a financial burden. He believes that “health care is a right, not a privilege” and so strongly believes that inequality in health, especially in oral health, is a problem in New Zealand. So, by working in a hospital, where treatments are cheaper, he stands by his principles by helping to provide some relief of inequality. The second reason for working as a hospital dentist stemmed from his experience of an overseas missionary work. After his third year of Dentistry, he went with fellow church-members to Cambodia. There, he experienced first-hand, what it is like to work closely with different health professionals, “as a team, to treat one patient”. This was an eye-opening experience for him, and compelled him to continue this type of team work in his career. Thirdly, Daniel wanted to experience the types of surgeries in the hospital, which is not something he would be able to do in private clinics. Having said that, Daniel reveals that this also has a down-side. Working in a hospital means his primary

Within this role, Daniel can be based in a number of units. The Urgent Care Unit is where he is usually rostered. This unit involves treating acute patients, usually for pain relief, trauma, broken tooth, and dentures. He sometimes works at the Special Care Unit, which involves seeing patients who have conditions that make dental treatment very difficult. For example, people who are very sick, have mental or intellectual disabilities, fragile people, or people with whom communication is difficult. Finally, there is the Oral Surgery Unit. “My favourite,” Daniel grins, “It’s actually a lot of people’s favourite... We basically take teeth out.” I was genuinely puzzled. If you are like me, and are new to dentistry, you might be thinking, “What’s so interesting about that?” I could see Daniel’s eyes shining as he answered, “It’s just so satisfying.” Working in the dental school involves, not only treating the patients himself, but also supervising dental students in their