I began my dental training in September of 1979 at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon. I had never even visited the Pacific Northwest, and was a bit nervous about spending the next four years in the never ending rainfall I envisioned. Did people wear rainboots? Did I need an umbrella everyday? I was worried about the weather, but don't think I ever questioned whether my career choice was suitable for a woman.
I joined my class of eighty students with high expectations of camaraderie, fun and learning. I was one of only ten women in my class, and at age 20, the youngest student, male or female in the matriculating class of 1983. A high achiever, I had always been at the top of my class, and had encountered little, if any, negative bias as a woman. When male students queried "if I liked the dental hygiene program," or the occassional professor asked "are you serious about a dental career in place of motherhood," I surprisingly learned a gender bias did in fact, exist.
I'm more than thirty years forward from those early fall days in 1979. There were definitely some prejudices from some classmates, although most of my fellow dental students were kind and compassionate. Some professors displayed an arrogant disdain of females in the class, although in retrospect, their hautiness was probably exhibited to the men as well. I'm glad I stuck it through. Dentistry has been a great career for me, and has allowed me to also have a wonderful career as a wife and mother as well.
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