Bobby Helton (Director of Student Affairs) | University of Kentucky College of Dentistry
Bobby Helton (Director of Student Affairs) | University of Kentucky College of Dentistry
Helton Supports Interprofessional Healthcare Community
Bobby Helton, UK College of Dentistry (UKCD) Director of Student Affairs, is currently teaching UK 101 (Academic Orientation, specifically for first-year students) in the Interprofessional Healthcare Residential College Living Learning Community (IHRC LLC) at the invitation of Dr. Branden O’Farrell, the director of the IHRC. Helton also participates in ongoing committees and working groups aimed at supporting and enhancing the IHRC.
“The Interprofessional Healthcare Residential College (IHRC) is a high-impact, living-learning program designed for highly-motivated students who have a passion for healthcare. The IHRC is the perfect way for future healthcare professionals to immerse themselves in healthcare. Through connected coursework and co-curricular activities, students in the program enjoy an array of benefits, including smaller class sizes, enhanced study groups, networking, research, and shadowing. IHRC students also gain special access to unique, healthcare-related opportunities, including undergraduate research, service-learning, and ongoing networking opportunities with faculty and clinicians, as well as a dedicated team of live-in peer mentors.”
In addition to Helton’s involvement, UKCD gives the IHRC funding every year to support the program’s mission and the UKCD Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Dr. Emily Winfrey, serves on the program’s advisory board.
“The IHRC is a great opportunity for pre-dental students, as they have access to many programs and services that most undergraduate students are not able to utilize. Students who participate in the program have a 99 percent retention rate, and the average UK GPA for students in the program is 3.5,” stated Helton.
UKCD DMD student, Rachel Dent, participated in the IHRC LLC, sharing, “I was involved with the IHRC during my freshman year (Fall 2018/Spring 2019). I knew from the start that I wanted to pursue dentistry, but the IHRC helped me confirm that. I was able to explore several different health professions through shadowing, tours, and volunteer experiences hosted by the IHRC. Learning more about various health professions helped me confirm that dentistry was the right path for me. Some of my favorite events were the suture clinic and dental hygiene promotion to preschoolers at the Woodland Early Learning Center.”
“Living with and taking foundational classes with other pre-professional students definitely gave me an advantage when applying to dental school. I was surrounded with a network of support from my peers and resources that were specific to healthcare students. It also helped that everyone was going through similar struggles together. I would definitely recommend the IHRC for any students interested in pursuing healthcare,” added Dent.
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