6 months from today...

Perhaps this doesn't belong in my clinic blog, but I had an "Aha" moment today.

Six months from today is our commencement. Six months from today it will not matter how many errors I had on that last quad of class III, it won't matter that my instructor downgraded what I thought was a class III to a class II,  and it certainly won't matter that I didn't make my 4.0 this semester.

What WILL matter, is that all 30 of us will walk and receive our diplomas. All 30 of us will enter the workforce and get to do what we love and make a good living doing it. That's what matters.

Until then, I will try to keep things in perspective :)

Requirements

This morning I saw a class II pt and was only able to get through the OD and 1 quad. I felt soooo slow but I knew I was finishing both my class II and Class III this afternoon so I was ok with it. I finished the remaining III quads of my class II and waited for my Class III to show up... she didn't. This is SO FRUSTRATING. Grand total of 4 quads class III today. I don't feel like I am going to be able to meet my requirements so I'm freaking out a little. The class III that was supposed to come today is my mock board patient! I needed to finish up her x-rays before mock boards and I'm CA next week. Whine whine whine... I guess I should just be grateful for what I do have done, and pray my mock board patient is more reliable in two weeks!!!

Local Anesthesia

I remember being in school one day last year, and hearing news that the seniors were starting local anesthetic  that day. I remember thinking how scary that would be, and how glad I was that anesthesia would be a whole year away for me! Well... today that day came! I spent the better part of yesterday after school reading, studying, looking at pictures of nerves and their locations, and even prodding my poor husband with cotton application sticks! 

I came to school today with butterflies in my stomach, so nervous to poke poor Misty! Once I began, it was like all my studying clicked. I thought to myself "Aha! Maybe this is something I can do!" I loved it! The insertion points and angles were not nearly so hard to find as I thought they would be, and I felt like it went great for my first time! I was shaky because I was nervous, but now that I feel better about it I know I'll be more stable. I can't wait to start administering LA to my patients! 

No shows and progress

I called my first patient 15 min after her appointment had started, and she informed me that she wasn't coming. I called my back up pt and got her in the chair an hour and a half after clinic had begun (yikes!!!!) She was a class V, so I got to work! I busted my buns and got her finished and walked out on time! (woot!) and didn't get any errors!

My second pt was a harder 1B, and I had no errors on her either! I think my aha moment today was actually feeling good about everything! I felt really good about getting no errors, passing off a PE, and even staying calm losing an hour and a half of clinic time and still getting everything done! All in all, I love second year!!!

Facing fears

Today I faced my greatest fear practicing dental hygiene; treating a patient with HIV. In my mind, I was a little freaked out. I tried to go to all the alterations in treatment in my mind when I realized... there are none! We already treat each patient like they have everything, and if we follow the guidelines we have been taught, we are perfectly safe. I was only able to scale 1 quad because they had to go an hour early :( I missed 3 spots on that one quad because I wasn't adaptiing distally enough on the lingal maxillary posteriors, but such is the price of learning. 

My other patient was a class V and I finished him with no errors (hurray!)

All that for 1 quad class III?

Today my goals were....

1) To get my OD done and scale one quad.
2) To hopefully class my pt as 4 quads class III

Well... my day didn't exactly turn out as I had hoped. I had to take retakes on conventional film which takes forever because of processing, and spent time rationaling my patient as a class III. In the ned I was only able to classify 1 quad as a class III. I did, however, have an "AHA!" moment when it comes to x-rays. I guess I am just able to better visualize how to open up the contacts (about time, right?). I didn't get to scaling at all, he is coming in next wednesday morning and I need to scale all 4 quads on him in that one morning, but I think I should be able to do that.

FINALLY!

Finally a perfect day (well almost anyways)

My goal: Get my 1B done in 1 appointment

I got my 1B done, missed no spots AND didn't have to take any retakes on my x-rays! I was SO HAPPY!!

I didn't pass off any PEs today, and I've been sort of neglecting them lately, so I need to get to work on those! But overall I was pleased with today!

No missed calculus

Today my goals were

1) Finish up the pt I didn't quite have time to finish last wednesday.
2) Scale the remainig 3 quads on a different pt and do 4 sealants on her.
3) Pass off my intra oral camera PE.
4) Miss one spot of calculus or less on her 3 quads.

I made my goal! Both my pts were so sweet and fun to be around, I just loved them! I ended up missing no spots of calculus, which is awsome because for about 2 weeks there I was struggling with that! I finished up and walked out on time (which is something else I struggled with last week) I ended up only being able to do one of the sealants on my pt, but I still was able to complete a "sealant experience" so it was still good!

Today was a good day :)

Cancellation

I called my patient last night to confirm her appointment and she said that she'd left a message with the clinic that she wouldn't be able to make it! *grr*

So I called my dad and luckily he was able to come in! *yay!*

He has a complicated health history so I know this is going to be a tougher appointment. He also needs to premed so my goals are;

1) Get through the OD
2) Get through my first truly complicated HHX
3) Not get flustered by the amount of time it will take me to get through the HHX

Overall I did meet my goals. I wasn't able to pass off any PEs, but I did do a FMX (minus 4 because he'd already had those done) I missed more spots of calculus than I'd like, but since he was a class II it won't hurt my grade too badly. The HHX was a really good experience for me,(though it took nearly an hours) and I feel like i'm no longer afraid of complicated health histories! (Though I'm still afraid of the time they take up!)

Amanda

CA duty and *hopefully* a complete 1B!

I have yet to complete a patient in one appointment, so my clinic goals for this clinic session are;

1) Complete my 1B patient in one appointment.
2) Pass off Instrument Sharpening PE & 1 other PE.
3) Not be too tired after being CA in the AM to reach my goals in the PM.

*after*

Being CA was actually not too bad! I was ready to go after it and did pass off my instrument sharpening and CA PEs! I didn't finish my 1B in one appointment, so she will have to come back on the 29th.

This was certainly a learning experience for me! She had extreamly mal-positioned teeth and calculus that just would not come off! Instructor demings taught me to use the spoon end of my Barnhart to get calculus off the straight lingual, so that was awesome. I got through the OD and got to scale 2 quads on her, and for how tough the calculus was I'm really happy with that :)

Still Slow

My goals for today were;

1. Get the OD done on my 1B
2. take 4BWX
3. Pass off exploring and universal PEs.
4. Work on my fulcrums!

I met all of my goals and even got to scale a quad! I still feel like i'm so slow! There are girl's who have finished a whole 1B in 1 appointment... I guess I just don't understand how! I felt like I went as fast as I could today, but still only got to scale 1 quad. I need to just stop worrying about what other's have done and just concentrate on my requirements and my personal goals. I also am going to be doing 4 sealants on this patient so that made me really really happy!

I am having a hard time opening up contacts on pre-molar bitewing. X-rays are just not my strong point. This weekend, I am going to go over positioning in my radiology book from last semester and do some research on the internet. I really want to be good at this!

I've never gotten to scaling after an OD before so I didn't have my pt brush her teeth before she left and she had smurf mouth! I guess that's something to learn for next time!

Emergency patient... daycare style!

Sooooo my goals for today WERE going to be to get the OD done AND scale 1 quad on the guy I had coming in. He cancelled 1 hour before clinic. I called all of my emergency patients, who couldn't come in so there was only one choice; run to daycare and grab my toddler.

I was VERY hesitant to do this. The two times I have brought him anywhere near the dental hygiene department (once for the halloween party and once to drop off a paper) he was super scared. BUT, an uncooperative patient is better than no patient at all, right?

He was SO GOOD! He kept his mouth open and held still for the most part. He didn't get scared when I scaled him OR when I took BWX on him. He even opened up for the instructor! I am so proud of him! I decided not to try two kids because I wanted to take my time and make this a really good experience for him. This was his first dental visit!

I got to do a sealant on Jennifer's patient, and that's really the only part where I ran into some trouble. He wanted to be holding onto me the whole time I was doing it! Luckily, Karlie is an angel and distracted him by making a balloon out of a glove! Overall, a good day :) Lucas told me "That was fun, can we do that again tomorrow?"

Let's hope my wednesday patient doesn't cancel, I REALLY don't want to push my luck by bringing in my two year old!

Goals galore!

I've decided to give myself a huge challenge tomorrow. My goals...

1) Pass off 3 PE's
2) Take a pano
3) Get through the OD AND scale 2 quads on my half class I half class II
4) Start my diet analysis on my pt.
5) Don't be hard on myself if I don't make my goals.

'till tomorrow!

OK so... I think I thought I was further with my patient than I really was! I hadn't even started the OD! I did get two PA's on her and got through a very difficult OD. I passed off anterior instrumentation which was nice. I felt like a flustered mess but didn't get a bad review from professor Costley, so I think I'm being too hard on myself. I make one mistake and then I start triple checking everything I do an melt down inside. I need to stop this cycle. If I hadn't been flustered, I would not have screwed up my x-rays so badly. So I think I just need to chill out and go with the flow (easier said than done)

Amanda

I would like to point out, that the CAs were awesome! Olivia and Jacque, you guys rock :)

Goals

I've decided to start writing my goals on this blog before my clinic session, and then editing the post to evaluate myself on them.

My goals...

1) Pass off my Ultrasonic PE #2 plus one other one.
2) Complete OHI and scale 4 quads of my class II (basically finish her)
3) *Don't get flustered!*

This seems like a lot to me right now, but I know that if I use my time wisely (and keep a positive attitude) I can do it!

AFTER: I didn't meet my fist goal because I misplaced the other PE I wanted to pass off (Oh snap) but I was able to pass off ultrasonic instrumentation #2. I scaled all 4 quads and finished her up AND I kept myself from getting too flustered even after my patient was 15 min late! Overall a good day :)

ODs

My goal for today was to get through it. Period.

I did an OD on one of the more complicated and periodontally involved patients that I've seen. I got flustered and made a ton of little mistakes which made me even more flustered. I had a very long HHX to go through and I messed up on my OD. I didn't need any retakes on my x-rays, so at least that was nice. Looking back I just should have 1) Taken a breather to calm my frazzled nerves and 2) Asked for more help with my OD. I guess I just feel like I have to go fast so that I can meet my requirements, but slow down so that I don't make any mistakes. Sometimes I feel like this guy...



Overall, I kind of left clinic today feeling like a total failure. At least I know what my goal for Monday will be... be better than I was today!

Amanda

Well what do you know?

Today I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I started out the morning as Mrs. Bad attitude and I knew I needed to change that before clinic or I wouldn't get everything done today! I had my husband take my kids to daycare so that I could do yoga to get myself in a good mental state. My goals were

1) Have a good attitude through clinic.
2) Get through OHI, and scale 2 quads (My pt had calculus and staining in her lingual anteriors, so I didn't want to plan on more than that.

I ended up doing OHI, 4 quads, selective polishing and flouride! PLUS I got done about 30 min early!!! I was so pleased as punch, this totally made my day! I thought to myself "Well what do you knnow, I may actually make it through this!" I accomplished my second goal well and my attitude improved as I went along. What a good day :)

Xrays and calculus and board patients oh my!

Today I went into clinic with 2 goals;

1) Have a good attitude regardless of what comes up

2) Accomplish OHI on my new patient

It started out a little rocky with a couple of little mistakes, which instructor Hafen quickly pointed out and I corrected. No big deal. I was very aware of my time today, and was trying to get through things because I could tell I was going to need quite a bit of time for probing because I could see a lot of subgingival calculus in his anterior reagion. I was right! Probing him took F-O-R-E-V-E-R. My patient was very sensitive in his anteriors so I took my time and was as gentle as possible there and we made it through.

During X-rays one of the TAs noticed my patient would be a perfect board patient. It was a little difficult for me because between her discussing the x-rays with the instructor and going over my patient to make sure he'd fit, it took about 25 min out of my time. I tried to be really patient and let her have the time she needed because I know I'll be in that same situation next year and I hope the 1st years are patient with me! After retaking an X-ray and getting it perfect, it got deleted :( That made me really sad. I don't feel like I'm quite up to par yet with my X-rays! I stuck with my goal, though, and tried to keep my attitude positive.

I was able to get through my OD and OHI even with the delays. It took over 10 min of waiting in line to walk my patient out and my chart was in late :( I guess I'll have to make sure to walk my patient out a couple of min early from now on so that I don't have to wait in line.

Overall, I think I met my goals well enough. I just wish I was faster, better, but I know that will come with time.

Amanda

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

"Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do?"

Today didn't go as planned AT ALL.. but thanks to a couple of amazing people who went out of their way to help me, I got through it. Last night while I was pondering on what my goals would be for patient treatment today, I came accross one that really ended up coming in handy!

1) Don't get flustered if something goes wrong, just keep on going!

After my patient was almost 15 min late today, she told me that she could only stay for an hour and 15 min! After getting my HHX/Rx signed, I called my emergency patient and asked her to come save me, and to arrive about 9:20. I got my patient past the OD before she had to go (just barely) and my emergency patient was out in the lobby waiting. The clinic assistant and the CA (Kayla.. you're amazing!) were right there to help me, tearing things down and helping me get things ready for the next patient! Thanks to them I had my emergency patient in the chair in no time and even got to get x-rays on her!

Did I get flustered? Yes. Did I have a heart attack? Almost! Did I keep going? Yes! So I guess I will call today a success. :)

Amanda

Patient Day!

So today I saw the class five that I OD'd in November. I made the following goals for myself;
1) Stay focused
2) Maximize my time
3) Don't waste time double and triple checking, trust myself.

I wanted to try to get OHI and at least 2 quads done today. I was able to get OHI, all 4 quads, polishing and flouride all done today. I spent 45 min on my first quad because I kept double and triple checking myself, I was too scared to have a scale check. After the first scale check was done and I had no errors, I felt more confident and got the other 3 done in much less time. No errors on those as well! I was very pleased and relieved when I finished my patient! I feel like I did well at staying focused and keeping track of my time to accomplish my goals. The loupes helped me tremendously as well as having a super cooperative patient. After today I'm cautiously optimistic :)

Ultrasonic and Graceys

Following the guidelines set out in the syllabus, I decided to start off this "clinic experience" by setting goals for today. The goals included;

1) Stay focused and on task
2)Use my time wisely
3)Not being afraid to have the instructor watch me scale
4)Ask for and accept feedback from instructors

I feel like I met my goals really well. I stayed focused on what we were doing, even though I really didn't enjoy my time with the Graceys. I gave it my very best effort, and used my time wisely. I don't know why I'm always so afraid to have the instructors watch my scaling, I felt like it really helped to have them watch me and give feedback. I tried to really understand what they were telling me, asked for clarification etc. I really like using the Ultrasonic, I don't care too much for the Graceys. I'm sure that by the end of next year