VA. TA, and the end!

I guess I haven't written much about the VA Its been good to go up there. I don't think I have seen so many people take so many medications. Sometimes I wonder about that. They are just on soo many. I've learned a lot from being up there. It was good last semester and improving on my scaling with Hansen and this semester and improving my dental screening etc with Mcconaughy. I have loved being a TA its a long day on Wednesdays but I have fun with it. Ive learned and have been able to review a lot. I like encouraging people I think and sometimes people just get so stressed I just have to remind them to chill and itll all be okay. Its good to see how much improvement has been made, and in turn how much I've improved. Its exciting to be done! I took my last final this morning. It took about 14 minutes lol I had to go to work so I'd make it on time. I did. It just feels so good its been a real time of reflection lately. I feel like I've grown sooo much. I love our class! The best ever! I love all you girls and I just don't know how I could have gotten through this without everyone. Life is soo much better if you just work together! Its funny to write this and the song that came on the radio is "youre gonna miss this" I guess in a lot of ways I will, but I feel ready to move on. Its been such a good thing for me. Thanks for everyone and all of their support! If anyone ever really reads this lol thanks a ton! I'm glad I got to write all this stuff cause I probably wont remember it all. Well bye! Off I go to be not just a dental hygiene student but a dental hygienist! I am sooo excited for that! Its just cool to think how I'll be able to put RDH, BS behind my name now! It really is like a dream to me. Ive wanted it pretty bad! There have been several of those "wow I'm actually doing this" moments. Its been a great ride, and I am looking forward to what the future has to hold.

Class 4s

So thank heavens I was able to finish all of my requirements. It is really amazing to see how many class III's and IV's come out of the woodwork at the end of the year! I had extra quads of a IV it was great. On of them was 60 years old and had never had her teeth cleaned before. I think I had like 5mm chunks of calculus coming off of those teeth it was pretty amazing. The end result looked soo much nicer. I think she was really happy about how her teeth looked at the end. I had to hold her teeth in to scale them or I may just have performed extractions! If there was a class of mobility greater than a three thats what I would have put on her chart!

WREB

So the days of the big tests came and there we were actually there. The written exam was pretty tough. I was really glad that I had reviewed with Charlotte the night before and reading the book helped a ton! My heart was pounding in my chest as I opened up the envelope with my results. That test was the one I was most worried about. It was such a huge relief to have passed! I thought it was pretty funny when the board examiner was doing a demo about how the clinical would go. She acted all nervous and was shaking like crazy. We all laughed cause that's exactly how you feel! My clinical went pretty well no positive aspirations or osseous contact. They did have my wonderful patient pull down her lower lip to see her premolars though. I had come out a bit and had to go back in some more. I felt bad usually people say that I didn't hurt them. I think those injections were probably the most painful ones I've done. I took her out to dinner on another day. Thanks again girl!
The next day I came and babysat backup patients for the morning group. It was nice to see how it all ran. I was more nervous that morning than I was when I actually had to take my test. I took a lunch and did some stuff to calm myself down namely scriptures and a lot of prayer. I know I had so much help throughout all of this! My patient was early and did great! He qualified on the first submission. I was the first one to get him back. He was not the first one to come back to start though which made me a bit nervous. I don't think I've been too much happier to see anyone than when I saw him come back for me to start! We were going really well I scaled and scaled and then did probe depths etc to give my hand a break before I went back in and explored. Time was going perfect then I looked at the clock again and I had to explore faster than I would have wanted. By the time I checked him out I didn't know how to feel about it. It could have gone either way I knew I'd missed at least one maybe two spots and I had tissue trauma in one area. The only times I ever have tissue trauma seem to be on mockboards and my board. There was just so much blood I couldn't see much of anything. So weeks later I came to make up a day in Tuesday clinic. People were asking me if I had passed and I didn't even know the results were up yet! I had checked right before leaving for my cousins wedding. About an hour before my score was posted! So Abby showed me where to go and right before I went to go get my patient I saw my beautiful passing score! Holy cow what a relief! After boards the atmosphere in clinic changed a lot. We all seemed confident and more relaxed. It was great! I don' know what it is but once you get your score it just boosts your confidence up. I felt good going into it. It was the one I was least worried about. I feel good as a clinician. Not being very nervous almost made me worry. Crazy but I guess I just didn't want to jinx myself.
I am so glad its done! Huge relief! On the national board I took the 29th of March it took me about 7 hours. I didn't know how to feel about the first portion but I felt a lot better about the case studies. I almost think all the extra exposure to patients while I was a TA helped me out. I thought I probably would pass cause of the case studies but wasn't sure. If it would have been up to that first part I don't think I would have made it. There were some questions in there I didn't even know how I could have studied for them. Then the next day my WREB clinical results came in. It was about two weeks and a day that we recieved our national results. I wasn't home so I had my roommate Daisy open it for me. My heart was beating for that one too! Wow the crazy stuff this does to your nerves. Its like crazy nervousness and then a lot of happiness and relief! I am so glad its over.

Finding a board patient

So one of the biggest stresses this whole semester, as you can imagine has been boards. Just mentioning the word "board" made our blood pressure go up! When they told us to come pick up our stuff to take to the board you should have seen the looks on our faces! I think I was in shock it had come so soon! I think it was a little over a month before my clinical board that I was blessed with a board patient. I say blessed cause that is exactly what it was I was praying for a good one who would be dependable. Then one day when I was a TA midtown brought us in to look at a possible board patient and he was perfect! Each time he had an appointment he would always be there and if he didn't remember when he needed to come in he would call. I think he was the most reliable patient I have had!

Local Anesthesia Mockboard

Holy cow I am sooo glad we had local anesthesia mockboard! I think it helped me sooo much to pass my actual board the first time. I had never been very nervous about giving an injection until that day. I actually shook a little bit. I ended up failing my mockboard, but I think it made me focus on things more so I would pass the actual one. The angle on my PSA was off a bit and I touched the wrong side of the card when I was discarding it. My mind just went blank which is weird for me in pressure situations I usually do pretty well. The fourth quarter has always been my favorite one to play.

Table Clinic research project

Lindsay, Shaylee, and I did our research project on Oral Health Promotion in Pediatric Medical Offices. It was pretty interesting. At first I didn't know how much I loved our topic, it didn't seem that original to me, but the more we got into it the more I liked it. I thought "we really have the potential of making a difference here." As we presented at UDA convention a lot of people seemed really interested, and could relate to our topic. It was a long few hours of presenting, but I learned a lot.

Mentor project

I went to go shadow a hygienist at an office in Syracuse. It is cool to notice different things before and after I have been in hygiene school. At times I have felt overwhelmed scared and unready to go out into private practice, but the closer I get to graduation the better I feel about it. I actually though hey I can do that. It was a neat realization. I think I'd probably love working in a perio office because those are my favorite patients now and I feel like I do a pretty good job on them. Wherever I end up though I want to go out and do the best job I can possibly do. I'm excited to just go out and get things done without having to have someone watch or sign off on things all the time. It has been helpful, but I think were all ready to get out there and practice.

Clinic Simulation

We have to do this day where we work on at least two patients in the morning and the afternoon so we can get the hang of seeing multiple patients charting, and cleaning up after them still seeing the next patient on time. I thought it went pretty well. It helped me get the feel for how things may go out in private practice. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how I do.

Sealant Clinic

So for our community service learning class we go out to elementary schools and do screenings for sealants, cavities etc. Then we follow up with the children by bringing them in and doing free cleanings, cleanings and x rays. The ones with decay get to be referred to Give Kids a Smile where they do free dental treatment and for others who haven't had hygiene and x-rays we did that as well. I thought it was cool to get to work with all of the kids. Working on a child is a whole different animal. You have to be quick and keep them entertained etc. It makes you think on your feet. I think I just like kids cause I'm always around single adults all the time so when I get to see a little person its a treat.

Mockboard

So on February 4th my mockboard patient was pretty tough. It was a really good experience because she had really rough enamel. It was hard to tell at first if it was calculus or if it was enamel. I missed a few spots so when I was trying to get some off of her lower anterior teeth I slipped and poked myself with a bloody instrument. I had to write up a report and go with my patient to get our blood drawn. Thank heavens the tests have shown up negative and they said I had a low chance of getting anything.

Screenings

Screenings are so helpful! It allows you to see a bunch of people and just evaluate their periodontal situation. I found a few mockboard patients for myself as well as one for sarah. It was great! Time has flown by so fast! First you just come back from break and then BAM their are like three mockboards coming up before you know it!

Hooray for threes!

I got to OD a class III today. Its always nice when you get to do that. It just takes another bite out of our 36 quads of III's and IV's we have to get done. I think these ones are my favorites. Its so much fun to just get in there and get the job done. This patient had been a class III previously so I didn't know if he was going to be again. So often after they have been a III they usually are a class V at their next appointment. Which is good. I think we all get a little twisted after being here. You rejoice over deeper pocket depths and are disappointed when a patient is healthy, at least on their initial visit in your chair.

The first quad of a four!

Sometimes you begin to think there are just no such things as class 4s, but then the clouds part and lo and behold there it is sitting in your chair! I saw my first quad of a class four. It was great, he came in later to finish treatment and after placing arestin he had improved drastically! That is one of the neatest parts of hygiene for me. He was pretty happy and seemed like he wanted me to call him after I was graduated. That felt pretty good.

The constant battle of a hygiene student

I think one of the parts that has been most difficult for me in this program has been patient cancellations and no shows. Its hard when so much rides on having the right people in your chair. Somehow it has all worked out, its just stressful when you have 4 quads of an exam no show on you. I have been pretty blessed to have at least someone come in so I don't have an unproductive clinic session. It amazes me how many patients are on the resource list. Good for us though. :)