clinic checkout

usually I really hate clinic checkout because I have never been missing instruments but this semester has been out of control! I swear everybody is missing instruments. I have no idea what the deal is but why can't people just read what is written and put it is the right bin. is that so hard!!? i really hope that I find my handpiece today. that is like the worst thing to lose!

last clinic day! one semester to go!

I can not wait for christmas break! it is going to be so nice to sleep in study a pinch and not have to worry about class or tests! really I just love christmas! I just have to find some way to not think about school... it tends to ruin the best days.

d-i-a-g-n-o-d-e-n-t! how i hate you.

so I got the diagnodent out today and I really did know what I was doing but the supid thing would not work! I kept getting an error, so after an hour of trying to get it to work I still don't get credit for it. I don't think I would hate it so much if it didn't take so long! I have 4 PE's left that I have to have done before the end of the semester and I really am not sure if it is going to happen.

pre-med

having someone show up that needs to premed and hasn't is the worst thing ever. What a waste of time. The end.

darn eaglesoft.

I scheduled today so that I would see a 1B patient in the morning and be able to have time to do the eaglesoft project... he didn't need x-rays like I thought he did so I could do it. I also got him finished quickly so he could go, but didn't think to take the time to pass off any PE's. I am so behind in the PE department! I think that I have done 4. I am leaving myself so much to do next semester and I think that I am going to hate myself for it!

ready for boards?

At the VA on tuesday I was able to have a patient with calculus all over! It was so fun because it wasn't really tenacious. My professor helped me out and told me that she thought my scaling was very good and that I could pass the board today! what a compliment! I am not sure that I believe her yet but everybody needs a good confidence boost. I ended up missing 4 spots so apparently I am not that great but it made my day to have somebody tell me I was doing well. So often I feel like I have no idea how I compare and if I am up to the level that I should be. Im still learning but so glad I got out of bed at 5:30 in the dang morning to go to the VA today.

turned into a good day

So I woke up this morning not feeling well and I had no patients scheduled. I thought about not coming but I got out of bed called some people got two patients scheduled and WAM BAM! One of them was 2 quads of a class 3! when all is said and done I am glad I came and got the experience. but I have learned that sometimes the patient should be an easy cleaning but because they are nervous and super sensitive it makes the appointment just as hard as a class 4! oh well... I guess I'll have to deal with that in real practice so it will be good to know what to do.

mockboard nightmares!

last night I could not sleep because I am so anxious for mockboards to be here and over! it is a week away and I am already losing sleep! I was supposed to take x-rays on her today but she didn't show up, just one more thing for me to do the day of! clinic today was easy I had a kid and he was so funny! The whole time I was entertained. his grandma said she was nervous that he was going to misbehave but I think that me and the kid had enough in common that we had fun!

under the magnifying glass

I had a second year observe me today in the afternoon. It was really good! It made me be extra thorough because I know what she has been taught and I know that she would be watching for perfection (I was by no means perfect.) I also had her chart for me which was really helpful and my patient was so great. I completed my first class 3 exam without missing any spots! All I can say is I can't wait to have an assistant! and I can't wait to be GRADUATED!!

thank you Prof Alexander!!

I just have to give a shout out to Prof Alexander because today I had a class 3!!! First one and it was awesome. He was between a class 3 and 2. I feel like everyday I am getting better! I figured out the blue boa today and loved it (about time eh?) and I am getting pretty good at the ultrasonic! so even though my patient cancelled this morning my replacement was even better! (thanks Karina for letting me have him!). I just hope this afternoon goes as well as this morning did.

sigh of relief....

This morning I wasn't sure that I was going to have a patient but my mom was able to come which was a much needed relaxing clinic then I had a class two in the afternoon that was awesome!! He had tons of calculus but it came off so easily. He bled quite a bit though because his tissue were so swollen but he was a good sport. I really felt like a hygienist today! I just need to work more on my posture because my back is killing me!!! welp... that is about it. great day!

class 2 nightmare!

So I found my mockboard patient today! woo hoo! the bad news is that it took me the whole time to scale 1 quad and I still missed 3 spots! I am really worried that I am not going to do well on mockboard day... my patient on the upside is super nice and soooo sweet. I just really need to work on my lateral pressure and get a stronger fulcrum so I can really get under the clicks and pull them off! I will love the day when I stop burnishing calculus!!!

first day of clinic!

I am having a blast so far this year!! I feel like a million times more confident than last year. it is like a magic genie came and and gave me hygiene skills over the summer... or the first two patients that I have seen were super easy with hardly any calculus. Either way today has been great so far. I still need to work on adapting better there were a couple times that I think I did some tissue damage. OOPS!

clinic checkout

today is officially the last day of my first year! woo hoo!!!! I am so excited for second year. I got all the board review books and cards from my peer pal and I was going through some of the flash cards and I knew most of the answers! It seems like such a silly thing but it really boosted my confidence. I feel like I have learned a lot and it is sticking. hopefully that will make studying for boards a little bit easier (not that I expect it to be easy by any means!)
talk to you next year!!!!

reflection

I can't believe that after today I am finished with all of my first year classes. I feel like I have learned a lot and i have come a long way. I used to have nightmares about not being able to be a good hygienist and now I have dreams about working in an office and I rock! ;0). I am a little nervous for next year and boards, but I am so excited to further hone my skills and hopefully be as good as the hygienist I assisted before I got into the program. (that's my goal).
one class and four more finals! then it is summer time!!! well at least for a week before summer school starts! blah! what a girl has to do to get her bachelors...

the other 2 quads...

I was absolutely blessed this semester because as i was sitting around waiting for derek to come and pick me up from school (3 hours after class ends on thursdays!) Prof alexander came and offered me 2 quads of a class three which was all i needed to finish my requirements! she was like an angel! the downside was that my patient had a pacemaker and so I couldn't use the ultrasonic. I was really impressed with myself when I was able to hand scale 2 quads and only miss 1 spot! so proud of myself. the semester turned out ok after all.

last clinic day!

what a crazy day. I came into morning clinic to pass off 1 simple pe and I ended up doing a very long OD on a class three patient and charting and cleaning. much more than I thought! This afternoon I am seeing a class two and I have to get her done from start to finish! I really hope that I can. I wish i could have a relaxing last clinic day but I am glad for the experience. On the mesial of number 8 there was even exudate on probing! I was pretty cool! hopefully all this wraps up nicely.

class 3

My 2 quads of a class 3 came in today and it was fantastic! I only missed 2 spots in her whole mouth and she was so nice (even though she was deathly petrified of being at clinic). only two more quads of a three! I do have to say that my posture was awful today! I was doing so well but now I feel like i have taken a step back! I'll do better next week.
I can't believe that i am almost done with my first year! I really do feel like hygiene is something that I can do and something that I can be really good at! everyday I feel more and more confident with my ability to feel calculus I just need to work on really getting into the col area. I always seem to miss the piece right at the base of the col.

getting down to the wire

So I still have a pano, a sealant, 3 pe's and 4 quads of a class 3 that I need. I think that I can do it but the stars are going to have to align! I have two pt both with 2 quads of a three. hopefully one of those pts shows up today and Hopefully the other one will be able to find time in his schedule! I am so nervous! I wish that I was just done so that I could do these last few cleanings without stress! I wouldn't be so stressed about not being able to finish but if i have an incomplete grade than I won't be able to get my financial aid and then I won't be able to afford next year! I think I might die if that happens. i would not enjoy my summer!

my great day

last monday I had the best day ever. I had a true class 2 patient which was perfect because I needed to have an exam patient. I got her done in one appointment which was perfect. and she told my instructor that it was the best cleaning that she had at the clinic and she had been coming there for years! that was either the best compliment or best lie i have ever been told but either way I think I needed to hear it.

what got done!

I was able to pass off 3 PE's get a sealant and 14 PA's and 4 Bwx! that was a very productive day as far as requirements goes! I also took a name off the recall list and I am really hoping that she is a class 3. She is difinitely a class 2, which would be good too! Really I am just glad that I have patients for next week! Procrastination is really something that I need to work on.

strange day

Today in clinic I plan on passing off PE's and taking x-rays I won't actually be scaling any teeth today. I feel like I am going to fall behind if I don't scale 4 quads but in reality I need to get PA's and PE's more!

spring break

I really didn't want spring break to be over. I had nightmares about not getting all of my classifications and requirements. I came back and I am still freaking out but I'm so glad to put days behind me. only a few weeks left in the semester and then SUMMER! can't wait for that.

love VS hate

I am way behind on my x-ray requirements and we got an opportunity to come in on a friday and take x-rays for the seniors! I think that this will be a big help but in my mind I am already in spring break mode! I really don't want to go this morning but I'm really glad for the 2nd chance to catch up. hopefully I'll get to take a lot of PA's :) thats what I really need but I could take any kind of film and be glad!

2nd year pep talk

So my patient cancelled right when they should have showed up again! This blog could become the blog of sarah's complaints but today I talked to one of the second years and she gave me hope! I am feeling better. I really thought that I was going to have my first breakdown of tears! I really hope that things work out because I do feel like I have been working hard and I do feel like I deserve it. anyway that is all.

eval

So I really underestimated the calculus of my class 2 with braces patient. It took me one whole clinic session to clean 3 quads. It took a lot out of me, I felt like the worlds worst hygienist. but then I realized that it was my first class 2 that I have seen, the first braces patient I have seen, and she had never had a cleaning in her life, plus she didn't speak english. Maybe the goals that I set were a little unrealistic for me! I did work on my posture and I thought that I did pretty well with my indirect vision. One of the second years told me that after the summer you come back to 2nd year clinic and it is like magic, You scale like a pro! I really hope that happens to me!

goals

I want to set some goals before my cleaning today to push myself or I will never improve.
1. I want to finish scaling in 1 hour and 15 minutes (which is good for me unfortunately)
2. have good posture the majority of the time.
3. Adapt so well that she doesn't hate the handscale and ultra sonic.
we shall see how this goes!

great day!

It has been a really long time since I didn't have any mistakes or missed spots on a patient, but today was the day! everything went to smoothe! I even passed of two PE's which was desparately needed. I had shalyce watch me with my ultrasonic and she thinks that I am doing just fine which is a relief to hear because I was feeling like I was going at it blindly. It is nice to hear how I can improve and what I need to do to be better, but it is a breath of fresh air to hear that I am doing something right! anyway... it was a great day. I hope it continues to be as great!

sick

I got a case of food posioning and had to miss class! it was the most stressful thing to miss class. I missed a test and a guest speaker! it is all going to work out fine but I hate missing all that information! I really need to start to pick up the pace as far as staying on top of things! I feel like I'm falling behind in class.

uda

So this past weekend i went to UDA and it was pretty great. I missed the Udha convention because of swine flu so this was the first time i had been to anything like this. I Thought that the presentations that i chose to go to were really great! I learned a few new things and reviewed a lot of things that i already knew. It was also nice to be able to just go to a class and relax and not worry about a quiz at the end of class!
I'm in clinic today and I will be cleaning 2 1A's hopefully I will be able to finish! that would be awesome to have an 8 quad day! not that numbers are the only things that matter but it is nice to have a little more breathing room as far as requirements go!

a week without pts!

I have really loved this week so far. I love to have patients and do the service to them but the stress of... "are they going to show up?", "am i going to finish?", "do i have a patient", "I probably missed 12 spots!!"... thing like that! even though i am not sure if i'll finish my requirements but it is still nice none the less. yeah for this week! hopefully convention will be great as well.

1 patient in 1 appointment

Yesterday I finished a patient in 1 appointment! I am so excited! I really hope that I can get more done in 1. I am nervous that I am not going to meet my requirements... anyway that is the good news of yesterday.

what I have learned...

This might be ignorant, but I believe that of all the dental hygiene students I have the flakiest patients. I love all my patients and all of them have been really great to work with, but they never show up on time, they almost always move their appointments, and they always have to leave early! Now how is a girl to get anything done!? I have learned to never expect schedules to stay as you set them. I have learned that probing is not that bad. I have learned that no matter how crazy the start of the morning is trying to find patients the end of the day is always bliss because it has always worked out. I have learned that burnishing calculus is not a good idea and it is ok to open up the face of the instrument a little bit. I have learned that posture really does matter because I am already starting to feel the repercussions of my bad posture (gonna work on that). I have learned that I really wish I knew spanish. I have learned that I really do love what I am doing and I am glad I am at weber state. that is just the basics of what I have learned but I am getting better everyday!

this week...

This week I am going to set a goal to focus on the ultra sonic and get to the point where i feel comfortable using it. I use it and when I do it works well but I feel like I could be using it better and more efficiently. I am starting to feel really confortable with my universal instrumentation (there is still much room for improvement!). I am finally through with shakey hands though!! unless i'm passing off a PE, but i'm just exstatic that I won't always suffer from shakey hands! I feel like today is going to go great!

never on time!!

I am going to hop on my soap box today. I have only had one pt be on time... ONE! I am so sick of panicing at the beginning of every appointment. I worry that my pt is hurt or just plain forgot! i have all the bad luck in the world when it comes to clinic.
I have to clean all 4 quads today so i really hope that i can get done because i would hate to have him come back for a third appointment.

first 1A

I had my first patient cancel on me today and I freaked out! I was calling everyone frantically and I finally got my aunt to bring in her 4 year old son! she is the greatest woman in the world! He was really good and really quick. I felt really great too because I did get my instruments in there and scaled just under the gumline and he didn't feel a thing. I didn't believe my brother or either of my friends that I wasn't hurting them, but I believe the 4 year old! ;0)
I also passed off my sharpening PE, so yeah for me! I just hope that by the time march 3rd rolls around I don't have 10 PEs that I have to pass off in one day!
started out as a bad day but it turned out really great!

long weekend!

I love martin king jr day! it was so nice to have a break! I did however feel a little rusty on my pt today. I had my first pt that i didn't know and i was terrified! it turns out that he had tons of meds and conditions! it took me about 45 minutes just to get through the hhx and hhxrx! He was a very nice man though. I really was expecting at least a class two from a 73 year old but he is just a 1B! I think that I could have finished him too but he informed me that he had to leave at 2 instead of 3. bummer! I really need to have a patient done from start to finish in one appointment!!

Clinic...

So I finished another patient today and it took me 1 hour and 30 minutes to scale... she had hardly anything on her teeth! I really need to come up with some kind of game plan for efficiency! I only can have 2 more patients take more than 1 appointment... I'm so nervous that I'm not going to get my requirements and quads.
I also have made the mistake of scheduling new patients on Mondays mostly and we have no TA's on Monday, which means that probing is going to take forever!! I did feel a little more comfortable scaling today as opposed to Monday. I think I am getting a feel for calculus. I just get so nervous that, and when I get nervous it manefests in shaking hands. I have yet to pass off a PE that really showed what I can do.

first patient done!

The first week of school wasn't to bad. It is so fun to work on people that I know! I feel like I am doing better and getting more efficient. Today I finished my little brother up and I really should have scheduled another patient to get started on (I learned a lesson at least!) I scheduled a patient off of the resource list today and it is an older gentleman and I'm a little nervous for that! I really hope that he doesn't take a million medications! I also hope that he isn't extremely difficult because I'm not sure that I'm ready for that!
I really need to get better at adapting!! I am really good with the right side but awful on the left I have no idea why! I just have nightmares about being the hygienist that everyone hates because it hurts! I do have a good feeling about this semester though. I feel like it is going to go just fine! the only thing that really stresses me out is having to find my own patients! When am I really going to have to do that!