Real Patient Day

Today was awesome! I was able to work on my fiance and gain a great learning experience with real patient care.  Today went fairly smooth with no bumps.  I even was able to scale and check off and entire quad! Yay for that!  Evan was a great patient, and such a good sport to sit there for hours.  I took xrays today and I didn't need to take any retakes! That is a bonus in itself for sure.  Charting went super well, and I didn't need to fix anything. I worked with instructor Allen. She is the best. So reassuring and makes you feel like you are doing well. This was a great experience.

Group Effort

MeChel: Clinic today was OK... I murdered Sam's gums, but what the hey!
Sam: I'm glad MeChel survivded my braces, the ultrasonic helped in places.
McCall: I had a piece of calculus and was mad, but after Stephanie picked it off, I was glad!
Kristie: I poked Tanya once really hard, so she went running to the Boulevard.
Tanya: Kristie poked me pretty well... geez I hope it doesn't swell.
Heather: No need to freak, it was just a gleek!
Marianne: 25% PFI on Monday, 75% TODAY!

Whitnee: The ultra sonic scaler is so stellar!!
Marcy: I bled like hell, isn't that swell.

Last Mock Day

Today was pretty good if I do say so myself. I finished MeChel's entire Tx!...and I was the first one done.  Pretty cool. I still took forever to scale though, so that pace needs to be picked up. It seriously is going to take a lot of practice to be able to be at the pace needed in a general practice after I graduate.  I was able to use the ultrasonic scaler today for the very first time.  It feels kinda awkward in my hand, and it is a lot more difficult than I thought, but that is how this entire semester has gone...everything is harder than what you think.  But I'll be ok, I just need to practice...but my practice will be on real patients this time and not students...yikes.  I finished and passed off my LAST PE of the semester! WOOT WOOT! I didn't think that day would come with that huge stack we had to tackle.  My motivation is starting to deplete....good thing the semester is almost over...I just have to get through a few more weeks...just keep swimming, just keep swimming.....I get to work on Evan on the 22nd...I am pretty excited about that. He will be a great first legit patient.  I hope all goes well. Have a good weekend everyone....Sam

I'm becoming more legit..... :)

Today, and Wednesday I get to be the operator all week, working on the lovely MeChel Berrett.  She is a good little patient, and very patient with the full mouth probing I had to tackle today! I would like to become quicker at that...and the sooner the bett-er por favor.  This mock patient week is really a good lead in to when I get to work on Evan on the 22nd. I get one more chance to cement a little bit more of the routine I need to follow.  For some reason I was a little nervous today. Maybe because the end is near of all the student practicing, and the real deal is literally right around the corner...I did really well though, and was able to get one quad finished and checked off! So Wednesday, I will only have to focus on 3 quads and the remainder of the Tx....Pretty cool I think...and it is also reassuring to know that I am moving at a pretty good pace, and not at a glacial one.  Glacial = bad.  I am still a little confused on phasing Tx and knowing what to phase when, without knowing how far I am going to get in the appt.  Also, the whole PFI/BFI and how many surfaces to count...is it 4 or is it 6?! Do we go off the clinic manual which says 4, or what instructors are saying, 6????  Massive confusion.  I am just going to be consistent and stick with 4....It's what the clinic manual says people!  But hopefully the final say will come soon on that behalf. Alright people I am off to bed....Monday's are soooooo long.  See you all and your lovely faces tomorrow!....P.S. I love that Christmas music is playing! It's getting me excited...wahoo :) ....Sam

Carved Soap!

Marilyn is amazing.  She carved a bar of soap into a tooth for everyone it clinic, to practice angulation when scaling. My tooth is awesome!  Today was a pretty fun day. It was Instructor Hafen's birthday so she brought cookies, I passed of 3 PE's and I learned the ultrasonic scaler. I still am not a fan of the ap polisher, and am SO glad that one is done and over with.  fl2 is fun to apply.  Foam fl is still my favorite, even though it isn't the most effective.  Next week is mock pt day. It's me and MeChel for the next 2 weeks. Me first then her.....I am excited! Everything is coming to an end and the real deal is so close!  And BONUS I only have two more PE's to pass off! HAPPY DAY!!!!!!!  Today in Rad lab we get to take bwx on each other so I look forward...my phone is ringing so off I go....See ya Monday...Sam

Pure Chaos

Today was a good day...super busy...and now looking back at it in retrospect, it was a pretty chaotic one in clinic.  I mean, we only passed off one PE, but we did a lot of stuff in what seems a short amount of time.  rc polish, tb, tp, df, fl varnish, ap polish, charting, sealants, tx planning, and all of that x's 2. Madness. I did love the sealant part of the day though. I haven't ever placed a sealant in my life, and as it turns out, I am actually pretty legit.  Prof. Costley checked mine to make sure they were done...I'm holding my breath this entire time...but she actually said they were "beautiful" and she was kinda pleasantly shocked when I told her these 3 sealants on McCall were the first 3 sealants I have ever done.  She was actually impressed. That made me feel so great. Prof. Costley passed off my sel polish PE today as well...my first one EVER with her. I liked it. She just let me do my thing, and giving great pointers as I went along.  It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.

Today has been the longest day ever. It's never ending, and it's almost 10pm and I am STILL going at the never ending pile of studying....keep in mind I haven't stopped since 7:30 this morning! I need some sleep. Good thing I get to school tomorrow at 7:30 so I can review all the muscles before the quiz.  bleh...make it stop! ha ha jk, but seriously so much.  Peace out everyone, my pillow is calling...Sam