Complacent

I Had a couple of class V patients today and I feel like I'm ready for that patient with ridiculous calculus and deep pockets. I missed a spot today, but I feel it was because I didn't feel challenged. I need to have that crazy hard patient, so I can stretch myself skill wise. You could argue that I take a little long, but you will never have such great cleaning.

Mark, out.

Mockboard Experience

Today we had our first mockboard experience. I was going into the day without a qualifying patient. It all rested on a patient that I had been given the night before. I had 15mins. before it started to screen my patient. Luck of the Hygiene gods, the patient qualified. I had 30 mins to get the patient into the x-ray room and take bitewings and some PA's.
Well, I got done the x-rays and checked-in the patient. I finished the patient with 20 mins to spare. For a crazy start to the exam I was impressed with myself. I only missed 2 spots, and one I shouldn't have missed. The other was understandable. Anyway, I felt like I handled it well.

A Little Frustrated

Today at the VA Clinic I only had one patient, since the other "no showed", but it's starting to frustrate me that I take so long to finish a patient. I have struggled with this and it doesn't seem to be getting better. I need to cut my time in half and I feel like its never going to happen. I don't miss calculus that often, but when my scale time is over an hour, it's unacceptable. Sometimes I feel like I'm not cut out for this, but then I remember that I'm not a quitter. I just need to put more trust in my work and not scale every mm on every tooth, especially when I've used the ultrasonic before. I just feel like I'm letting down my patient and my professors when I miss something. I just need to find a balance.

Mark, out.

Recognizing The Unfamiliar

 So after seeing my perio compromised patient on Tuesday, I wasn't so overwhelmed today. I had never seen a patient with meth mouth that has progressed to such a level. It was surprising to me that when I looked in the mouth I knew exactly where to start and how to chart such a patient. It was kind of a light bulb moment for me. I felt like I actually knew what I was doing, and maybe one of these days, I will feel like a real hygienist.

Mark, out.

My First VA Experience

 I started my Veteran Affairs dental clinic rotations today and it was exciting. I really like the fact that I don't have so much pressure on scheduling patients. I also like that it feels more like the real world experience. Hopefully I can turn up my probing and scaling time to increase patient output. I honestly feel I can improve my scaling time by pushing myself and not have to worry so much about medical/dental histories.

Mark, out.

First Day Back In Clinic

It has been a long summer and it was good to get back into things, but the stress of patient management and the demand of organization can be a bit overwhelming. I wasn't able to get a patient into the chair for the morning, but I atleast I was able to find a patient to come in for the afternoon. I was rusty, I didn't even know where to start, so I took my time to chart, do x-rays, and discuss OHI. I never made it to scaling, but I don't have to do all the busy work the next visit.

Mark, out.

A Day To Remember

I headed into this last clinic with great optimism and excitement that I may finish all my requirements. I had 12 quads, 11PAs, one sealant, and one PE. I had one patient with 4 quads, and another with 1. I almost finished all five in one sitting. It was not my scaling time that held me back from finishing them, it was my probing and juggling two patients at one time. I ended up finishing 4 quads in the morning, but that left me with 8 more to go. After lunch I had permission to work on a couple of the hygienists because we thought their patients were not coming, but they ended up being a half hour late. So I ended up taking a 1b patient and I finished with some time to spare. My scale time continued to improve and I feel like I am where I should be for time per patient. But I still ended short.

I would like to say that this day to remember was one to be of capping off a great semester, but it was not. I will always remember this day as a reminder to finish my difficult requirements as early in the semester as possible. I was short 11 PA's, 4 quads, one sealant, and one PE. Time to step it up and become a scaling machine.

Mark, out.