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.