DONE!!!

WOW!!! It is the end of the semester!!!  Two years just went by really really fast.  Looking back it has been a fun experience.  Not always did I feel this way especially in the moment.  Graduation is friday, and then I will be done with school forever!!!  Love it!

Relief

Wow it feels so good to get results back about boards!  I passed clinical and nationals!!!! So exciting.  I never thought I was going to be able to do it... But I did!!! Now just to wait for results for POC.  If I fail any test it will that one... And I have passed all the others so... I guess I shouldn't talk that way.  I am going to have faith that I passed POC and hope we find out our results soon...then it will be a bigger relief!!

Boards

What a relief it is to have clinical boards over, but the waiting for results isn't so much fun.  So, I am so grateful I passed LA... I felt like every thing that could go wrong went wrong.  I feel like I must have passed because of the way I handled every thing.  It was funny how my nerves made me shake so bad which made every thing harder.  I was so scared to open my envelope... I opened it and read it but was in such shock I really didn't know if I passed... But I did!! Then the next day was my clinical board.  The worst part of the day for me was waiting for my patient to show up.. But he did thankfully.  the other stressful part was that he answered his phone while I was cleaning him and talked for 7 mins... I was watching the clock.  It was hard to tell him to get off because he was Spanish speaking.  But I feel like it went well overall, and felt somewhat confident at the end of the day.

VA

So I have actually really enjoyed working at the VA.  It was a great place to get all those requirements like nitrous (which I got both requirements done there), perio medicament's, and panos.  I have gotten all great patients, well for the most part.  My last patient at the VA was a very nice man, but this is my experience with him.... I sat him down and the first thing he told me was that he had not brushed today, so that was a great place for me to ask, "How often do you brush?"  His reply, "twice a year."  Totally thought he was kidding.  Oh no once I got in his mouth I realized that he wasn't lying. Layers and layers of plaque... Made me sick.  Funny enough, no calculus or caries.  We discussed the importance of brushing daily but he was so against brushing.  Sad that nothing I could say changed his mind.  Good thing is, is that he does floss with hand flossers.... funny flosses but doesn't brush and also comes in for cleanings every 3 months.

Class 3's

So this whole semester I was so worried about getting class three patients.  Its funny how it all works out.  I have completed all my requirements for class 3's and what a relief it is.  So I have decided class 2's are harder for me than class 3's.  I love how it seems to be so easy to access the calculus and get it off on a class 3 compared to a class 2 whose gums are tight and it is harder to access subgingival calculus.  I feel like seeing all the class 3's we were required to see has made me a better hygienist.  I had some great class 3 patients... And am done!

Getting behind

So some how with boards and our crazy schedule I got behind in my blogging.  So of course I am going to catch up on our last week of school.  I cant believe how fast this program has gone by.  So many great memories and experiences.  Through my next posts I will tell you some of these experiences and memories. 

Half way done!

I can not believe it is already mid-semester.  I can not believe I have made it (almost) through the program.  If I can just make it through the rest of boards, the rest of the semester will be easy.  Well that is as long as I can get all my class three patients.  Thats the one thing I am stressed about.  This week we had mockboards, which I passed.  I needed that confidence going into real boards in what 3 weeks... Crazy!  Also I was so stressed about getting nitrous done, and luckily this week at the va i had a patient that wanted it.  Such a relief.  Well another week done not very many to go.

Another week down, a few more to go!!

This semester is really going by so fast..... Its going faster than I can keep up with.  This week in clinic I saw my class 4 patient.  Wow she had a lot of calculus.  It was a good experience.  I have never had to clean such mobile teeth.  I was so scared that I was going pull them out as I was scaling them.  I just fulcrum on them to help keep them in.  Also this week was convention.  Both classes I went to were great.  This is one of the better experiences I have had at convention.  Monday I take my POC board, wish me luck! Next post I will let you know what I think.

Time is Flying!!

Wow I can not believe how fast this semester is going.  Well I am posting for last week, because I got behind.  Last week I found my board patient! That is the most exciting thing that happened all week.  Now lets just hope he is reliable.  He doesn't speak english, but his wife does.  She seems so sweet and I think she will make him come, so she will be the reliable one! Ha ha.  Well now I am just crossing my fingers I do well at mock-boards so I can have some confidence going into real boards.  It feels like it is just around the corner.  Oh also this week we did our LA mock-board.  I felt like I did just little silly things throughout it.  I hope real boards go a little smoother and that I am not so nervous.

Another week in the life of a dental hygiene student

Well last week was a good week.  I found my mockboard patient at clinic and also had a good learning experience with that patient as well.  He was a bleeder... He bled and bled and bled.  Even after the appointment I had to hold gauze on his gums for awhile after his appointment.  I learned when your patient is bleeding so much you loose tactile sensitivity.  We decided to check his areas next time he comes in because he was bleeding so much at the end of the appointment.  His post-op instuctions were to give him advil and have him rinse with warm saline water.  Then I was ca at the va and I had the oppurtunity to see a class 1b patient.  Then we had sealant clinic to end the week.  All my patients were so good, it was a good sealant clinic.  Well another week down a few more to go.

Busy week

So this week was great for clinic... I found my class 4!!! But question if any one reads this.  What happens if she had just got x-rays taken at midtown so I could not take them for the eaglesoft project?  Let me kmow if any of you know.  Then I had va clinic on thursday.  I only saw class 5 patients... I feel like that is always what I see there.  Then friday I took the LA board.  Stressful... Hope I passed! Now I need to study for nationals... Wish me luck, i feel all studied out!

Another week done!

This week It was nice having monday off.  I used the day to study study for LA.  I feel like I am really getting the information down... So I better pass the test.  Then tuesday was mockboards.  My patient had so much calculus, and so what did I do? Oh I added teeth instead of just doing one quad.  Oops! Learned my lesson.  Then the la mockboard went really well... hopefully that is a good sign.  Then it was great I had wednesday and thursday off this week.  I used this time to study!  Friday was sealant clinic and it went fairly well.  One little girl had a really loose tooth, so Joy tried to help me wiggle it and see if we could get it to come out using topical.  The little girl did not like that at all... Im sure you all heard her.  So we stopped and she was great the rest of the appointment.  Now next week is LA board.. Wish me luck and good luck to all of the others taking it this week!

Wow the weeks go by fast....

Well 2nd week down!! I can't believe how fast it goes.  This week went pretty well for me.  I have clinic, va, and the sealant clinic.  The main thing that happened in clinic was I had a class II patient which was a pretty difficult class II.  I have to really remember to use the instrumenting techniques.  I noticed I was not leading with the toe/tip so I really focused on that and my goal is to make that become a habit.  At the va this week I saw an easy class v and a 1b.  I know i will get all those requirements done fast.  I was able to place arestin on my class v and I am starting to feel really comfortable placing them.  Then at the sealant clinic today I was able to do a cleaning on a cute girl and fix one sealant.  It went so smoothly.  It was a good week and now we are down to 13 weeks!! Right?

First week of my last semester ever.... DONE!!

Wow I can not believe that school is coming to an end soon.  Week 1 of 15 weeks is over.  14 more to go.. Yah!!  Well the first week went pretty well for me.  I had clinic on Tuesday, which my morning pt was a class II.  I got her all cleaned and did alot of sealants.  It was great because I got to pass off the sealant PE and airpowder polish PE.  Then I saw a fairly easy class V pt in the afternoon, and passed off my infection control PE.  I have made a goal for myself that I am going to work on PE's at the beginning of the semester so that I don't have to worry about them at the end.  After clinic on tuesday I didnt have to go back until friday.  (But of course I studied for boards on my days off.)  Friday was so fun going to the school and do screenings on the kids, they say the funniest things!  Well now I just need to find pts for next week.. So wish me luck, and before we know it week 14 will be over!