Intra-oral PE

We were real today! We practiced inside the mouth! Staci and I were pod partners again (love that girl) and we got to practice doing extra oral exams on eachother. We both had some fun things that were different in each other's mouths. I had a leukoplaik (sp?) lesion inside the right cheek were I apparently have a cheek biting problem.....didn't know. Also, today Prof Costley had the idea to get the larger blood pressure cuff and VOILA I had normal blood pressure again! Great discovery. I also passed off my Vitals PE on Professor Costley and did great, except I forgot to have her uncross her ankles. Darn. But I know my stuff and I did good. So, that was clinic today! It's really fun to actually be practicing this stuff for real!

REAL Clinic

Today we actually got to do some REAL stuff! We were practicing with our fulcrums and actually in a patient's (fellow student) mouth! It was really a lot of fun. I am starting to really feel good about clinic. I feel like I am learning and progressing. I love to pass off my PE's. I feel such a sense of accomplishment. It's becoming a really fun class! I also practiced taking Vitals on some students and I am getting much better! It's fun to be doing stuff and actually be getting good. We also did an extra oral exam where we felt the nodes and sinus' of our fellow students head and neck area. It thought it was going to be kind of weird, but it wasn't too bad.

Taking Vitals

Today's clinic session was practicing taking Vital signs on our pod partners. It was very hard at first. I practiced first on Shalyce and I couldn't even find her pulse let alone do any other vital signs! But after practicing a few times on Staci and Tandem, I think that I am starting to figure it all out. Professor Costley came over to help us because we were clearly having problems trying to find out what to listen for. She did a BP reading on me and found out that my BP was high and told me that I'd have to get a physicians consult to be treated in the clinic. I've never had high BP before, but I'll just do the paperwork to cover all my bases. I think that after a little practice I'll be able to get better at taking vitals. I am also LOVING the girls in my pod. We have such a blast and are helping eachother to learn what we are to be doing. It's been fun!

Retrospect

At the end of this week in the Hygiene program I am feeling a lot more confident about what I'm supposed to be doing. I feel like I know my professors and they know who I am. I know a little more what each one expects and what things I should be doing/learning. It is still crazy to me that I am in the dental Hygiene program! I feel like I've been working toward this for so long...it's not possible that it's here. I look forward to new knowledge and information. I am on my way to a career!

We had clinic yesterday and it was a blast! I am really getting to know the other girls in my class and I feel like I am comfortable with the professors/instructors/ and TA's. We learned about how to conduce a Health History and it was fascinating to see what is supposed to be done and compare it to what has been done for me in dental offices in the past. I've never had anyone be so in-depth about a HH interview, but I can see the reasons that it would be helpful. I hope that I can get it down and become quick at it so I can use it in practice.

PE's

As we all filed into our pods to get started on a new clinic day last wednesday my pod was a little nervous. We had been practicing our PE's and were hoping to be able to pass one off that day. The first one is always hard because we don't know exactly what will be expected of us. But the 4 of us did our PE that day and luckily Prof. Costley said we did fine, so then we felt a little more excited and did another one that day. As I am going along so far in hygiene school, I'm realizing that I was more nervous that I needed to be. It hasn't been that hard yet and I am enjoying my instructors, professors, and classmates.

First clinic session

On Monday last week I had my first class in clinic. It was fun to get to know everyone. We did a get-to-know you game and the first question we had to answer was about your first kiss. Well, I've never had one and most of the girls couldn't believe that was even possible....oh well. Well, that lead to me telling them about Justin in Wisconsin....that opened a can of worms. Anyway, it was fun to get to know the instructors/professor better and to see them in action. I am glad that I have experience in the dental field, I think it will really help me as I am working in the clinic.
September 1, 2008 5:23 PM