Thank you Karlie for such a great Christmas party! It was so fun to spend some time together in the service of others. Thanks to everyone who hung around or came back for the party. It was a success.
Team K (missing Karlie and Heather)
Team R
El Presidente getting those pizza's ordered. Don't mess.
Beautiful Whitnee.
Our crazy driver and friend, Meesh
A face only a mother could love.
Rockin it at ROSS.
Leigh is a professional wrapper by night.
Seriously friends, thanks! Have a fabulous holiday.
What emotional response does this picture evoke in you?
I think we all agree that today's presentation was leaps and bounds better than last years. She has an amazing lip-movement capacity and pronunciation. Extra credit: What muscle of facial expression would make that possible?
It was better on the following fronts. Length. Topic. # and detail of clinical studies. # of times we heard the word "patent". # of head shake/wiggles.
ONE MORE DAY OF SKULL THIS WEEK! wow. mom. that's cool.
Don't get me wrong, it was a good day. It just wasn't the Red Letter Day I was unrealistically hoping for. Last week I really sat down and planned today's schedule though and it turned out quite well.
Mr. "You're going places Gal" who has been "so impressed" got all done in the early morning. 2Q Class II.
Mr. Espanol (again no translator, boom baby) was walking out by 11:00am. 2Q Class III.
lunch, BK with MeCh and Karlie. I thought I left my lunch at home, but MeChel found it in the car on our way to BK. So that turned into my after clinic meal.
Here is where it all went pink. My high-high-unrealistic hopes were to see a 12 year old, take bwx and pano, prophylaxis, Diagnodent and PE, and sealant and PE BEFORE my next patient came at 2. :) Don't laugh at me, I was shooting for the stars. Well, it didn't go as planned. I did do bwx, prophylaxis and Diagnodent PE. The sealants would have been great except that she had 30+ readings from the Diagnodent on ALL her 2nd molars. Let's just say she sucks at home care and I don't even feel bad using that verbage for her because she completely sucks at it, her mom is a hygienist, and she KNOWS why she should take better care of her teeth she just doesn't because she is a mental 12 year old who wouldn't hold still during radiographs because she just likes to be irritating and eeew, I could go on! Yucky. Anyway, she had all permanent dentition so that took awhile, plaque everywhere and I didn't ultrasonic her BECAUSE I AM AN IDIOT!! Also, when I told her mom that I couldn't do sealants because of the Diagnodent readings she was not happy. I talked to Alexander who talked to Dr. Anderton who did not want to talk to the Mom, so Alexander talked with the Mom. Anyway, it wasn't good and took TOO LONG!
So, I brought my next 11 year old patient back way too late. 30 minutes after I told them to be there. :( But, she was a really CUTE and NICE 11 year old. She doesn't have great home care, and grows plaque/calculus like CRAZY, but your attitude determines your altitude you know? Anyhoo, couldn't do sealants on her either because of carious lesions. Sad. I DID use the ultrasonic on her and that was practically it. Going through each surface and scaling is what took me 100 years on my first afternoon pt. It was interesting though on my second patient to see the eruption process in REAL LIFE!
She still had one primary tooth hanging on for dear life, and I really tried to "accidentally" get it out, but I couldn't. We encouraged her to wiggle it A LOT and hope it comes out in the next week or two. She had some interesting erythmatic lesions on her gums though and Alexander said it just comes from the tooth erupting. BTW, love Alexander. She is just so laid back and nice.
So all in all, a productive day. If only I could have done a pano and some sealants. Ah well.
Thank you to Heather M for charting for me, Leigh, Kristie, Whitnee for helping me clean up my unit. MeChel for doing my Treatment Plan for my fourth patient, Karen for bagging my instruments, and whoever else did all the rest of the crud I didn't do! Wow, thanks friends.
When class time lends itself to a blog post, you know it was a good one. Today's discussion included Bisphosphonate usage, Drug Use/Abuse and then Oral Art (piercings, etc). Really I think it was that there were SO many unanswerable questions going on, such as, "Why would somebody do meth?" "Why don't they care that their teeth get all yucky from that?" "I knew somebody who . . . why?" that my mind began to wander and entertain itself with Office vids.
After Alexander said that Marijuana looks like Oregano I REALLY wanted to find the clip from Frame Toby of Michael getting "drugs" from the warehouse guys, which is really just their salad toppings or something. Good stuff. The Office will never be the same without Michael Scott.
Anywho, other great things about today.
Kayla finished off my eggs. :) Chris sent me out the door with a whopping bowl of eggs, which I could not finish, and instead of dumping them in the garbage Kayla finished them. Love her more and more.
While talking about clinical signs of methamphetamine use the word "Formication" came up. You want to be careful whilst saying this word, Alexander certainly was. It is the sensation of insects crawling on the skin. FYI.
Hyperactivity is another effect of meth use, such as hair flipping, which caused a short upset as to the origin of MeChel's constant hair flip. However, that suspicion has since been resolved.
My mouth was feeling yucky during class, and all I had in my backpack was a tin of mints that I got on my honeymoon (over 4 years ago) that has been in my bag ever since. I tried to open it, couldn't. MeChel tried to open it, couldn't. I tried again, the tin flipped out of my hands and onto the floor making a ruckus in the process. Karlie Nichols tried to open it, couldn't. Finally Karlie Willard Weeks tried to open it, SUCCESS. So . . . now we all know who has superhuman strength.
Thank you Karlie for the quote of the day and for such a great narrative to listen to for 7 hours today. :) Her adult male patient asked to use the restroom and her reply was, "Yeah, now would be a good time for a potty break." It was pretty great.
MeChie was the CA today so that lent itself to lots of good fun, a perio charting accomplice (asleep or awake works), and a great clean up crew. I was the slow mo today AGAIN. And I was feeling so bad for keeping the whole carpool around that I completely forgot to entire my afternoon patient in TalEval. Oops. MeChel to the rescue again, entered all his info on her iPhone on the way home, but neither of them have been verified so McConaughy probably gave up on me pretty early and went home.
I did place lots of Arestin today, which was great. Saw a #4 with 8mm of recession on the distal lingual, witnessed a 10mm pocket that McConaughy discovered, finished one Tx Plan Rationale for a 1B, ate lots of Rolo's at lunch, enjoyed hearing Emily laugh with her patient about duck hunting. I love Emily's true genuine laugh. It warms my soul. What else can I tell you? Didn't see any 1B's today, what a miracle.
You can't go wrong on a day that you wear your trouser socks. :)
Wowzers, you can just call me Mariá. I spoke to my Spanish speaking patient this afternoon for 45 minutes without a translator. Boom baby. Tienes preguntas? Class III, 2 quads done. Freaking Brooke got a class III done start to finish this morning. Raising the bar. I used to feel so good about getting 2 quads done, but now it is sub-par. :( Ah, there go my guilt free days.
On a better note, if you need motivation to do PE's I know the gal for you. Her name is Kristie Muhlstein and she resides at Unit 9 on Tuesday between 7:30am - 4:30pm. She is the best. 4 PE's today, in the afternoon. Calculus Removal, Root Rebridement, Local Anesthesia, and Ultrasonic. BUT Jenn specifically told me she did not want to be hounded thinking she was going to do 4 PE's for everyone all the time so . . . tread lightly.
I am kind of doing a flip flop post. My morning man was a class II. Nice guy. Only did half his mouth (You don't have to tell me I suck, because I am WELL aware), but he was so nice. He told me that I was on my way. As in, "Wow Gal. I have just never had someone work so hard and be so thorough. You were so great. Wow, you are on your way Gal." :) It was pretty cute and funny. Onward and upward.
Hello. Today I made a revolutionary decision. I wore Trouser Socks that my mother gave me for Easter some years ago. They were awesome. My feet were un-anesthetized. They hurt a bit by the end of the day, but it was certainly a step up from last week.
Photo Credit: MeChel
Photo Credit: MeChel
I am VERY sorrowful to tell you that I was flexing in that second pic. Wow, Chris is right I need to exercise more often. And if that bulge above the sock don't prove it then you are in denial.
Today turned out to be fine. Class V in the morning, who has worked his way up from Class II/III last year. Very positive sign for him and his systemic health. BOTCHED some vertical radiographs on this patient, retook some good horizontal ones which got lost in the computer system based on my idiosity not to open a new template. Dumbies.
Lunch - no dessert, but I did go get a flu shot with Sarah and Kristie, thanks for the prompt Sarah!
Then I saw a 1B. That's right a 1B. I thought for sure she would have had more perio than that! When we walked in from lunch I knew she was my patient. She was very overweight and I assumed that she was on lots of medications (I was right). When I called to make and confirm the appt I spoke with her mother, which I thought was odd for a 25 year old. This is my first clue that something was a little off. I was a tich worried that she wouldn't be comfortable or able to be accommodated in clinic, but it turned out good and great. She was very easy and fun to get along with, and as you know she ended up being a 1B and even though I took my dear sweet time during HH and radiographs, I did finish her. My largest mistake of today was that I did NOT do a blood glucose on her even though she A) She has diabetes B) Had not taken her blood glucose that day C) Was ok with me doing it. I just couldn't get up the mental energy to go get the stuff. Lame, I know.
If you can't find your patients chart Mr. Soloman and Heather may spend the next hour looking for it. You all may look in every possible place at least 3 times. You may have to have your patient RE-fill out a health history. You may waste at least 15 minutes of your precious time to look for it and figure out what the protocol is for a lost chart. And you know what the problem may be? It may have been filed under his OTHER name. Bernie. Oh duh, why didn't I think of that? Lesson learned. (I have used this If You Give a Mouse a Cookie before. I am always repeating myself.)
Um . . . 4 quads of a class III today. Done and done. My first patients family is wanting to come to me. For the possibility that they are mockboard/board material YES I WILL!
I wore my Dansko's for the first time today. For the morning they were great. For the afternoon my feet have been numb for the last 2 hours.
The best surprise of clinic is when I walk out to the front desk to put something back and CAMDEN and MOM are sitting in the waiting room! Elation!
Brooke, Kristie, Whitney, MeChel, Sammie, Leigh Leigh, Heather MaCKay are sitting here watching me blog. :)
Brooke found these ROCKIN gloves over in Sterilization. We had to model.
Laser Lady (Joy) spoke to us today in class. She did a great job, and for as confusing as lasers are I liked how she simplified a lot of it to words/analogies I could understand.
We also did Patient Education skits today. And what would this blog be without a few memorable quotes from the presentations.
Radiographs
"Did I tell you that I recently got into underground cage fighting?" -The always beautiful Jamie Jensen
"I was in Vegas for an underground cage fight when I got a quick hit to the ribs."
Periodontal Disease
"I'm going to stick . . . I mean insert this probe." -Kelsey the hygienist to Adrienne the extreme smoker patient
Oral Hygiene
"Oh, I wish I could open that wide." -Brooke the arthritic pt while handling Emily's typodent to show c-shape flossing
I have a false sense of freedom after Tuesday's mockboard. Here is what I learned from that experience;
1) Alexander is awesome for getting us ice cream after that day. Indescribable happiness came from that TLC.
2) If you failed, better luck next time. If you passed, it doesn't mean you're going to pass your real boards so . . . don't get complacent.
3) Some people like to freak out, a lot, for no real reason.
4) Helping Mr. Soloman out of the goodness of your heart will pay off sooner or later.
5) Passing mockboards and "doing well" are not necessarily the same thing.
6) I cleaned the HECK out of my patient's root surfaces and missed 4 spots of calculus right underneath the contact. Nice. Lesson learned.
7) I love myself for saving an entire set of instruments for boards that will brand spanking new. :) Eradicate that worry.
8) I need to find an EASY Class II to clean for mockboards. No deep pockets and severe disease for me. It is all about patient selection.
This false sense of freedom needs to stop soon because I have LA tomorrow, an LA test this weekend and the Patient Education paper/project. What will it take for me to get this WAKE UP CALL.
I have a hard enough time articulating Frances McConaughey's entire last name to begin with, so when I am in a constant dither over whether to call her Inst. Prof. Dr. or Ma'am let's just say difficult is an understatement as to how hard it is for me to SPIT IT OUT.
Frances + Me = Disaster. Let's just accept that this is true. I think I have found the underlying cause of this issue. I try to be all things informal. I think she tries to be all things formal. It reminds me of the following quote from The Office Season 3 Episode 13.
Dwight had a big personality and I have a big personality and a lot of times when two people like that get together it can be explosive. -Phyllis
Once again at the VA today we had a little run in. Maybe not a run in by other's perspective, but by mine it was. Sigh, I just need to be on my BEST behavior when addressing her and no funny business because it always just ends up with me feeling like a dingle-idiot.
So Frances, I mean Prof/Inst/Mrs McConaughey I apologize. Better luck next week.
In other news, I tx 3 patients today start to finish. Two class V's and one class II. Had some CRAZIES today, poor Brooke. :( However, if my calculations are correct we only have 3 more days at the VA this semester. Praises.
I swear I am not stressed, but the frustrations that come out in my dreams would suggest otherwise.
Nightmare #1
I had traveled very far on a bus to get to a place where I could treat my patient. I am interpreting this as getting to the VA. The destination was a park, and I met my patient who was an East Indian guy. He was a Class III that I had already completed 2 quads on. I was looking forward to finishing the other 2 quads that day at the park, but some government of his said that I couldn't treat him. I was livid. I remember having to travel home on the bus, and feeling it was a waste of my time so I complained to Dr. Hanson about a swollen joint in my hand (my right hand had like 2 LARGE swellings on it) so I got to go home. Relief.
Nightmare #2
It was mockboards. I didn't have a patient so I just grabbed a relative of mine to sit in, figuring at least he would be better then nothing. We were about to get started, when the Head Examiner (Alexander) asked if all of our patients truly qualified for mockboards or if we were just using them because we didn't have anyone else. I of course was trying to get away with the latter. So, I had an ethical dilemma. Do I lie or just pretend like he qualified for mockboards? Thankfully, I told the truth and said that he was just filling in because I had nobody else. Alexander made me leave the room and I was not allowed to participate. Again, I was livid. Is that the theme here? Do I feel a loss of control? I'm not sure, but I always wake up with a sore jaw from grinding stress, and I've got the massaters to prove it. Of course it is hard to put into words that existential experience of dreams, but it's better than nothing.
I just finished The Hunger Games. It has pervaded my life. Hence Mockingboards = Mockingjay + Mockboards. I told MeChel today that I couldn't come to Burger King without a coupon because I am just a girl from the Seam.
Wonderful H-dawg came in today. He is so punctual and such a nice guy. We took 4 PA's for mockboards (his lower right DID qualify!) and then cleaned his left side. Freaking hard calculus, as well as a very tough guy. No numbing. After my 6 or so errors, I made a resolution. TO OVERTHROW THE CAPITAL! (jk) My real resolution was to sharpen all my instruments after each patient, which I did today. Almost as important as breaking all of Panem free of oppression.
Now a lab. Dullsville. Maybe I could get some Morphling to get me through it.
In Collaboration with MeChel Berrett.
Disclaimer: If you have not read The Hunger Games, this may not make sense to you. Get on it.
