The Light

Wow.  What to write about.  Mini Graceys my friends.  Are you like me and you've never used them before?? Ever?  Now is the time to get them out.  Holy smokes they are awesome.

I had 4 Q of a Class III this morning.  Great nice young guy who has never had his teeth cleaned.  It was encouraging to clean him, because it was do-able.  My last Class III was infuriating.  No matter what I did I felt like it wasn't enough.  Also, I scaled all four quads in about an hour and a half.  I felt good about that.

Lunch = NCUR.  It was interesting.  It took me back to doing my research presentations at the U.  It was like the last thing we had to do before graduating.  It was fun to see projects.

We BOOKED it back to Clinic, huffin and puffin up the stairs.  Brought my patient back (referred from Dr. Salmon's office), I was being kind of mopey about treating someone who seemed somewhat different to me, but when he got talking I got back into the practitioner mode and wanted to help him.  Here he was seeking out help and I was the gal.  Really, MeChel ended up being the gal.  It worked out perfectly.  I did his OD while MeChel cleaned 2 quads of a Class V, then she jumped right on over and is currently treated my patient who ended up being a Class IV!  She'll get 3 quads because he is missing a lot of teeth.  She is a trooper, he ended up needing Oraqix, injections and nitrous.  Phew.  You've got to work for those quads!  Clinic is turning into a swap-fest.  People working in other people's units, switching all over the place.  It is kind of fun, in a topsy turvy sort of way.

Thank you to Leigh for charting for both my patients today, Michelle and Karen for cleaning up my room and everyone else who always helps me all the time.  I am becoming somewhat nostalgic for these times.  Today has been the first real day I am feeling that.  I took an AWESOME picture of how my scrub bottoms scooch down and my shirt scooches up when I have my lab coat on leaving me and my G's QUITE exposed.  :)  Thanks for taking it Sarah.  I did get some dang good pictures of fellow classmates being their clinician selves.  It was good.  I'll post them when I get home.

Kristie brought CUPCAKES today!  Holy cow, what an angel.  They are delicious.  And I got some dang cute pictures of Taylor getting her teeth worked on by Mommy.  You can thank me later posterity.

NOTE TO LEIGH:See below and listen to the WHOLE thing.  :)




Sarah and Leigh did the Diagnodent on me, it was quite an EXPERIENCE!  (har har)

3 Day at the VA

It has been quite awhile since I saw 3 patients at the VA.  It has been really nice to finish my morning patient BARELY after the last 9:30 pt has been seated, thereby leaving my AMPLE time for relaxation before lunch.  Today, however, I was not so lucky.  Done to early.  :)  I saw some really nice people though.  I need to do some hand strengthening exercises (thankfully my hubband spent WAY too much money on some grip things so I can use those) because my hand was cramping like MAD on my morning pt.  To give myself a break I would pretend to be switching instruments or wiping something off on gauze, but really I was just resting.  How embarrasing is that?  I only took 2 PA's today, but next week I am going to get a MeChel Day (8 PA's and 2 Q of a III - lucky dog, thanks to Karen pt swapping) and be sitting pretty.  My patient in the afternoon was brand spankin new, needed pano, bwx, and full charting.  He was a 1B and yes I was the last one done, HOWEVER he had a lingual bar from hades, so I am using that to defend myself.

One of my grievances in school is that we treat patients who are mild-severe periodontally involved, but when we get out into the world of General Practice (where most of us are going, at least at first) we will be seeing LOTS of braces and lingual bars.  Well, how many of my Class III patients do you think have a lingual bar?  Seriously, put your guess in the comment section.  In other words, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CLEAN A LINGUAL BAR!  

Boardy Boards

Things I may want to remember at some point in my life about boards.

I picked my patient up at her house.  I had to leave ESPECIALLY early to do this.  I was proud of myself for waking up.

Small talk was a little awkward on the way there, a little more so on the way home.

We got here ay 7:30am, clinic entrance time is 8:00.  I took pulse and blood pressure.  All good.  She didn't want any muffins or juice.

We walked in, sat down, and I made the biggest mistake of my life.  I checked her teeth with an explorer.  I started DB of #31.  nothing.  That freaked me out.  Shouldn't that be a prime spot for calculus growth?!?  So, I non-sequentially explored around with fear in my heart.  I got her all ready and the Chief Examiner checked.  She went to the examiners.  I watched her walk to the door, and saw my $1200 go down the drain.  Not really.  Actually, I was just getting mentally prepared to go get my backup patient from downstairs.  I figured IF ANYTHING my second submission on my first patient would qualify.  She was one of the first to go back and the LAST to come back to me.  But there was no ITC, instructing me on what to do.  Miracle.  Her first submission went through.  Wow.

I sat her down.  Picked up the triple bend ultrasonic, and was shaking like crazy!  I never shake!  Eventually my nerves settled and I cleaned away.  I felt done in about an hour, and that was after checking, air drying, scaling, rechecking, re-ultrasonicing, air drying, rechecking, and on and on and on.

Walked her out and cleaned up!

Towards the end of her cleaning my head was hurting more than usual.  I wasn't sure why and kept adjusting my loupes.  Eventually I realized that I had kept my safety glasses on and then put my loupes on top of them.  Wow, must have not been thinking.  And I hadn't even noticed it effect my vision at all.

I didn't use any extra instruments or anything.  By the time I cleaned up and went downstairs, Candice had beat me to it.  She was waiting for me.  I grabbed a muffin and we were out of there.

I didn't realize how exhausting the stress/schedule of that week was, but I have been sleeping A LOT since then.  Nap Saturday afternoon.  Nap Sunday afternoon.  Nap Monday afternoon/night.  Wow.

Candice and I before excited to get this show on the road!

Lessons Learned

Today I learned something about the StepWedge process.  The films HAVE ALREADY BEEN EXPOSED!  So all you have to do (if you are the lowly CA) is develop them.  Wow.  Good to know now that I won't be doing it again for the rest of my life.

Also, Heather McKay knows sign language.  How cool is that?

Also, when you open the Pelton & Crane Autoclave (even if it has been venting for some time) STAND BACK or you will get steam burned on your face and chemical up your nose.

Also, the Pita Pit is yummy.

Also, being CA at Weebs is so much better than being CA at the VA, because you stay BUSY!  It is nice to have so much to do, and makes the day go much much faster.

Possibly more to come.

Cheer Tryouts

Today at Local Anesthesia Clinical Boards I was reminded almost EXACTLY of Cheer Tryouts in Jr. High.  Everyone huddled together in a room (locker room), stressing about their time to go, jealous of those who got to go first, getting reports back from those who had already gone.  The support of everybody, friends, husbands, (moms) cheering each other on and struggling with let downs as if they are your own.  For those who had to try again, it was just a callback.  And we always said that callbacks were good, because you got another chance to show the judges why they should chose you!  I got done about 12:15, but hung around just to be with everybody and provide the support that you all gave me. 

I love you all, no matter what the outcomes were today.

Job Interview

For Sarah Borseth Morris.  This is how you answer that question.  :)



You can't go wrong following in the footsteps of Michael Scott.

Glory Glory

So many of my blog titles have to do with "Glory Glory" or "Hallelujah", because I just feel so jubilant when clinic day is over.  It is overwhelming.  Once I'm here I like it, but when I'm in my bed in the morning it's a little much.  So, today was good.  Well . . . this afternoon was good.  The morning I saw a Class III lady.  Three quads.  She was freaking hard.  That or I am getting worse, maybe both.  I HATE HATE HATE the communication barrier so I can't fully explain things to her.  Her bottom teeth may/will/probably fall out now that her lingual calculus bar is gone.  And subgingival anterior radiographic calculus!  Freak, the anatomy up there is impossible.  So I may/will/probably not get an A in clinic this semester.  meh.

lunch - Institute Arby's fast because MeChel, Karlie and I were working into the wee hours of lunch.

afternoon - 2 1A's.  Thanks to MeChel Berrett for helping me TREMENDOUSLY, by doing sealants on the 6 year old and getting me any willy nilly thing I forgot for the 10 year old.  What a peach, an angel, a savior, a friend, a confidant, etc.  

Speaking of that peach, a patient that my Dad referred to me, to the clinic, to MeChel qualifies as a board for Mechie.  Hooray!