Subbing can suck.

I'm pretty happy with my hygiene situation right now.  I have 1.5 days guaranteed at a fabulous office close to my house.  I pick up days (as we say in the industry) up to 5 days a week.  I like having certain flexibility, some weeks I work a lot, other weeks I hardly work.  It has it's upsides and it usually works really well, except for when it doesn't.  Here is the most recent frustrating sitch.

A lady asked me to sub the 16th and the 23rd.  She LEFT A MESSAGE on my phone about the days, etc, asking me to call her back.  I call her back, LEAVE A MESSAGE with a front office person that I CAN'T work the 9th but I CAN work the 16th (or something like that).  Then I realized I hadn't even responded to the days she had asked me (you'd think I'd be more organized, this is my LIVELIHOOD we're talking about). I realized my mistake, called her back, LEFT ANOTHER MESSAGE with ANOTHER front office person.  The hygienist then called me back and LEFT A MESSAGE saying she had gotten my messages and that she had me down for the 16th, but was going to get someone else for the 23rd.  At least I'm pretty sure that's what she said.

Anyway, of course the perfect storm comes yesterday when my PG friend asks me to work for her 7-1.  I say I am already working 7-5 at another office.  I tried to get somebody else to cover her day, because she is uncomfortable and having a hard time walking around without lower back pain, but nobody could.  I felt bad telling her I couldn't do it and nobody else had responded to my call.

This morning, I set my alarm for 6:15.  Snooze.  6:24.  Snooze.  Then my husband saying, "Marianne?" . . . 7:00am.  "suck."

Jump out of bed, nearly waking up the 7 month-old and 3 year-old that practically sleep on top of me every night, run to the bathroom.  I can get ready in about 5 minutes.  Go to the bathroom, put my contacts in, comb my hair back, get dressed, grab my loupes and as I'm running out the door I call the office I'm supposed to work at.  I am sick (a sick women getting up at this ungodly hour, psh) and I've lost my voice so I am like squeaking into the phone, "Hi!  I'm supposed to be working today, I am running late (NOT I just woke up) I'll be there in 5 minutes" and I hear on the other line "Um . . . I have you down for working the 23rd . . . "  Of course you do.  The eye of the storm.

So there are some upsides to this.  I called my PG friend and told her I'd be there to start her 2nd patient.  I am not working as long today overall.  I now will be working in an office where I have worked before and like.  I might be able to get off early enough to go to a staff meeting at my normal office that I thought I'd miss before.  I have time to write this post. 

Downsides to this.  I spent all day yesterday thinking I was going to be doing one thing and kind of dreading it because I'm sick.  My PG friend had to get her PG backside out of bed this morning way too early and go to work for 1 hour.  Miscommunication drives me CRAZY, as it is inefficient.  Meh.

Hats off to subbing!  And all it's future crappy situations.

True Story

I saw a patient today that HONESTLY looked like this, down to the fingernails.  Hilarious.  I had to stifle myself under my mask.

Mouth Crush

Do you ever find yourself getting a mouth crush on somebody?

Like you are so in love with their beautiful teeth that you start to have very positive feelings towards them as a person and have to keep reminding yourself that you don't really know them that well?

Or the opposite.  Start to have negative feelings towards someone with maloccluded teeth and periodontal disease?

Well I do.  Had a serious mouth crush today on a 50-something year old guy who has the teeth of a 20 year old.  I hope I didn't get a too chummy.

Eat Crow

Remember when Costley's definition on a slide came straight from Wikipedia?  Well, I'd like to follow suit (while we're using idioms, why not?)

Eating crow is a U.S. colloquial idiom meaning humiliation by admitting wrongness or having been proved wrong after taking a strong position.

Here's the story.

I subbed at my Dad's office last Saturday.  I have subbed there a few times since having Cleo, but on those occasions my first patient was at 2:00pm.  This time my first patient was at 8:00am.  Now on the previous occasions I had a hole or two in the schedule, which means I had some down time.  I have worked for my father for over 5 years.  I assisted until I got into hygiene school and I have done Payroll/Office stuff all the way through school and am still doing it.  Needless to say I know a lot of the ins and outs of the goings on there, especially what my Dad wants and all his weird little quirks (and there is a laundry list of them).  For example, he likes the tissue boxes to be taped to the counter top.  I imagine because it annoys him to pull on a tissue only to have the whole box come with it.  He likes us to ask, "What questions do you have?" instead of "Do you have any questions?"  He doesn't like the phrase "due for" as in "You are due for radiographs today" because it makes it seem impersonal that we are not taking the individual person into account when we take radiographs on a certain schedule.  If you haven't gotten the feeling yet he is VERY PARTICULAR about these types of things.  Patient relationships are huge to him and he is pretty selective about how we communicate to them.

Well, another thing he is picky about is being on time.  On time is late, and early is on time.  Friday night I was at his house and he reminded me to be there 15 minutes early.  Usually I just say, "Ok" or "I know", but he had reminded me to put tape on a tissue box earlier in the week which I felt was uncalled for, because OBVIOUSLY I KNOW!  Right?  So I kind of started in on him about I know I need to be there early and I know the tissue box needs tape on the bottom and I know to restock things when I take the last one and I know to write the date and price on every box I come into contact with, I know to keep the PIE form from last year so we know how to fill out this years, ETC!  (I could go on forever.)

Guess what happened?  I woke up late the next morning.  WOKE UP at 8:00am.  First patient at 8:00am.  I had set my alarm for an hour earlier, planned to pump a bottle for Cleo and get there early early.  Nope.  Sorry Cleo.  Instead, I pulled in to the parking lot at 8:20am.  Came flying out of the car with my loupes already on, hadn't even eaten or brushed my teeth!  Eew, RDH sin.  Megan, bless her soul, had already taken radiographs on my patient (a good friend) and my Dad was doing the exam.

Needless to say, I ATE CROW that morning.  And I hope to never have to again.

Idioms remind me of this.  Thanks Richie Rich.

Richie Rich: My crib? 
Herbert Cadbury: I believe that's street slang for home, sir, an idiom. 
Omar: Who you callin' an idiom?

Couldn't find a YouTube clip of it. 

Dear Patients

Dear Patients,

I love you.  I really do.  Generally.  However, there are a few things that I think you ought to know.

1 - When I am flossing your teeth, just keep your mouth open and jaw still.  You are NOT helping me floss by moving your jaw all around.  Maybe that helps you when you floss yourself.  Fine, do it for you, but it just irritates me when you do it.

2 - Stop feeling guilty.  I'm not asking how often you floss so I can yell at you and make you feel like a bad person.  I honestly want to know, because some people NEVER floss and NEVER get plaque/calculus/tartar on their teeth.  Other people THINK they are great flossers, but are doing a craptacular job, and other people floss all day every day but it still isn't enough.  I'm not trying to make you feel bad.

3 - Yes, I like to talk to you, but when I have my instruments ready and posed at your ever-moving lips that is my sign that it is time to put them IN your mouth.  Take note.

4 - I don't know what your insurance covers.  That is your job.  I am proud of you, if you know and can make me aware that they only cover Fluoride once a year, or BWX, or whatever.  You be in charge of that.

Um . . . that is all I can think of right now.

Thanks for coming in!  Nice to meet you! 

Marianne Moody, RDH

Kiddos

I have been thankful to be subbing in a fantabulous office quite a bit recently.  This office sees a LOT of kids.  Up until yesterday they were all perfectly good, fun, well-behaved children with their normal struggles, but really pretty dang good.  Well . . . yesterday I saw two kids that seriously tried my patience.  I don't know if it was because it was my 4th day of working in a row, or what but HOLY SMOKES I had to try dang hard not to freak out at them.  The girl (seven years old) kept grabbing my instrument while it was in her mouth.  I tried to take BWX of her brother (4 years old) and it was NOT going to happen.  I had explained holding as still as a statue, so at one point he clamped down on the phosphor plate (like 1 of 4 size 0's) and may have permanently ruined it he bit down so hard.  Dang freaking annoying kids.

Morterboards

I didn't feel like I was a big fat loser for getting an Associate's Degree when everybody else was getting a Bachelor's Degree until the last week of school.

"Oh the Excellence in Service Award that you completed 8 modules and lots of paperwork to get, that can only be awarded to those getting a Bachelor's Degree."

"Oh, the purple and white striped honors cord?  That is only for those getting a Bachelor's Degree."

"Oh, the black robes and yellow tassle?  That is only for Bachelor's recipients."

"Oh, if you are getting an Associate's Degree you need to stand at the END of the line, by yourself, not talk to any of your friends and your name will be called out LAST."

It became a funny little joke between MeChel and I.  So, anyone in future Dental Hygiene years just be prepared for the humiliation that getting ONLY an Associate's brings.  I mean . . . not having to worry about Dr. Hansen's research class/thesis/paper may have been worth it.  Um, hold on . . . yes.  It was definitely worth it.

But graduation was still a fun day of pomp and circumstance, seeing friends, realizing it was the last time we would officially be together as a class, and hugging our dedicated instructors as we walked across the stage.  Holy Francis McConaughy crying her eyeballs out!  Didn't expect that from Fran.

Aloha!

DH BFFs

Karlie snagged a QUICK pic before Cam started his shyness.

Camden . . . too shy to show his face.

Good Times

Amidst the stress and amazing frustration of the final weeks at WSU, there were definitely also some good times.

MeChel looking up with a smile from the Class III that needed every medicament imaginable to be comfortable.

Emily scaling away on this curly haired lady.

My pod-mates charting together.

Me, giving Kristie one last good under-the-table-in-school-scaling before we start our adventures in real life.

Picking up our cords, water bottles, and MeChel's license plate cover for GRADUATION!

Light purple lab coat, I miss you already.

S-T-R-E-S-S!

There were times of HIGH STRESS during the school year.  Particularly the weeks before boards and then the weeks before clinic ended as we realized a bunch of random requirements that we hadn't thought about.  I captured a few of these stressful moments, and only wish I could have actually recorded the conversations that went on during these pictures, but I think I remember pretty well what went on.

"If ONE MORE PERSON even BRINGS UP another requirement, I will freak out."

Sam - Karlie - MeChel

"I am so ticked right now.  My Class III just cancelled . . . for the third time."

Karlie

"Wait.  We have to have 4 quads of a Class IV AT WEBER?!?!?  2 of mine are from the VA?!?!?!"

Sarah - Brooke

Instructors

In Fall 2011 I had clinic on Tuesdays.  My instructors were Prof. Susan Alexander, DOCTOR Hansen, Inst. Jenn Wold and Dr. Carol Naylor (kind of).

In Spring 2012 I had clinic on Thursdays.  My instructors were Prof. Susan Alexander (morning?), DOCTOR Hansen (afternoon) Inst. Jenn Wold, and Prof. Shane Perry.  When Dr. Hansen took a job with American Express (not teaching people how to use credit cards) we had the pleasure of having Marilyn Sadler, who had graduated just a year before us, fill in as our other clinical instructor.

So . . . a little summary of each to remember.  (Dr. Hanson has her own post so she will not be listed here.)

Prof. Susan Alexander-
Easy going.  Closed her eyes to really "feel".  Loved taking off amalgam overhangs with files.  Trusting.  Asked what my perio statement was.

Prof. Shane Perry-
High expectations.  Technical with clinical knowledge.  Always drilling with questions.  Didn't care if he made you look like an idiot in front of patients.  Realistic about outcomes of oral health.  Fun.  (An interesting side note about Perry is that after Dr. Hansen left, he became WAY more laid back and fun.  Go figure.)  Cognizant of needs, like if I needed to do a PE or was in a hurry to dismiss a patient at a certain time he would hang around.  He definitely grew on me as the semester went on.  Kept pod wraps to a minimum.

Inst. Jenn Wold-
Trusting of students judgement.  Let me do 4 PE's in one afternoon.  :)  Towards the end of the year her water bottle was always filled with what looked like the yummiest pink punch, don't know what it actually was.

Inst. Marilyn Sadler-
Amazing knowledge of correct charting system and health history.  Made sure everything was perfectly accurate without being rude about it.  Knew the difference between TalEval, Eaglesoft, and real life.  Like if quads needed to be recorded in TalEval differently than what may be billed in a real life situation.  Always around and available.  OFTEN taking on more instructor responsibilities than her own, like when certain instructors would randomly be gone for 45 minutes with no explanation, she would fill in to keep clinic running.  Helps with radiographs, and is dang good at it.       
 

Inst Wold's usual place and position.

Phenomenon

The observable occurrence of which I speak is somewhat personal.  Not really, but you have to be prepared for it.  Most of my scrub pants, a certain pair especially, tended to fall down throughout the clinic day.  It was one of the only times I was thankful for our knee length lab jackets.  However, another factor in this phenomenon is that my shirt (especially if it was one of our purple or grey Weber shirts) would start to shimmy up.  Even before my belly started growing this would happen.  It just got worse with the uteran increase.  You can imagine, that by the end of morning appts I was functioning on very low mid-section coverage!  One day, Sarah helped me document.  Now remember, I warned you so don't be offended by what you are about to see. 

Not bad for an 18 week fetus!

The lab coat saved you all from witnessing THIS every day.  You're welcome.

Lunch!

Many of you know that lunch was a large part of my happiness at school.  

Possibilities were endless.  

Company was always top notch.  

Clinic gossip was delightful and often hilarious.  

I see no down side.

Lunch from WSU Clinic was often $2 at the Institute.  It ranged from Chick Fil-A, Arby's, Chinese, you name it they had it.  Close, cheap, and fun.  Runner up is probably Burger King.  MeChel and I often brought coupons and split meals.  Pita Pit once with MeChel, Kelsey, and Adrienne.  

Lunch from the VA was often Wendy's at first, but then flipped to Jimmy Johns.  All I know is that I could BARELY get myself out of bed in time to make carpool, so ain't no way in HECK I was also making myself a lunch.  Maybe I brought a lunch one day at the VA Spring Semester, and only because we were going to The Pie afterwards.  

Jimmy John's

At the Union.  Michelle, Karen, MeChel on NCUR Day.

Me, pretending these girls are my friends.

Whoa, Michelle.  What's up? 

There we go!

Burger King.  MeChel had to straighten me out on which smoothie was mine.

The BEST large group picture ever. directly following a pretty darn good hygiene joke.

I think the hygiene joke went something like this.  Alright everybody to the distal, you need to get mesial, TO THE MIDLINE!

Final Clinic Day Potluck!

No offense, but not as good as the previous one.  You can't hardly see the right quadrant!

The Best Memories at lunch.

Za Banquet!

The moment that has been talked about since Day 1 of Senior Year.  The Banquet.  $28 a plate, steak or chicken at The Timbermine.  Chris, Mom and Dad accompanied me.  It was fun.  Kind of taken over by random Awards and Professional Sponsors, but still fun.  It is very weird to be there with all my classmates, but not really be in the same atmosphere as class or clinic.  I kept trying to whisper to people or get somebody's attention about an inside joke, but they were 10 tables away surrounded by a bunch of people I didn't know.  Strange.  I did enjoy sitting at our table with McCall and her family.

My honest impressions were:

If you were a SADHA officer, you got an award.
If you were a TA, you got an award.
If Kami Hanson liked the way you blogged, you got an award (that was for me).

Not that those who got awards, didn't deserve them, it just seems like an all or nothing thing.  We focus so much on helping each other out through the entire program, it seems out of place to single some people out.  If you got an award, congrats.  If you didn't, you're still awesome.

I did get the Golden Scaler Award, but I'm not really sure what that means.  I'd like to ask, without appearing like I'm fishing for compliments.  What Kami said was, "The Golden Scaler award goes to one of my favorite students.  She is a blogger, a media user, I always think she is joking when she is serious . . . Marianne Moody."  At least that is what I remember her saying.  My Dad barely made it back from the bif to hear my name being called.  Prof. Bossenberger did say a little spiel about how I come from a dental family and she went to high school with my Uncle John.  If I find out more about the Golden Scaler, I'll let you know.

There was some mention at Graduation that some left the banquet feeling less than honored, because they didn't get an award.  And that makes me think, they shouldn't do those awards at the Banquet.  They should do them in class, where it is just us.  Especially the scholarships for the Junior Class.  Why are they announced at our Senior Banquet?  They are not pertinent to us at all.  I guess that is how it always is, and probably always will be.   

These next pictures need an explanation.  All year long I have poked fun at the picture of the UDHA (Utah Dental Hygienists' Association) official pictures that is in all the programs for conventions and such throughout the year.  She just looks a little different, and I imagine hygienists' (especially those seeking to be Association Presidents') to look more like Costley to be honest.  Anyway, when she sat behind me at the banquet I knew I needed to take advantage of the opportunity to take a picture with her.  I learned my lesson about poking fun though, because she was SUPER NICE.  I took the picture thinking to maybe do a mocking sort of post, but no more.  She was really nice, and I learned my lesson.  It was funny though to see Costley come up and schmooze her.  Thanking her for coming over and over again.
 

The picture I poked fun at all year long.

The picture of a real nice lady. And me. Also a real nice lady.

Another side story.  After taking this picture with the UDHA President, Costley gave me a hug and said congratulations.  I assume she meant for the Golden Scaler award, but then she said, "No, aren't you expecting??"  I got that again from Prof. Bossenberger later in the evening.  "Congratulations!"  "For what?"  "When is this little baby due?"  It was funny, because I hadn't even thought they'd be congratulating me for that.

TWINNERS!

We Did IT!

We went to Denny's, which is equivalent to Village Inn.  

We got hot chocolate and discussed our lives.  

It was great fun.  

The invitation is ALWAYS open to all. 

Preterm Nostalgia

This is it friends.  The last time I will wipe down my unit.  The last time I will bag my instrument cassette.  The last time I will get an HHx/OD/Scale check (not so sad about that one).  The last time I will treat patients based off requirements.  The last time I will be in this unit with Karen and Leigh.  I could go on, obviously.

Today was a super fun day for me.  It didn't work out for anybody to come in this morning (and I really did put forth some effort) so I got organized, got ready for the afternoon, got my patient list ready for Chelsea, tallied up all my requirements, got my Black Bean Dip ready for our luncheon, took Alexander's test :), and soaked it all in.

There was WAY too much yummy food at our Potluck lunch today.  Yummy.  Thanks everyone.

My Dad came in this afternoon.  I was somewhat resistant to the idea of doing a new HH, and full charting just for one cleaning, but I'm glad we did it.  It was fun.  It got SUPER hot here in the afternoon though.  Wow.  To chart restorations my Dad looked in the handheld mirror and the #5 mirror and told me what each tooth had.  Julie saw it, it was awesome.

VA Farewell

Love Connie

Love Katie

Helping Hands

All these prego girls.

After a small walking journey, we got to The Pie!

The Chedda Pull Aparts = YUMMY!

Pizza Pizza!