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)

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! 

"CAAAAAAATS?" -Edgar the Butler of the Aristocats

Thank you Jennifer Brooke Baker for reminding me of this important story.  At the VA (3 days left Hallelujah) in the afternoon (after a Jimmy John lunch) I saw a patient that had less than stellar home care.  He has been depressed, in the hopsital, severe PTSD, and hasn't brushed in who knows how long.  We are talking caked on facial calculus on #6 and #7.  That's neglect my friends.  Anyway, I ultrasonic-ed to just get all the crap out to be able to probe and explore and stuff.  While doing so I noticed some . . . wait for it . . . hairs.  Just a few little ones.  I wasn't really sure what to think of it, but they did eventually ultrasonic out.  A little 4 mm black hair and a 6 mm white hair.  Define that in clinical terms.  Come on Perry, I dare you.  While telling this story to the gals in my group, Karlie Willard Weeks so nonchalantly said, "Oh!  He eats cats!"  We had a good laugh.  This is the most valuable part of the VA, the stories.  The end of this story is actually pretty sad.  I didn't get an OD check on this dude.  I was kind of lost because I was ultrasonic-ing to get just debride him and then . . . that kind of naturally lends itself to calculus removal right??  Well, I didn't get an OD.  And Katie Poulson, Instructor, resented that a bit.  So she gave me ONE QUAD of a III instead of 2 or 3 or 4.  Psh.  I will pass this semester in spite of her.

I couldn't find the isolated "CATS?" part, so if you're short on time skip to minute 1:00 of the vid.

Potty Break

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.  :)

Esta Bien?

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.  

Bernie

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.

Mockingboards

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.