Embryology Fixation!

Okay so the whole idea of having kids honestly freaks me out. Not really any part in particular just the entire thing from having to deal with this being growing inside of me to getting that baby out all the way to trying to send them off to college 18 years later. I'm so scared and obviously right now, I am not ready and I'm not sure if I'll ever be honestly, however, Embryology fascinates me. Today in anatomy I was totally tuned in the entire time while learning about human development and I really don't know why. I've never really had any class or lesson on embryology until now so I never knew how interesting I would find it. My guess is that it's comparable to my reactions to documentaries on sharks. Sharks scare me to death yet learning about them is totally intriguing to me and I love watching them and seeing pictures ...as long as it's not in real life and that shark isn't actually swimming next to me. Yeah, I'm a bit odd... but I'm sure you already knew that if you've been reading this far into my blog. Hehe!

While I was sleeping

Holy Hot! The clinic was like 700 degrees today and it was miserable with our lab coats on! It was so hot we all seemed to be severely drained of energy. I was so tired I actually fell asleep while Jess was practicing probing on me and I'll just say this: not counting the few times I was rudely awaken by a sharp jab to the junctional epithelium (thanks Jess! hehe) it was 90 minutes of relaxation and sleep that I really needed today and oh it was bliss!!! Hehe, yeah I know that's not really our purpose here in clinic but it was definitely a good perk today! Working on Jess was pretty good too, I'm feeling a lot more confident and comfortable with the instruments now. I took some sterile instruments home to practice a bit over the weekend and it really helped me gain some more dexterity with the probe. Exploring is still a bit shaky but hopefully that will come along with time as well. The weekend is over and here we "GET" to start another week... hopefully you all rested up well, good luck with this next unit as well everybody!!! We're all growing and improving so much already it's very exciting.

I SURVIVED!!!!

Oh my gosh! Talk about stressful!!! I so didn't think I'd make it through all those exams but I did! And I did it well too!!!! Thank goodness it's over and I hope all of you survived well too... Either way, it's done now (or will be tomorrow)and now we can move on to Unit 2!!! hehe (while earnestly remembering all of unit one for boards of course :)) Have a good weekend all enjoy this small break... I feel we definitely earned it.

Most Probably Probing!

Wow! We made it past probing and Jess and I didn't even bleed! Go Us! As for everyone else, I didn't see how you did but I hope you agree with me when I say it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I was so scared but probing really did seem easier than exploring. Thank goodness they didn't start us off on local anesthesia but I guess if we had than everything else would seem easy and completely unintimidating to us. Hehe. We also got our HHX case studies back today and Hailey and I didn't have too many purple marks on our chart so hopefully that's a good sign... Also I took the Head and Neck Anatomy exam and it went really well! I'm seriously feeling more confident but I'm still scared out of my mind about the Dental Hygiene exam coming up. Good Luck to all!

Explorers!!!!

Wow, Jess and I with sharp instruments in each others' mouths for fourty-five minutes is not a very safe idea! At first it was so scary I thought I was seriously going to rearrange Jess's gingiva and create some nice new extra-deep sulci... Luckily it wasn't that bad. Yes, it was a little awkward and strange feeling trying to master the grip and the "rocking and rolling" explorer motions, but it wasn't nearly as hazardous as I feared it would be... hehe. I loved clinic though because I got the dreaded health history PE out of my way and we are now a step closer to feeling like real dental hygienist (even though we're still incredibly far away). I love getting closer to my goal, even though it seems like every step closer I get the more steps I realize that I still have ahead of me. I've got to practice lots with the exploring using indirect vision, expecially on the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth. I'm way excited to get this new exploring thing down to a second nature-type skill. I also am nervous about probing in the next clinic session. Jess, I'm sorry in advance for all the times I will probably jab you a little harder than I should... Have a good one!!!

For Katee!

This is Jay's sister Katy Griffith, she's way cute and she's single. I don't know about your guy but if you say he's cute and fun she'd probably be up for it...

Anyway, for the rest of you out there, I'm so super stressed for these next tests I'm really hoping they go well. Also, this new "instrument grasp" technique is really going to be throwing me off. Dang double-jointed hitch hiker thumbs!

Keep the Fire Burning!

Well, I had a nice weekend even though it was cut short by the UDHA conference but it was a great break from school. However, I am still struggling not to feel overwhelmed and burnt out now that our first tests are here! This picture of a math problem is about how I've been feeling while trying to study lately. It's not that I'm really struggling with the material it's the fact that I don't know these tests yet and so I've got to learn how to study for all new classes this semester. The only real exams I've had so far have been in Biomed and Patho. While I know how to take and study for those tests like second nature, this year the tests will be all new and different. It's intimidating and I'm really hoping I've studied enough to do alright on the exam in Dental Hygiene I especially. Today for some reason was a really rough and long day and I felt like I almost had to remind myself why I'm here. I know that this is what I want to do and I know I'll have the drive to finish strong and that the professors will do everything they can to help us succeed in class, on our boards, and in our careers when we get there. It's just really hard right now to see past all the stress and worry and loss of sleep. I'm hoping that after this first test I'll relax a bit and realize even more so that everything will turn out just fine in the end... it always does right? For anyone else out there that is stressed or double thinking their career choice, know that you aren't alone but also remember that it really will be worth it and that it will just get better as time goes on. We can get through this!!! P.S. Good luck on your case studies!

Case Studies

So I've been working with Hailey on our case study and I feel we're making it harder than it should be. It seems like we go through everything and get the Tx record all finished and then we find something else that we left out! I don't know if anyone else is feeling as frustrated as I have been with this assignment, plus it seems like each of the pods got slightly different instruction as far as filling out HHX on that sheet. I'm assuming it's not a big deal but it does make it a bit more confusing for us. Oh well, we'll see what happens, I'm just nervous because this is such a complex assignment and it's so heavily weighted in our final grade. Whether you agree with me or not, good luck to everyone!

Massages

First of all, I just wanted to express my excitement at the purchase of my new blue stethescope! It's awesome... hehe
Anyway, today in clinic we finally got to work on real people, not just typodonts which is understandable because the typodonts would not have appreciated the massages nearly as much as we did! Extra-oral exams are pretty easy, a little awkward at first due to this new invasion of personal space but that got a lot easier by the end of clinic. I also thought it was really interesting that when I was examining Jenny today, I actually had trouble finding her sternocleidomastoid muscle. Mine is very pronounced and Jess's was pretty easy to find as well but if jenny didn't have her head positioned just right it would completely disappear! I also learned that I have the worst TMJD in my pod! Yay!
Using the mirror and probe was fun as well to practice working with it and actually being able to see every surface of the teeth very clearly. I've assisted a lot but I was never in a position to use the mirror so that was a new experience for me and I've realized more how hard it can be to see inside some patient's mouths because they have small lips or they get tired of holding their mouth open so they close it with time shutting out your light or getting in the way of your mirror.
I also got to play historian a bit: Jenny was working so I borrowed her camera and took pictures of my clinic. My favorite picture was of Alyse feigning pain while Candace practiced using the mirror for cheek retraction! Alyse is so funny and outgoing it's awesome. I love getting to know everybody because we each add something different and fun to the group!

Get Into Weber

I know we're all very busy but I just want to make sure everyone knows of how much fun they missed out on last night. There was street painting and a free concert for Homecoming Week last night and it was way fun! It would have been even more fun had more of us been there (Yay Meagan I saw you there too!) The first band was some kids from Bonneville High School and while they're not quite mainstream, they know how to have fun. The second was just one guy who goes by "Allred" and he was awesome! He played his own backup intruments using only a guitar (with pedals) and his voice. He's played with lots of well known groups like Yellowcard, Augustana, Ben Folds, etc... If you saw it, you know what I mean and if you weren't there, you really missed out. We're here, we're students, and we might as well enjoy the full benefits and fun of being a Wildcat. Get out there and have some fun!!!

Perfect Learning:)

Yesterday in clinic I had no problem with vitals except for blood pressure. I understand the procedure and I know how to take someone's blood pressure, but I have the hardest time hearing the patient's heartbeat over the creaking and popping of my fingers with even the slightest movements of the patient breathing. No matter how still I try to hold my hand, it still creaks.
Today class was great. I don't know how the rest of you feel but I love Head and Neck Anatomy. It's so interesting to me and I've never really had a problem with memorizing body parts, especially when they're already so familiar and I can actually see how important it would be to know all of the parts that we are learning. I also love the random facts that we're learning, but of course, I am a total nerd. When it comes to anatomy and physiology whether it concerns people or not I can't learn enough! Also, the quiz in Dental Hygiene today wasn't as hard as I had feared it would be. There was so much information in module 6 that I felt there was no way I could actually learn it all. Apparently we all knew those terms and concepts a lot better than I expected we would (as I found out when Costley had us work together to determine the answers). Yep, we're pretty awesome and I love the group quizzes because sometimes it's really hard to get all the information down perfectly in your mind but in your group it's likely that someone has what you are missing and even though you didn't generate the answer from your own mind, that's still a great way to learn. I always remember the questions that I get wrong because they stand out better to me and if I didn't get it, odds are I didn't understand the concept so having someone explain it to me in a different way helps a lot. Plus, it's easier to ask questions in small groups than it is to ask the professor in front of the entire class.
Basically, my favorite thing right now is to step back and see all that we've learned and how far we've come already. It doesn't even seem like we've figured everything out yet and sometimes I still get confused but just in these 2 1/2 weeks we've made some real progress and I'm proud of us first years! (The second years are awesome too of course!)

We deserve to be recognized!

We are in the Weber State Dental Hygiene Program! We will all become the best DENTAL HYGIENISTS out there! (not dentists and definitely NOT dental assistants!) I am so tired of people cutting rank on us. I can understand why, a lot of people don't even know what we are because they go in to see the Dentist and they know that the dentist will also have assistants and secretaries. Why should we be unrecognized? We need to get our profession out there to finally recieve the respect we are working so hard to earn right now in school!
I'm also really tired of telling people what I'm doing and then having them ask about my sister. When I say that my sister is in Medical School, EVERYONE replies "Oh wow! She must be incredibly intelligent!" Like I'm not? I've actually always had better grades than her, I just don't want to spend all of the money I don't have and the next twenty years of my life trying to make a name for myself as a doctor. My career will be important to me and I'll work everyday to be the best I can be, but I don't want it to take over my entire life, I have other things I'd like to do as well.
The worst experience I've had so far was at a family dinner with some friends. One of our recently married friends brought his wife to dinner. His wife had just been accepted into the nursing program and I had just been accepted to the dental hygiene program. She was telling us about how much work it was to go from a business major to nursing and how hard it was to get into the program. She actually said: "The nursing program is extremely competitive and really hard to get into, it's not one of those easy programs like dental hygiene..." Everyone that knew me well saw the fire in my eyes even though I tried to hide it. Trying to contain myself I calmly said: "yeah, I know how that goes, I've been working really hard the last two years and I just got into my really tough, competitive program as well." She nodded in agreement and then asked what program that was and I quickly and nonchalantly said "dental hygiene." She turned bright red and didn't say anything more about it the rest of the night. I know it wasn't her fault, she didn't mean to insult me like that but still, why do we have such a minute reputation? I don't get it, do we not work our butts off to get into this program and then work even harder to get lisenced and graduate with out Bachelors/associates degree as well?

Week Two

So here it is, two weeks and I'm starting to get more adjusted in this new routine! It's a lot of work and a bit stressful at times. The main reason I've been stressed is because everyone keeps asking me how I'm doing and when I say great they seem surprised and talk about how stressed out they would be/were. I kept feeling like I'm missing some big ominous thing about the program, but I've now come to the conclusion that school really isn't as big and scary as everyone seems to think it is. I'm always intimidated before taking classes but as soon as they start, I realize that it's not as bad as I feared. I know I can get through this and that it will be so worth it two years from now when I'm working as a Registered Dental Hygienist. I'm proud of how far we've all come and I'm so excited to keep working together with the other girls to finish strong and get out there and help people take better care of their teeth and bodies.