Dark Room Disaster!! :)

Monday in radiology lab we had to pass off our BWX Process Eval... So, I start doing my thing and explaining what I am doing... I take my 4 BWX and explain to professor Mc. that next I would go process the films. She sends me back to process the films (okay #1 lesson --Alyse, alone in a dark room=bad idea). I decided I would practice proper "infection control" techniques to open the film packets... As I opened the packet, trying not to touch the film, but rather, slide it out onto the counter, it dropped and disappeared!! AH!! Panic set in... I start feeling through all of my packet wrappers, on the counter, under bins and machines... Next step--the floor.. I'm down on hands and knees feeling the ground for my poor lost vertical BWX! All in vain... So, I step into the light and tell professor Mc. that I dropped my film and "it's really dark in there!" haha. Denver then, being the nice person she is, decided she would come help me. Together, we repeated my search from countertop to floor to no avail... It was a lost cause. The lights had to go on :(

When the lights came on I found my film... pretty much right in front of me! But apparently, films on the counter top, disappear in the dark. Normally this story would just be funny, but the irony of it happening on a PE is just too much! Haha.. jk.. It could have been traumatizing, BUT it all worked out because professor Mc. is a saint, and she too had her tough days in the darkroom! :)

Anyway, the moral of the story is... Be careful when practicing proper "infection control techniques," and don't let Alyse process films alone :)

Hooray for the probe!

Okay, apparently, I'm a better "prober," than an "explorer(er)" (sp?! haha) I don't think I poked my partner nearly as much today!! Yay for her gums! And I even got the angling thing down! Amazing! Now I just have a long way to go to get good at reading the bad boy while it's in the gum tissue!!!

I think these look a little scary... But to me, they are less painful than explorers (if used correctly of course! :)) Anyway, clinic went well today. I passed off my mirror fulcrum PE, and I think over the weekend I'll practice my extra-oral exams on the fam... That way, come Monday I'll be rip roarin' ready to go!! Have a good weekend everybody!

2 down, 2 to go!!

This week we have four tests!! :) So far i've taken two and i'm feeling good because I haven't missed any points yet... I know the next two will be harder though, and I expect to miss some questions! So far the week has been pretty good... The most frustrating clinic day I've had so far was monday though. We used explorers, and I felt like I had no coordination! haha! usually, i feel pretty good with hand-eye coordination, but poor candace must have been so tense in the patient chair while i poked her to death! (I guess I bled a little too--an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth (literally) I suppose :)) But, overall, I would still say I feel good about everything... I'm just excited for the day when I feel comfortable exploring sub-ginigivally!



MOSTLY, I'm just excited for this weekend when i get to go home to Heber! My entire family is getting together, and Landon's coming to play too! It will be so much fun, and I'm ESPECIALLY excited to see my sister Amy, and my adorable nephew Easton, AND the little boy inside her belly whom I am excited to meet in November! ... Here is a picture of them right now... Just because pictures are fun! (by the way amy, sorry for stealing pictures from your blog, but i just LOVE this one!) haha

Balancing Act

One thing that I think we've all discovered in this program is that balance is key! It's definitely tricky to be in and committeed to this program and have other aspects of "life" to deal with as well...

I've been thinking about this a lot because today in class I was a little out of it due to being in the ER last night in Logan around 12 with the kid I'm dating. (*he got a major head injury/concussion, but he's doing fine now (on drugs) if you were curious:)) Needless to say, I was up a little late, and it would have been nice to have slept through class. However, such is the nature of the program, and I actually think it is neat that we all care so much and are dedicated to this top notch program that we make sacrifices to be in class, clinic, labs, and meetings!

I know I have plenty to deal with with ambassador president responsibilities, my calling, family, and boys--or i guess boy, and I also know that there are girls in my class with jobs, kids, husbands, and countless other responsibilities...

So this post is a shout out to everyone in the dental hygiene program, and everyone who has been through the program, and learned the art of balance! You are all amazing, and just know that if you feel overwhelmed, you're not alone--i think that's the most comforting thing we can offer each other right now! We can do it!

Beautiful Bitewings :)

I'm feeling very proud of my bitewings right now... I took some this afternoon in radiology lab, and professor M. thought they were great! I feel accomplished because if you refer to my last post on radiology, you'd see that i have NO experience with radiography. So, it's a great accomplishment for me!

Things are going well in the program! Today, we did health histories, vitals, extra-oral exams, and intra-oral exams on a student partner in sequence as if it were a patient! It's cool to think that in only three weeks I am able to perform these things without TOO much trouble... I love clinic time, and my pod instructor, Instructor Carter, for Monday mornings rocks! She's a lot of fun! Tomorrow I have my first anatomy test (or at least part one of the test...) But I'm feeling okay about it.. I've been studying, and I think I'll be fine!

SIDE NOTE

Okay, so mostly I just couldn't resist putting this picture up...

I think I was 3 or 4 in this shot, and the little sleeping angel/prayer pose is my favorite!

Wednesday Afternoons...

There is something wonderful about Wednesday afternoon clinic... I haven't quite put my finger on it yet... It could be that I am more awake, or maybe it is getting over the "hump" of the week, that excites me so...
I've really enjoyed my pod instructor and TA--the Julies--conveniently named to eliminate confusion for little newbies like me.
Anyway, today in clinic, I tried to pay particular attention to my working posture (NWP-for those who abbreve ;)) I think I did a good job with positioning myself so that I wouldn't have to bend and twist to see particular areas of the mouth...
It was super great to actually be in the mouth a little today! My pod partner Candace is a patient gal! It's been super fun to work with her... We have a good time role playing pt/clinician roles!! It's weird to think that in not too long, it'll be the real deal! AH! crazy.

I make an especially good patient don't you think???

Okay, so I may have been posing for that one...

Here I am, behaving myself... somewhat

Tackling RAD LAB--one x-ray at a time...

I made it through my second radiology lab, and I loved it!! Having only worked in an orthodontic setting, my exposure (haha--no pun intended) to radiography has been very limited... They did take pano's in the office i worked in, but only one assistant was "trained," if you will, in taking the x-rays, so needless to say, I'm a dummy when it comes to radiographs.... BUT thanks to the wonderful professor McConaughy, I can now take horizontal and vertical bitewings :) haha... for most of the girls, BWX's are no big deal--they've been taking them since birth! But for me, it feels great to have learned the concepts, and put them to work in the "rad" lab (and it is rad for sure...)



**And no, this is not a patient of mine... I just thought he was a little cutie... and his face is classic!


Anyway, my third week of hygiene school is going SO well! I love it, and doing my homework is far from a chore because I'm so interested in everything being taught! I'm definitely in the right place, and I'm excited to keep on, keepin' on!

A LITTLE RELIEF :)

Yesterday in clinic felt really good! I was prepared for the right thing (haha), I passed PE's, and there were no significantly embarassing moments... ha :) I had decided before clinic that I would remain calm no matter what happened that day. Well, I would say I accomplished just that! (possibly because there were no trying moments, but nonetheless!! I did it!) I really enjoy clinic time.. It seems to pass quickly, and I really learn a lot!
By the way... Here's a corny little thing I found to make you smile!

TECHNOLOGY WOOPSIE!

SO... I was finally starting to feel somewhat adjusted to the twists and turns of the dental hygiene program when dun dun dun... I get to Dental Hygiene I class and my lovely friend Candace asks me if I knew we were supposed to have read and completed Module 4 in Professor Costley's class. "What?" I started to panic... I could have sworn it was module 3. She then told me that there had been an email informing us of the change over the weekend.
Well, right then I knew something was wrong because I had even checked my email last night and there were zero emails from anyone in the department...
After some detective work, we found that my email was not in the system correctly and I had been missing any and ALL emails from the department!!! haha--(i can laugh now, but it was NOT funny at the time!:))
Professor Costley was nice enough to let us take the quiz after class discussion... BUT, that didn't help me completely! It helped with a few questions, but when there are only 5 questions on a quiz, that's not enough!
Now, I realize I'm just another anal dental hygiene student who likes her points, but it was not a fun feeling... that feeling of utter unpreparedness--by accident! Anyway, hopefully those few points aren't the death of me! And, you can bet I ran right to the secretary to get my email address in the system! I want to avoid having that experience again at all costs!