More REQUIREMENTS!?!

So, I just found out this week that there are more requirements that I haven't done or even thought I needed to do.  My advice to the incoming 2nd year students is to print out the syllabus and read it again in the spring semester.  I just found out that of the 36 quads of a class III/IV, 4 quads HAVE to be a class IV.  Did not know that!  Maybe I did in the fall, but forgot as time went on.  So this is what I found out I still have to do:
2 oral irrigation experiences
2 diagnodent experiences
2 desensitization experiences
4 quads of a class IV

I had a class V come in this morning and got him done in about an hour and 15 minutes.  I had to present at NCUR today with my table clinic group.  This afternoon I was going to pass of my right/left ultrasonic tip PE and do oral irrigation.  My patient no showed so that left me with not much to do.  Marianne was sweet enough to let me scale her teeth a little and use the diagnodent.  The diagnodent in clinic stinks.  It doesn't calibrate correctly, so really it doesn't work.  I will need one more experience with it so my plan is to use it on Trevor when he comes in for a sealant next week.  Poor guy!  I am passing off the Velscope and Air Powder Polisher PE, using the diagnodent and placing a sealant.  I think I used the air powder polisher on him last year as well to pass off a PE.  Thanks honey for letting me torture you each time you come in.

I deserve to fail

In clinic at Weber, I saw what I thought was a class II patient in the morning.  From his probe depths I thought he would be a II, but once I started cleaning I realized he was definitely a III!  I talked to Perry about giving me a least a couple quads of a III and had to defend why I deserved that.  Because I worked dang hard, that's why!  Perry comes over to do my scale check and I missed sooooo many spots!  If I am scaling like that I deserve to fail my clinical board!  I couldn't believe I had done that crappy of a job.  I felt terrible.  I just keep thinking that I am supposed to be getting better not worse!  Let's hope the last couple weeks of clinic go better.

We Survived!

Ok, so boards are over and think we all survived!  What a week!  I was the worst mother this week.  My nerves were riding so close to the surface that I snapped at the slightest misdeed by my children.  I also had so many plans to accomplish things around my house and projects for school, but very few of them happened.  Thursday finally came to take the Local Anesthesia Clinical Board.  My peer pal was my patient.  I realize I should have just used Kristie from the very beginning.  I had done injections on her so many times during the fall and knew her landmarks well, but I didn't use her.  I had used my peer pal for mock boards.  I failed the PSA for mock boards because I was too far posterior.  Well, for real boards, I did the PSA on the right instead of the left like mock board.  I had never given the PSA on her right side.  Her maxillary tuberosity was HUGE!  I could have sworn that I was right by her distal buccal root of the 2nd molar, but I hit osseous 3 times, meaning that I failed the PSA.  So crappy!  But Kristie was my back up and I nailed the PSA the second time.  $120 later I had passed the Local Anesthesia Clinical Board.

Saturday, March 17th (St. Patrick's Day) was my Hygiene Clinical Board.  I was allowed into the clinic at 11:45.  I immediately got my patient on the Chief Examiner's form to get her back to the examiners.  She was taken back, but didn't return to me for around 40 minutes.  I expected being the first to have my patient go back that she would back to me faster.  Karlie's patient came back sooner than mine, which freaked me out because it made me feel that mine wasn't going to be accepted.  Panic ensued!  A few minutes later she came around the corner.  Now the panic could start because I need to do my very best.  Well, I proceeded to make some time consuming mistakes.  I didn't check out the tray when she brought it back.  I didn't have my pen barriered for recording my probe readings.  I waited until I had 12 minutes left to probe.  I felt like the first hour went swimmingly.  The last hour FLEW!  I couldn't believe how fast that time went.  It felt like one minute I had an hour, the next I had 12 minutes left.  I really started to scramble at the end.  Every time I would explorer around her teeth I would feel a slight roughness that I just couldn't remove.  But time was up so I had to go with it.  While using indirect vision, my hand was shaking horribly while probing!  I know that I did the very best that I could, but I did get her to check out 1 minute late.  Not the end of the world unless I score a 75 and then still miss that 1 point.  I felt really good yesterday when I came home.  I felt utter relief at being done.  I don't know how to feel about the job I did other than I did my best.  Some of the other girls were saying that the examiners only select 8 spots not 12.  I would be absolutely relieved if that is true.  I will ask Alexander tomorrow in class.  I really should have tried harder with my sequencing.  I felt like I just kind of went all over in my quadrant.  I should have started anteriors and worked my way distal.  SEQUENCING!  So important for time saving.  I just hope that what I did was sufficient and pray that none of us have to relive that experience!  We are done girls!  And WE SURVIVED!

Thank You

To My Dear Friends,
I just wanted to say thank you to all those that helped me in clinic this morning.  So many of you played a role in helping me get to my grandpa's funeral on time.  First of all, thanks to Kristie who hung out with me for 4 1/2 hours on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.  You were a rock star and I had so much fun talking with you.  You made the time pass by so much faster.  I wish you could have stayed all night.  It was much easier staying awake with you than with Trevor.  He fell asleep while we were watching a movie.  Next, thanks to Michelle for driving me to clinic so many days.  You are so awesome leaving your house early to come get me.  Thanks to McCall for recording my probe readings on my board patient and setting up a radiology room.  Thanks to Sam for getting my board stuff put into my tote for me.  Thanks to those that teamed together and printed my x-rays for boards.  I am grateful to Prof. Perry for doing all he could to get me out of clinic.

Love,
Sarah

Perry also showed me exactly what I will need to do to remove the calculus on the distal surface of #18.  I had missed one spot on the distal of #31.  It was a significant chunk of calculus, but he took the Nevi in a horizontal stroke and it came right off.  You can bet I will do that on the day of the board.  Here is wishing all of us GOOD LUCK on our boards next week.  I am terrified and happy at the same time.