Local Anesthesia Mockboard and class 4!!

What a Crazy Good day!! I can't believe I survived! First off, I've been studying like crazy with Kara for boards and they are now only 3 weeks away! I can't believe it! She is such a great friend and I love studying with her. We have a great time together! So this morning, I got here at about 7:15 am to do some last minute studying before we took a mock LA written board. At about 8 am we sat down in the clinic and took the written mock. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I came away with an 88%. It's a pass/fail exam so all I needed was a 75%. So I'm feeling pretty good. About an hour later, my wonderful mom came in to be my mock clinical LA patient. She is so awesome to come in and help me!! She had great anatomy too! Both injections in my opinion went pretty well. But it's quite intimidating to have two people standing right over the top of me and not saying anything but "I see, proceed". So I was flying solo today and it felt awesome!! After each injection, the examiners would walk away and talk about the injection. At the end of the 2nd, they asked me to dismiss my patient and they watch my unload my needle and carpules. I was a little worried cause I wasn't sure how i did. This exam as well is a pass/fail. So, the results.... I passed one, failed one. On the real board, if we fail either one, we walk out of the clinic, pay another $270 and try again. Crazy!! So I failed my Left Inferior Alveolar nerve block due to the placement of the syringe. I needed to be more over the pre-molars and not so much on the canine. If I would have done that, I would have rocked it!! My posterior superior alveolar went super well. My mom said she got numb in both places which is PERFECT!! I feel super ready to take my board. I'm getting really excited about it now!! My pt. this afternoon was a class 4. This is the worst case of perio that a pt. can be. I was excited to work on him and he was a great experience for me. I was able to take a bunch of xrays which I desperately need. So today was a great day!! I learned a lot and stretched myself pretty far. I love this kinds of days.... but super happy it's over!

Corner Bakery!

A new fun little bakery opened up on the corner acorss the street from the VA. It is super yummy and made the whole day worth it. Nothing too exciting happened today. My first patient no showed and the second ended up being a class 3. That was great. Other then that... it was just a normal day down there.

--MOCKBOARD--

I PASSED!!! In order to pass the national board, you must recieve a 76% or higher! For every missed spot of calculus, it's 6 points off. So if you missed 5 or more spots, you fail! If you patient shows up late, points are lost.... if you miss chart something, points are lost..... there are so many different little things that go into the scoring that it's super easy to fail. But I passed!! I got an 82% because I had a few scaling errors. It was a wonderful experience though. Enedina was absolutely perfect! The paperwork and things are starting to make sense to me and I feel more comfortable about it. The next mockboard is in a few weeks.... I still don't have a patient for it yet but I'm feeling confident. I can't wait to take the boards and just be done with that stress. I try really hard not to get myself worked up about it. I'm just having faith that it will all work out!

-Another VA day-

It was another slow, yet successful day at the VA. I really enjoy the patient's I've been able to see down there. They are all very different and have lived through some pretty crazy experiences. I enjoy talking with them and working with them. Today, there was a man I worked on who only had 2 natural teeth left in his head. He had a full upper denture and a lower partial. Both of which were in top condition. They looked super clean and well cared for. I asked him how long he has had them and he told me they were made in Vietnam when he was there for the war. That was well over 40 years ago. I was So impressed. Most people only keep them that clean for only a few years. I complimented him on his job well done! He was so nice! I really had a great day today!

More LA?!

I'vec been so lucky to be able to give so many people local anesthesia. Almost every single one of my patients have wanted it! We have to give 35+ injections and I'm already in the 20's. That's awesome!! Today was great! Both of my patient's showed up and I was able to complete them. I love it when the day runs smoothly. Working in the clinic is such an awesome experience. I love cleaning people's teeth! It's so rewarding to have someone walk in the clinic looking sad and not smiling... be the time the appt. is over, they are so happy and so thankful that I was able to teach them about their oral health and to help them get healthy again. I LOVE MY JOB!!

A Family Day

Today I was supposed to go down to the VA but a family funeral happened instead. Mike's Uncle Bruce suddenly passed away, pretty unexpectedly. His funeral was today up in snowy Logan. It was so nice to see all of his family again and meet some of the far extended ones. The Japser family is so amazing! Mike lost his grandpa a little over a year ago, his younger brother was killed last April, and now his uncle. It's been a pretty dramatic year for them but they all have handled it so well. Thanks to the gospel, we're all getting through it. I was happy to spend the day with Mike. I love him so much and I'm so thankful and feel so blessed to be married to him. Keep smiling babe, I love you!!

Thanks Mom!!

Man... my luck is sure running quite thin these days! My 8am patient no showed on me this morning. It's been a crazy 3 weeks already! I was able, however, to see a patient at about 9:30 this morning. She was a class 2 and I gave some local anesthesia (LA) so it all worked out! I was excited for the afternoon because I only had an 11 year old boy coming in so it wasn't going to be too bad. But then he no showed..... Sweet! What a day! Luckily, my mom was kind enough to come in and get some xrays taken. She is so wonderful! She has been so supportive through my whole school experience. She is my best friend and I love her so much!! Thanks mom!