Scenarios

#1. Mary seems to be a well prepared student with a great attitude and I would encourage her to keep it up. I would tell Mary that she was missing one more important thing in her treatment plan, I would have her go back and read the medical history over. If she still was not able to figure out what it was, I would ask her " What do we need to have the patient do if they have had a joint replacement?" I would then make sure Mary understood why we premed and have her tell me what could happen if we did not to do this. I would take a couple points off for this mistake, I feel the student needs to understand that this is an important matter. I would have Mary tell me why I was taking points off to make sure we were on the same page. I would be the clinic instructor that hopes the students will learn from their mistakes the first time around, the second time around if the same scenario occurs then I would give a lower grade.

#2. It sounds like I had a rough day and I would do my best not to take this out on my students. I would be very patient with Ben and kindly tell him that I found some calculus then have him try to use tactile sensitivity to locate it. If he was not successful, I would sit in his place, show him where I found it, then have him locate it to make sure he could feel it. I would than try to modify his technique to see if that would help him.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking in opinion is the ability to solve complex problems, requiring deep thinking while challenging your reasoning. I feel this assignment takes some critical thinking in how to help others think critically. What I got out of the handbook concerning this topic was how to ask and answer questions to make one apply the knowledge they have retained. I know that in clinic our instructors made us critically think whenever we had patients who were on medications. If the patient were on a certain medication we had to look it up in the medical dictionary to determine exactly what it was used for and learn about the side effects. If they had anything that seemed unusually in the mouth then we were responsible for finding out what it was and how we could fix it. For every new medication we had to make a flash card and be prepared to use it if any problems ever occurred. I can recall a time when I had a patient that had Alzheimer's disease, he could not hold his toothbrush, he could not understand a thing I was saying and he had the mentality of a three year old. Being a first year student this was a challenge for me, not only cleaning his teeth but putting a treatment plan together. The instructor asked me questions such as " What different techniques can we use in order to get his teeth cleaned and are there any ideas we can use to help him brush his teeth daily at home?" I ended up having to use a bite block each time he came in and we involved his wife with his home care.

I think we can help students critically think by picking one patient each morning who will be challenging in some way and having the students all come up with how they could make it better than discussing it at the end of the day. This would require critical thinking throughout the day and the opportunity to help each other. It would also allow the students to see other students perspective bringing out some creativity. I think it is important to know your students and figure out how each one learns in order to decide what is going to be a challenge for that student. What may be critical thinking for someone may not be for another. In our second year of clinic we had an opportunity to work with a home health care center for the mentally handicapped. We were in groups of three and each group was assigned a person. We had to analyze this patient and decide mentally where they were, and what they were capable of doing physically. We spent several hours talking and getting to know them. We had to figure out what they needed to improve on orally and we had to come up with ideas on how we could get them to remember what they needed to improve. We presented our cases to our classmates and shared the appliances that were modified for each individual. Critical thinking was definitely something we had to use.

My Dental Hygiene Clinic

First of all, my hygiene clinic would not look like a clinic. I want to make people feel at home, so it would be very colorful. The rooms would be private with flat screens, ear phones, massage chairs, and beautiful murals on the walls. The students would be able to wear whatever color scrubs they want as long as it looked professional, new, clean and pressed. The students would each have an assistant to help tare down and set up the rooms after each patient. We would have the combination of new advanced technology along with old technology so when the students went out in the real world they would be comfortable using both. We would have the manuel processor for films and have the digital systems. We would have washers and dryers located in the clinic where someone could wash, dry and have them ready for us the next day. The clinic would be separate from the rest of the college, it would be all glass windows. The lunch area would look like the mall food court where you have many choices to choose from. We would have a gym and a work out area to use between classes and clinics.

The rules and regulations would would be altered somewhat but for the most part remain the same. Everyone needs to respect each other, show up on time, be prepared to work hard, be professional, and love what you do! I would hire dentist and hygienist with five years or more of private practice experience. My clinical instructors would be more on the young side with experience ( we had to many older grumpy people in our clinics!). The instructors would be on a year trail, I figure by then you can tell if someone loves what they or not .I would have famous guest speakers such as authors of dental books, founders of dental schools, dentist who work with the rich and famous to relate experiences.

I would allow students to have turns being clinical instructors to help and learn from each other. The law would be in place where hygienist could go outside to nursing homes to provide treatment allowing the students to achieve more experiences and having no problem meeting requirements. We would also be able to perform duties at schools just as long as they had a dentist with them. The requirements would remain the same, we need something to motivate the students and we want to be good at what we do, not take short cuts.

Being a Great Clinic Instructor

There are many different opinions on what an excellent clinical instructor is. I have one word that I believe sums it all up and that is someone who is passionate about what they are teaching. I truly believe if someone is passionate about something, they do everything in their power to pass this passion on to others. If someone is not passionate in the clinical setting they are not going to take interest in students, they are going to have a poor attitude, they are not going to care whether you pass or fail. I can remember several times in my experience where some clinical faculty not knowing that we could heard them, sitting in the lab saying they could be doing better things with their time. In my opinion if this is how you feel then go do that "better" something. The last thing students want to hear is that you do not want to be in their presences.

The particular clinical instructor that I thought was excellent most students would beg to differ, and it took me after I graduated to realize that she was the one that made the most impact on me. Why would other students beg to differ? She had a very strong bold personality and communicated in such way that would make some students cry. No one really ever cried, she was just to the point and knew what she expected from each student. She did not judge you and she did provide constructive criticism just in a different manner. I remember thinking in clinical " I hope I do not have this particular instructor today" yet at the same time ,I knew that I had to know everything perfectly. Did the article last week not say that the students preferred an instructor who knew what they were doing and made the students aware of expectations? This instructor was on time each day and very efficient. We never had to wait on her for anything which was important because we wanted to get as much done as fast as we could. If anyone was more aware of understanding the curriculum she was it! If you did not know what other classes you needed to take she could give you the list of courses that were being offered on campus. That was the thing with this instructor, she knew your needs and would do anything for you. I started off being afraid of this instructor but after graduation I knew that if I ever wanted to be a clinical instructor she would be the one I would want follow.

I believe I carry many attributes that would lead me to be an excellent clinical instructor, yet at the same time I still have many that I would need to work on. Patience is one of them, I need to understand that the students are not going to get things down on the first try! Life would be mush easier if they did but unfortunately it is not reality. I believe being a role model is very important, not only in the clinical setting but every day life. I have a very laid back easy-going personality and sometimes I forget that people such as my family, friends and co-workers look up to me as a role model. I believe we are all capable of being excellent clinical instructors we just need to except the fact that no one is perfect and through our experiences we will become better each day!!