Friday friday friday …
Just finished an awful, terrible, no good, very bad week.
The Run Down
Monday - study study study. Fortunately, my class president asked to have the biochemistry exam moved to Friday (today) morning. Victory!
Tuesday - Anatomy Exam 1
Wednesday - Restorative all day. I got a chance to make jewelry and took the opportunity to make a turtle.
Thursday - Operative. Packed amalgam.
Friday -Took my 2nd biochem exam. Grades were out by 4pm.
Yesterday’s practical - PASSED. woot.
Immediately after we had a lecture on Class V amalgam preps and the assignment to prep #18F …. ack, no rest for the weary.
Today, we had an ungraded oral practical in Anatomy. I was in one of the first groups to go … but I got out mid-afternoon. How awesome is that!
My first practical is over.
Before I go into it, I just wanted to add that I dreamt about teeth last night. That’s my first teeth dream since the start of dental school. Fortunately it wasn’t a scary one. Nightmares involving teeth are creepy.
Alright, practical. Just a quick disclaimer: this is an account based on my experience and what I remember during a high stress time.
My alarm was set to 5:30am. I woke up at 7:25am. (Come on, Joyce. You have a practical today) By the time I finished showering, it was 7:32. I checked the class calendar which read “7:45am Practical Exam #30-O Amalgam Prep”. (Say it ain’t so.) With no time to bike to school, I called down to security and had them call a cab. Before school started, a recent UOP graduate told me I ought to think about getting a scooter in case of mornings like these. I brushed the idea off as silly. (A scooter? me? Noooo.) I really wished I had a scooter this morning. (Well, no bother.) Taxi took me right up to school. I rushed into the building with 2 other students and we rode the elevator up to the 3rd floor. We flew through the doors together, each going to their own station. Fortunately, I had 10 minutes to prepare my station and after setting up my handpieces and tray, I sat down to draw the lines on the sulcus of my #30.
(Alright, breathe. Fulcrum my finger on the side of the tooth. Stop shaking. Draw.) I slip and make a stray mark on the lingual transverse ridge. (Shoot. Who had the alcohol and Q-tips at my station?) I looked around. (My neighbor does. Whew. Breathe.)
Over the loudspeaker, I hear “Okay, put away all your papers and models. It’s the start of the practical” (Waaaaaait, alright, where’s my row instructor?)
“Dr. *, are you still able to review my prep lines?” (Please say yes.)
“You’re too far out on your developmental grooves.” (Gotcha.)
Once it got underway, the hour and half went by faster than I expected. I graded myself and turned my typodont’s mandible in. Now I just wait and see.
It’s only 9pm. I left school early for a change. I started off the day with a #8 PFM crown prep and ended it with multiple #30 amalgam preps. Tomorrow morning I have my first practical in operative; hence, the multiple #30 practice preps.
I’ll have to write about that whole experience when I get some rest for my body and a little more time on hand.
I live in Sim Lab and go home only to maintain the minimum standard of hygiene…
I had operative all day. I got my #19 amalgam prep checked off and started a #13 amalgam prep. For those not familiar with the teeth numbering system, that’s one of the premolars on the upper arch. That means I had to utilize my handy dandy mirror. That’s something I’m going to need practice in. A lot of practice. It’s so odd to see what I’m doing, backwards, via mirror.
I will be having my first practical - #30 amalgam prep - next Thursday so in lecture we went over the grading criteria for our preps. We are held to high standards here at UOP, which is excellent when it’s time to take my boards and as a clinician treating patients - the important thing. It does stress me out a bit and a few others in my class as there were audible groans and gasps when we were given the run down of possible demerits.
Right now, I’m studying anatomy since I have a quiz next Monday. The crazy thing is that the real onslaught hasn’t even begun. Oh and the finals schedule came out. In a little more than a month, I’ll be looking at 5 finals in 3 days which I’m told is nothing compared to 3rd quarter’s finals week … but I’ll talk about that when I get there.
Crown Prep #8 < — That was the agenda for the day. I ended up staying late to do my #19 amalgam prep as well.
And yet another reason UOP rocks my socks: There was an event in Cafe Cagnone, our snazzy cafeteria, today and there was tons of leftover goodies so Dr. Hayashido and staff pushed it up to the sim lab for us. I’m talking salad, creamy tortellini, some meat that I didn’t inspect, bread rolls, and herb roasted potatoes. Then the 2nd and 3rd year class presidents brought in leftover In & Out burgers and drinks from their ASB meeting. It was a nice treat to break up the monotony and frequently, frustrations, of doing crown preps as an amateur.
I love UOP.
…. I’m tired.
I left the sim lab today at 9:30 pm. This is the second night in a row. I hope this doesn’t become too regular but I have a feeling it will be with “early” days as special days. I had to do alginate impressions of my typodont, pour the stone models, and mount this new stone on my articulator. Unfortunately my first set must have closed too hard so when all was done and mounted, I discovered a chip of the distal corner of the left maxillary central incisor and the right mandibular central incisor. It sucked to see it and a little hard to accept that I had to start back at square 1 but I did it. On the plus side, my big sib came around and helped me through the whole thing. Having her there made the experience so much better.
I still have some restorative homework to get to and I need to get more sleep tonight. I bike to and from school and after lab today, I forgot to grab my helmet and being tired, I just left. Then of all days, I fell at a red light. The driver next to me told me to wear a helmet. *sigh*
Oh, I also wanted to add some stuff that’s been going on. This morning I took my 2nd dental anatomy quiz as well as handed in my wax up of #8. Before lunch was over, it was graded and ready for us. To give you an idea of what I’ve been battling, in 3 weeks +/- two days, I’ve done 2 wax ups and started a #6 wax up (which had a cone break off … sad), did amalgam preps for #19 and #30, did so many alginate impressions of my typodont and my own teeth, poured so many stone models, did up 2 articulator mounts, and had 4 quizzes and 1 exam. Not sure how this is being read but I’m not complaining. The work is satisfying and one day this will be over and I’ll wish I was still in dental school so I’m enjoying the heck out of it while I’m here. =D
Also, word at UOP is that next year, we’re going to paperless charting. That’ll be interesting. Not sure what system we’ll be using yet.
It’s Friday and I’m sitting in Biochem. I’m so so so grateful I took Biochemistry in undergrad because currently, this is all review. Right now, we’re going over tertiary and quartenary structures. Of course, I have a long date with my biochem notes this weekend but I don’t feel mentally stressed about it. We have a biochem exam this Monday and a Dental Anatomy quiz next Tuesday.
Yesterday the ASDA reps at UOP threw together a First Year - First Aid to give us, first years, pointers about how to most effectively succeed in our courses. Plus there was pizza … there was a pretty good turn out.
