My First "Patient"

Today I got the opportunity to meet my first patient. He is going to have to suffer through my learning and awkwardness for the next little while. He consists of lips (that are extremely stretchy I might add) and a full mouth of teeth including: wisdom teeth, plaque, and a couple loose ones. He does not have a name yet but he definitely deserves one so I will come up with one and more formally introduce you to him at a later date. He was an excellent patient for me today, he didn't whine, moan, or groan as I dislocated his jaw, jerked him around, showered him with water, suctioned his cheek, and practically drowned him with water. I'm pretty lucky to have him and hopefully he'll eventually be feel lucky to have me

We learned a few new things today. One of them was how to use the Blue Boa. The inventor and creator of this nifty device personally came and showed us how to use it. It is made for suctioning while using the ultrasonic so I won't have much experience with it for a little while but I know the basics of using it. I got to experiment with the different shaped suctions, using them, placing them, and bending them in a way that is most beneficial to me and the patient. I really liked this device and could see myself using it in my career.

Another thing we got the low down on is Personal Protective Equipment used in clinic. Quick summary: wash your hands a billion times, cover yourself completely, clean everything, and don't conserve (aka use as many gloves, masks, and towels as you want). Although we can all make fun of the tediousness of it, it really is for our benefit, our patients, and of course, our loved ones. As health care workers we have the responsibility to not only care for and protect our patients but also ourselves and the ones we are close to so these precautions, as funny as they may seem truly are steps we all need to always take in the health care world.

I also passed off my first PE today! It was the Eagle Soft one. It wasn't hard and a lot less intimidating than I thought it would be. I'm glad we are starting out with easier things so I can gain the confidence to do the harder things in the future. Now, I just need to work on my PPE PE (it's quite the title!). But that's about it for today, it was a good one. I'm still smiling :)