Goodbye post from Amy V...

I applied to this field school with a desire to strengthen my clinical skills through working with a diverse range of individuals. I also wanted to experience life in another country and take myself out of my comfort zone to.

This experience was so valuable to me because I not only achieved my desired goal, but also made friends, impacted lives, learned some Spanish, enjoyed a beautiful culture and climate, and strengthened friendships with classmates :) This experience will impact my future practice as I feel capable to work on many different types of patients and have learned strategies that I feel confident using to ensure that my patient is treated in a timely manner while still meeting their needs. I feel that my interpersonal skills have also expanded and I can better relate to individuals through non-verbal communication if language may be a barrier. This experience also enabled me to take a moment to remember to breath and relax! By remembering to relax, and take a deep breath every now and then, I will be more approachable to my clients and hopefully help reduce any anxiety as well. I'm sure as I embark on my journey into the private practice world I will continuously find myself reflecting back on experiences I have learned as I am already finding myself reflecting back while working on patients at the Camosun dental clinic again.

I am so grateful and thankful that I was able to be a part of this amazing opportunity and I am confident that my future career and practice will benefit from my experiences gained on this trip :)