Goodbye post from Devon...

I applied for the dental hygiene field school because I saw it as a great opportunity to experience dental hygiene in a whole new way. I knew that by the final semester of the program I would feel comfortable in the environment of school clinic and would have a routine for care. I had hoped that transporting that clinical experience to Mexico would force me to rethink the way I provide care and emphasize the importance of dental hygiene in my mind.

I strongly feel that the experience offered me the opportunity that I had hoped for and much more. The field school experience was valuable to me in many ways. My confidence in my knowledge and ability to provide exceptional care and education to clients was really cemented in Mexico because all of the fancy extras of the clinic environment back in Victoria were stripped away leaving myself, my knowledge and the client. The longer days and more difficult client status pushed me to condense my assessments appropriately and focus on concise and effective debridement in order to complete clients and provide valuable education to them during their appointment. While the focus was less on continued care as it was unlikely we would see clients again, the experience emphasized the importance of self care education at each appointment.

I believe that my experience at the dental hygiene field school will impact my future practice by providing me with the confidence I need to enter private practice and approach dental hygiene as a valuable profession.