Crash and Burn

In a half an hour Sterling is bringing me lunch, and I just love him. And I think I'm going to cry. And never stop until...well, I can't think of any good reason to stop, so I think I'll just keep crying forever. Sob. Sigh.

This morning started out fabulously. Sterling had breakfast waiting for me, dropped me off for my big mockboard exam, and wished me the best of luck. I want to know who got that luck, cause it surely wasn't me.

My patient was also my real board patient, coming up in just a few weeks. I had had another patient scheduled a couple of months ago, but when I called to tell them I found another patient, their phone was out of service, and I never did get a hold of them. So..I went ahead and scheduled my board patient. For those of you who aren't in dental hygiene, this means I would have an entire MOCK experience with the exact same patient I have for the real exam (which costs $1000 to take) and this would be REALLY helpful for me. You have 1/2 hour to get everything ready and the patient submitted by 8:30. 8:25 Lindsay is going ballistic, has no patient, has called to try and find a backup, and is seriously going into hysterics, when...in walks the patient I could never get a hold of to cancel.

Unfortunately, this angel patient is not 18, and so therefore, I fail without even starting. But, he does qualify in every other aspect, so I can get the feel of what the exam is like by using him. I get him in the chair. Automatic reduction because I don't have PA's for the quad I'm working on---it was 8:25 and he had to be submitted by 8:30, there was really no way. Then, I looked at my chart and I had finished three quads and only had one left...upper left. So I submitted it. Came back as having nothing. WHAT??!?!?!? He's a class II!!!! I had another professor check. Come to realize that my chart said that was the only quad I HAD finished, and all the other three weren't clean. Argh. So we got that straightened out.

I started cleaning, was going along doing just fine. I finished his upper quad, and moved to the two lower teeth that I had submitted to fulfill requirements. Realized one had a temporary crown. And it was super shaky. I didn't even want to touch it. So I just ultrasoniced around it. Sigh.

Then I looked up at the clock and realized it was 10:45, and he was supposed to be done at 10:50!!!! I started scribbling down probe depths and recession and paperwork, and turned him in. Only to realize.......It was 9:50. I was honestly sick to my stomach.

Good news, I only missed one spot on the upper quad. I missed the entire tooth on the lower quad that I was too nervous to touch. Ouch.

So, I failed xrays. I failed because he wasn't 18. I failed because I forgot to circle buccal/lingual on my probe depths because I was in such a hurry. Lets just say I was so ready to sit down and cry. My only happy thought is that the upper quad only had one missed area, and I had an entire hour to continue working had I known it.

The only good part of this morning was the fact that my professor told me she thought I was just a completely different person this morning and she thinks that usually I am a stellar clinician.

BUT WHAT REALLY FREAKS ME OUT IS THE PATIENT THAT DIDN'T SHOW UP IS SUPPOSED TO BE MY PATIENT FOR THE REAL $1000 EXAM!!!!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FIND ANOTHER PATIENT???? AHHHHH!!!!

Now, if Sterling would show up with lunch, I am going to cry for the rest of the day.