Well, I guess I'm finally facing reality. I am an EXTREMELY forgetful person. My family always tells me that, but I never saw it till recently. Well today it hit me like a ton of bricks....and then it depressed me. Let me explain...
I've been working full-time for about six weeks now. I've been catching on pretty well, especially since the office I work in has been so patient, and generous enough to have given me several training days before I took the entire full-time patient load. My biggest struggle is timing. I'm sure it's no secret that Hygienists that are fresh out of school don't exactly have speed as a strong point. I struggle to keep to the schedule with almost every patient. And if they don't floss (which honestly is like 90% of my patients) it's even MORE work for me. I guess they just pounded it in my brain at school that it's better to be thurough than fast. I can't leave the job undone, and it takes me an average of 40 minutes to clean a mouth. Ten minutes for x-rays and health updates, and ten minutes for the Dr.'s exam. That's exactly one hour. Five minutes to change barriers and set-up for the next patient puts me an average of five minutes behind. If there's any delay with the Dr. getting over for the exam, or if I have to do perio-charting.....most of the time (not always...sometimes I get lucky) it puts me even MORE behind. With this CONSTANTLY on my mind, there are times when I tend to get quite spacy. If I'm running behind AT ALL, I almost always forget to do something important, like give my patient a new toothbrush, or schedule their next appointment in six months, or FLOSS THEIR TEETH! I can't tell you how many times I get in a hurry to get done, I quit polishing and then sit them up.
Then, if I have any sort of patient that demands a different attention energy level (such as children, or a grumpy old person) then I get so caught-up in making things right and comfortable for them that I'll forget something important. Then there was today.... Parker and Caleb came at lunch time to see me. I was THRILLED to see them. I was so excited to introduce them to everybody at the office, that I forgot to clock out for lunch. Okay, everybody forgets that once in a while. But when I told the front desk that they'd need to fix my time-sheet.... she informed me that I forgot to clock out for a lunch YESTERDAY too! Whenever a child is in my chair, I almost ALWAYS forget to give them fluoride. Luckily, I usually remember the things I've forgotten, but it's after I should have done it in the proper order, so people think I'm like a chicken running around with it's head cut off.
Maybe this doesn't sound all that bad, but after an entire day of forgetting this thing and that thing, I felt like everybody in the office was like, "Heather....screw your head on tight!" Now, nobody's said anything to me, but I'm SURE they've noticed (especially the front desk). She's alwasy the one to set me right when I forget something. Anyway, like I said....after an entire day of this, it gets pretty dis-heartening. And I just wanted to kick myself for being such a space-cadet. I was REALLY upset at myself. And it's SO true, it's "so Heather" to be forgetful. My sister was absalutely right. I guess I need to go through a mental checklist.....but I'm just trying so hard to do things on time, I forget everything else. I hope they don't all hate me by the time I'm supposed to leave....I really do love it there.
One last thing, on a brighter note..... today I finished this patient, and as I was sitting her up she looked at me and called me by name and said, "Heather, that was BY FAR the best cleaning I've ever had. Thank you." I was FLATTERED. I love to hear things like that. See people, I really am a good hygienist.....I just get a little spacy sometimes.
4 comments:
I think it is easy for anybody to forget things when trying to hurry or when a little flustered. I can go to the grocery store without a list and not forget a single item, but then forget to boil the noodles when making dinner because I am trying to hurry. Don't get too down on yourself. And even if everybody in the office does think you need to screw your head on a little tighter, at least your patients are being taken care of--they probably don't even notice you do some things "out of order". Maybe try making a visual checklist until it's routine. Of course the list might vary from patient to patient, but you can adapt. It always helps Travis to have a list and he's a genius!
Hey it's all a new routine and can be quite stressful because it is new and you want to do your very best. Your job is very important :) Just do your best and recognize when you've made a mistake and you'll be alright. We still love ya!
I'm sure you are doing awesome Heather!
Heather- if it makes you feel any better, at least once a week, I forget to clock out or in for lunch or the day and, like you, I have a very patient office (thank goodness) but I don't know how much longer I can keep making these mistakes and not start looking like I'm missing a part of my memory!
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