Today was our first probing day. I was somewhat apprehensive because my first day exploring (last week) went terrible. I guess I was planning on the same sort of experience. Luckily it went very well. We changed pod instructors this week, which was sad for our pod because we really really liked our pod instructor, Instructor Vining. He is very cool and helps us out a lot. Our new pod instructor this week is Professor Costley. I was a little nervous about that because she intimidates me, but she really is very nice and helpful, she even told me that I was doing a good job. Our TA for our pod today was Emily. She is really nice and she is a huge help. Probing wasn't half as bad as exploring was. I got the hang of it quicker and I didn't even make my pt. bleed which was such a relief. I am so glad that things seem to be getting somewhat easier. I also passed off two PE's today. The fulcruming one and the instrument one. They were both really easy. Yeah!!

I did not sleep last night because I was so worried about clinic today. I think it was just because it felt like I killed my patient last time, and I didn't want to do that again. I really dreaded coming today, and I just felt sick thinking about it. When I got here I realized that my whole pod was nervous too! That made me feel so much better. Today we got to practice explorer instrumentation again. It was good to be able to spend more time on it. Professor Costley helped our pod today, and I really started to get the hang of it. Finally!! I didn't make my patient bleed nearly as much as last time. I even felt more confident!

Today felt like the longest day. I missed clinic last week, so I had to come in and make it up this morning. That means that I was here all day in clinic. That is kind of tough. This morning went well. The time flew by, and I felt like I knew what I was doing with fulcruming and instrumentation. Then this afternoon was not so hot. Holly R. worked on me first, and she did really well. She didn't have any problems with her instrumentation, it went really smooth. Then it was my turn and I totally had major problems. I could not adapt my explorer along the surface of the tooth. I was really struggling, and I kept poking her and making her bleed. It is so frustrating, but everyone in my pod felt the same way which made me feel immensely better. I am just glad to be going home.

Let me just say that I am glad that today is over. I was really worried about clinic today because I was sick last week for clinic and I missed the extraoral exam, so today I had to do both the intraoral exam and the extraoral exam. It went well, it was just a lot of information to take in. I did my patient and operator positioning PE today. It went okay. I kindof felt flustered which made me mess up on some stuff, but that was okay. I still passed. Yeah!!

Today in clinic went really well. I was nervous because we did vital signs, and I have never learned how to take blood pressure. Everyone else seemed to already know what they were doing. I did surprisingly well. It wasn't as hard as I had anticipated. I think with a little bit more practice (on my husband and family members), I will really get the hang of it. We also practiced positioning. I am slowly getting the hang of it. I don't know why it is so difficult for me to fully grasp. I guess practice makes perfect!

Well, today in clinic felt very productive. The past couple times in clinic have been relatively boring and uneventful. It has mostly been review stuff, and then we have had a lot of time to sit around. I am sure I will look back on those clinics and wish that some days could be like that! Anyway, today was busy and the time flew by. We went over health histories, and it was really good to learn. At the beginning of class I felt lost, but by the end I felt like I had learned a lot of useful things. We also passed off 3 PE's. I was really nervous and worried about doing the PE's, because I thought that I would forget something, but it went really well. It is a relief to have that done. I am feeling a lot better about clinic today.