Tips N' Tricks
Tips n' Tricks

CLINICAL TIPS
ROUND-UP: Clinic II faculty FCCJ
Faculty determine topic during clinic session with a 10 minute mini-lesson following clinic.

VISITATION: Michelle Fellona, FCCJ
Lower level visits 1 level above for ½ hr. 1x/semester
1 on 1 observations of peer's assessment, clinical, patient management skills
Visiting student writes a short report on KWL (what they Knew, what they Wanted to know and what they Learned)


PATIENT POSITION: Cindy Wampler, FCCJ
Remind students that the patient makes physical adjustments during treatment not the clinician! 1 hr. vs 8 hr. theory

BALLERINA: Elaine Parker, U of MD
Stay up on your fulcrum; "we're ballerinas, not ducks! "


CASE DOCUMENTATION PROJECT: Rita Hallock, Brevard
One of the highlights of our clinical education for the students here at Brevard Community College is the semester the students do their Case Documentation project. It is introduced the first week in the semester and students are given the criteria for patient selection. The two main objectives in choosing a patient are that: the patient must present a clinical challenge to the student as a special needs patient. This can be physical, mental, or psychological challenge that the student must research or learn to cope with in the dental environment performing comprehensive dental hygiene care for the patients.


The patient must show some type of visible change or healing in response to the semester long individualized dental hygiene care performed, during this limited time frame. Then, the student presents the project in a written and oral form to peers, faculty and invited community dental professionals.
The student is charged with making the decisions - of choosing their patient, developing the DH goals and treatment plan, and executing the procedures necessary to treat the patient, to properly document the experience and outcome,*as well as evaluate or summarize the project (be the outcome positive or negative). The student and patient usually establish a mutual admiration for the entire experience and it seems to be a turning point in the student's education to actually be deciding what the patient needs are, how they are going to arrive at and determine their measurable results, and how to achieve the outcome they desire.
At first it seems monumental to them, but once they are into it, they really surprise the faculty and themselves of their own capabilities and creativity. An oral and written report complete with documentation, and visual aids- like intra-oral photos, radiographs, and study models- are submitted for evaluation. The Oral reports are twenty minutes per student and are presented to other community professionals and the students and faculty to introduce their patient, explain their approach and summarize the project. It is an enlightening experience and a win-win situation for all.

LABORATORY TIPS
Tricks of my trade: Glenda Miller, BS CDA
A sense of humor is a must. I am very accident prone and have had some bizarre things happen in my life. Each week I weave one of my escapades into a lecture topic. Also, students need to see that there is humor in their chosen profession. I collect dental related cartoons and by the end of the first month of classes the students are bringing new cartoons for me to include in the collection.
I start each year telling my students that they can't know where they're going unless they know where they've been. So, each week I include in one of my lectures a piece of dental trivia. For instance, how did St. Appolonia come to exist? How did the Apache Indians do root canals? Where did we get the expression, "I'd give my eye teeth for that?"
During our 10 months together they need to learn that learning shouldn't stop with the end of the program. Crave it-need it-don't ever stop! With each new subject area I tell them, "You all are going to love this, it is so exciting." It could be watching their first radiograph develop, observing how amalgam is made, or how caries form. When I see students learning it's like I'm teaching for the first time! That is truly exciting to me!
I have the Myers-Brigs administered to the students each year. This helps me organize who I put together in the clinic. I have 4 students per unit and I can't have all similar personalities in one group. It is more like working in a dental office because you certainly can't pick your office staff prior to employment. They get to know one another and work well together as a team. This exercise helps me determine who are visual, audio and activity learners.
There is life away from campus. I get my students out into the public sector: we visit several schools during Dental Health Education; we set up the Medieval Dental practice at the Medieval Fair at Kent Campus; I take the students on a tour of the UF dental school in Gainesville. This way they learn that their chosen profession should not stay in the dental office; we get out and participate in the community!


DIDACTIC
TURN AROUND: Hazel Kerr, FCCJ
Halfway through a complicated concept class, have students turn to person behind them and share what they've learned so far.


BOXING in DATA: Vance McCullom, FCCJ
Students increase their retention by 40% when information is presented within a box & by 60% when info is in color.


COLOR CODE: Cammie Davidson, FCCJ
Color code your handouts to increase student organization à learning!


WEEKLY 10's: Michelle Fellona, FCCJ
Use 20 questions worth 10 points to test difficult material weekly
Process motivates students to stay on top of difficult material w/o loosing many points


Head and Neck Anatomy

Modeling clay is used to recreate the muscles on a skull.