RPD Discussion -- DONE!

Is it cheesy to say that I love Dentistry now more than I did yesterday (..but not as much as I will tomorrow)? I have massive Prosthodontics issues, and it's not that I dislike it, it's just that I don't feel that it likes me very much. I'm working on a brand new Removable Partial Denture case, and while you may think that I've said that too many times already, it actually feels real this time. Yes, this time. I really hope that in July or so, I'd be writing again, talking about the same case, telling everyone that I've finished. Oh my Lord, I really hope this happens.:)

Before actually starting procedures, we have to go through this thing called a Case Discussion, which is pretty much like a hybrid of a mini-defense and an actual situational analysis quiz. During the discussion, the clinician is pretty much expected to foresee all circumstances, and adjust treatments as necessary. Discussions are such a mix of theory and practical that during my case discussion today, I had to flip through pages of McCracken just to arrive at certain answers.

I did my case discussion along with my friend, Johanna. I think one of the reasons why we got through the discussion without sustaining any injuries (hehe) is that we really gave our personal bests in preparing. I invited her to my house the night before so that we could study and work on our case portfolios together. I like to believe that we prepared well.



We were both under Dr. Brian Esporlas. It really upped up the pressure to prepare well, because as he admits it himself, he really makes his victims clinicians think hard. Hmm, wait-- let me restate that: All our Clinical Instructors at school make us think hard, but discussions with Dr. Esporlas are unique because.. Well.. Just because. By the way, he has page numbers memorized, so it really is vital to read, read, read, and R E A D! :)



By the way, Clinical Instructors do wear white coats at school, but I took this photo during lunch hour, and no patients were inside.



You know how they say that reinforced positive behavior is repeated? -- here's a tip for you:
When you do something good, like when you're able to answer correctly, or when you come up with a correct RPD design, give yourself a few minutes to relax, to have fun, and to actually smile. Let your smile-minutes be your positive reinforcement so that whatever nice thing you accomplished, would actually stick. Trust me, it's legit. I heard it on a YouTube video. Everything on YouTube is legit. With the exception of things that aren't. Hahaha.



In the past, I've known myself to be Queen Discouragement. In previous case discussions, especially during my first year at UPHSD, I'd get so discouraged, and so sad that I'd actually cry. No, I'm serious-- I cried during my Anesthesiology PETE discussion, and my Complete Denture discussion, and I nearly did during my (first!) RPD discussion (the case wherein I had to let the patient go)-- and my professors were actually nice. I'm pretty sure that not everyone's as dramatic as I am, but mini-meltdowns are okay, as long as you pick yourself up quickly, and bounce back stronger.

In case discussions, you really need to leave your ego at the door. You need to be confident, but not arrogant. I know it's easier said than done, as I myself have my own set of pride issues.

PRIDE ISSUES

Attitude-wise, it's simply important to remember to not be an a-hole. Being an arrogant a-hole takes up so much energy, and it's energy you can use for better things (such as flipping through pages of McCracken).

During this RPD case discussion, I wanted to cry when I was asked to draw my design on paper. I had the design in mind, but I just didn't know how to draw it well. There simply aren't any *ArTiSaN* fibers in my chubby little body, soooo yeah. Thankfully, my Clinical Instructor helped me through it, and yay! I did it. --but there really is no way that I'm gonna post my RPD design drawing here on the blog, and it's mainly because I had trouble working the pencil, and once you see my utter lack of art skillzzz, you would lose all respect for me. I tell you.



I know I've sung my praises of my discussion-mate, Ate Johanna over on Instagram, but let me go right ahead and sing some more-- Sometimes, multiple clinicians want to discuss on a given day, but only one clinical instructor is available. When this happens, the clinicians have to do their case discussions at the same time. There really isn't much of a downside to it, except that your instructor might take a little bit longer to check two of everything-- I don't know, if you even consider that a down side.

"ATE" is used to address an older female in Filipino, kind of like how you say "ah jie" in Chinese. We also use it to refer to our seniors, kind of like "sunbae" in Korean. Here's the thing-- she's my ate by age, but I'm her ate by seniority.

If you need to have a discussionmate, find yourself a cheerful one. I can't really think of any sad clinicians at my school right now, but just go right ahead and pair up with someone who can complement your learning style. Look for someone who'd be generous in sharing what she knows, and would gladly accept what you know. I would have been lucky if I had Fhel, Ehm, Kim Kyle, Marvin, Justin.. or pretty much any one of the happy summer clinicians-- but by getting Johanna, I was extra lucky. And blessed. Definitely blessed. <3 The thing is, you grow with your co-clinicians, and isn't it just more fun to be happy while growing?

I'm five minutes closer to wrapping this up, but one thing that I want to reiterate, which might as well be the most important of all-- find yourself a good lipstick. I know that lipstick should be least of one's concerns when going off to war for a case discussion, but let your lipstick be your war paint, there's so much confidence to gain from wearing a good lip color. It's not always red, though. You can try fuchsia too.:)



Here's something interesting-- I posted a picture of myself trying on lipstick (yes, it's the L'Oreal one that I'm currently in love with) on Facebook. The next time I saw Dr. Brian, he asked me what shade it was because his wife wanted it as well. When I saw it on sale on BeautyMNL, I immediately sent the link to Dr. Brian's wife. --and yes, Dr. Ailene Esporlas now has L'Oreal Color Riche in Glamor Fuschia as well.

Today, Johanna and I are set on working on our wax patterns for our cases. I'll keep you posted!:)

Love always,
Corine Magenta