1. What exactly do you do?
- What field is your job in?
Dentistry - What is your job title?
Dental Hygienist - Please provide a brief description of the firm or organization that you currently work for (size and general description of what type of organization it is)
Army Dental Clinic which employs approx. 200 Dental Personnel
- How long have you been employed in this position?
30 + yrs - How many hours do you work a week on average?
40 - Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
40 - Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
Periodontal treatment and education: i.e. scaling and root planing of teeth and patient education to control bone loss.
- What was your gross income last year? Please include any bonuses or incentives received.
40000 - What is your expected gross income for this year? Please include any bonuses or incentives you expect to receive.
45000 - Please list any benefits you have (Please include number of weeks vacation, sick leave and type of health insurance, retirement plan 401k)
30 days vacation/yr, 15 days sick lv/yr/FEHB insurance, Federal Medical (Kaiser), Federal Pension - Do you feel you are under/well/over compensated at your current position?
under
2. Work environment!
- Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Explain
I service many patients and do not work with many others - I like " doing my own thing"
- Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes - Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes - Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it
I work in a very modern high tech Army Dental clinic - It's great! I have all the equipment I need! Bonus: This clinic is very up on Infection Control and Patient Safety.
- Please rank in order of importance from 1-8 (1- most important 8- least important) Assign each number once.
- 4 Income
- 6 Work Environment - co-workers
- 5 Work Environment - supervisors
- 3 Benefits
- 2 Hours
- 7 Level of responsibility
- 1 The actual "work" you do at your job
- 8 Job Title
3. How should someone new to the workforce get a J-O-B like yours?
- If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
First: College Degree in Dental and all the applicable Board Exams and Licensing Qualifications. Licensed Dental Hygienists working in Federal Dental Clinics can work anywhere in the world.
- What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours? Please be specific and explain why (e.g., social skills, organization skills, technical skills)
Obviously, manual dexterity is of the utmost importance since use of small tools are use in a confined (as well as living) space. People skills are also very valuable to ease patient-clincian relationships and provide motivation.
- Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
ABSOLUTELY! - What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Please only your patient and yourself.
4. How did you get your J-O-B
- How did you find your current job? (e.g. newspaper, internet, referral, etc.)
Referral - What was the application process for your job? (e.g. submitted resume, paper application, electronic application, all, etc.)
submitted resume - Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail? (e.g., number of interviews, who you interviewed with, group interview, individual interview, etc.)
No interview - direct hire - If you can remember, what questions were you asked at your interview?
N/A - Is this the job / field you planned to work in?
Yes - If your job is in a different field from your original plan how did you get here? Explain (Plan can be from high school/college/post college/personal plan)
M/A
5. Background: Are you qualified?
- Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
YES - College curricula specific to Dental Hygiene, and Degree, as well as Qualifing Boards and Licensure. - Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain
N/A - Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain
Education is an absolute essential - see above. - If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare you for your job?
6. The Future and Beyond (FINAL SECTION)
- If someone were to observe you at work, what would he or she say is "fun" about your job?
Interactions between myself and the patient - What is (are) the most fulfilling aspect(s) and least fulfilling aspect(s) of your current employment? (e.g. fiscal, spiritual, type of work, hours, commute, compensation, etc.)
Most - providing a necessary service to our Active Duty soldiers to improve their comfort and health. Least - Pay inequity with my private sector peers. - Is your current employment part of your career plan? Why or why not?
Yes - I am a career Civil Servant. - What are your current career goals? (Can be broad or specific)
I have achieved my career goals. Next is retirement? - Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
I absolutely love what I do, and where I do it.
7. A Day in the Life Of...
- 7 am - 8 am
7:00am - Arrive at Dental Clinic and prepare for patient care (set up instrument tray and cover chair with plastic barriers, scrub hands,etc.) Patient care chairside begins 0730am - Update patient health history, then begin treatment - scaling and root planing (removing hard deposits of plaque from tooth and root surfaces) - 8 am - 9 am
still same patient and treatment as 7am - 8am plus oral health care instruction (instruct patient in the use of various oral hygiene tools to prevent tooth loss) until 9:00am - 9 am - 10 am
9:00am - remove/dispose plastic chair barriers and disinfect chair, repack instrument tray for sterilization. Set up new plastic chair barriers and instument tray to prepare for next patient. Notate clinical treatment performed at this appointment in patients dental record. 9:15 15 min break 09:30am - repeat another patient chairside care - scaling and root planing as noted above. - 10 am - 11 am
until 11:15 - still same patient and treatment as 9am - 10 am plus oral health care instruction as noted above - 11 am - 12 am
Lunch break 11:15am - 12:15pm - 12 am - 1 pm
- 1 pm - 2 pm
Still same chaiside patient as 1215pm, also oral health care education until 2:20pm as noted above. Yes - A very repetitive day! - 2 pm - 3 pm
Since today is Friday, from 2:20pm until 3:20pm we engage in Infection Control for our chairside units and room. This involves using various disinfectant and cleaning solutions on all unit parts. - 3 pm - 4 pm
until 11:15 - still same patient and treatment as 9am - 10 am plus oral health care instruction as noted above - 4 pm - 5 pm
the staff is dismissed for the day at 4:15pm - 5 pm - 6 pm
- 6 pm - 7 pm
- 7 pm - 8 pm
- 8 pm - 9 pm
- 9 pm - 10 pm
- 10 pm - 11 pm
- 11 pm - 12 pm