It’s A Tale of Two Hygienists’ monthly student roundtable episode, which means Andrew and Michelle have invited a quartet of guests to educate student listeners on a chosen topic. This week, the crew looks at the ways the COVID-19 pandemic may reshape dental hygiene education in the short and long term.
Jessica Atkinson, assistant professor in dental hygiene at Dixie State University in St. George, Uta; she is also the COO of Hygiene Edge, which sells a wide variety of products and guides. Erika Spring is a dental hygiene instructor at Coastal Carolina Community College in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Jasmin Haley is CEO of Beyond the Prophy and works to power dental hygienists and professional women. Sheba Jones is an instructor at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona
In this episode, our guests lay out what prospective hygiene students should look for in a program, ask these students to really think about what they’re ready to commit to, and offer plenty of advice to those unsure of how to proceed during the pandemic.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
Interview starts: 4:13
– How the guests’ respective schools are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown.
– What Jasmin and her colleagues did to reassure students at this time.
– Speculating on the potential “paradigm shift” faculty and students alike can expect.
– The misunderstanding Jessica hopes to correct with her latest blog post.
– Erika discusses some of the frustrations that led her to pursue work in coaching and consulting.
– Jessica argues against the secrecy some dental hygiene programs have toward their techniques.
– Sheba advocates for more info-sharing among hygiene programs.
– The guests’ final words of encouragement for students living and working through this uncertain period.
QUOTES:
“Dental hygiene’s not going away!”
“I don’t have a problem recording myself. What I have a problem with is getting that recording to upload the way that I want it to.”
“What I’m advocating for is for the recognition for what we already are!”
“It’s hard to get feedback from people who aren’t doing it.”
“I saw hygienists doing what hygienists can do, which is much more than just picking calculus off of teeth.”
“We are so much more than we are giving ourselves credit for.”
LINKS:
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More Student Roundtable Episodes: https://ataleoftwohygienists.com/studentroundtable/
