The College of New Caledonia’s (CNC) dental hygiene
program, located in Prince George, British Columbia
(BC), began its first intake in 1987. Since then it has been
graduating safe, competent, entry-level dental hygienists
who have been well sought after by many employers
throughout BC. This article offers both an instructor’s
perspective on teaching and preparing students for
graduation, and a new graduate’s perspective on her
journey from student to registered dental hygienist
working in private practice.
Instructor Perspective
As a faculty member in CNC’s dental hygiene program,
I have educated and prepared students for a career as
registered dental hygienists for many years. Sometimes I
find myself wondering how the students will adjust once
working in the real world. What type of dental hygienists
will they become? It seems some students can hardly wait
to graduate, while others are apprehensive to leave and start
working. Some students are very confident in their newly
acquired knowledge and kinetic skills, while others need
constant reminding of their proven capabilities. On the first
day of orientation week in September each year, I meet all
the new students and wonder what will become of their
incoming class. I contemplate who will stand out as the top
clinician, the top academic, the critical thinker, the problem
solver, the “mother hen,” the outspoken one, the quiet one
or the one who may have various challenges along the way.
Overall, though, as an educator, I want to help each student
succeed and become the best dental hygienist they can
be. To accomplish this, I spend many extra hours preparing
new lesson plans, finding updated evidence-based articles,
preparing assignments and exams, and providing clinical
remediation teaching times for various students when
required.
At times, I have wondered if all of the extra work is worth it.
Then graduation day comes and I see all of those beaming
faces, huge smiles, and skilled students. Suddenly, I forget
about all the extra time I spent teaching and preparing them
and I remember why I love teaching and the journey each
academic year brings. When students later share some of
their “real life” experiences in private practice and how
much they love providing client care, it really makes me
feel like I made a difference in their education and their life.
It solidifies all the hard decisions faculty sometimes need
to make each year in order for students to succeed in the
program, such as assigning unsuccessful grades even when
you know it will bring about student tears, or adding extra
requirements to a struggling student’s clinical term in order
for him or her to demonstrate competency. It all becomes
so relevant and worthwhile when a new graduate displays
confidence in their clinical skills. One such student was
Aria Kensley, a student from the 2019 graduating class. She
emailed me four months after graduating from the CNC
dental hygiene program with her narrative on completing
a very difficult debridement requiring local anesthetic.
The following is her perspective on her journey through
the program and how she was able to confidently apply
her knowledge and skills in a private practice as a newly
registered dental hygienist.
Student Perspective: Starting the Program
The news of my acceptance into the CNC dental hygiene
program was one of the most exciting and terrifying
moments of my adult life. As a single mother, I had already
been faced with some unique and trying hurdles when
I began my postsecondary education. However, it was
during this time that I adopted a mantra I believed would
help me to attain my educational goals. It’s a quote from
the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, which you are likely
familiar with: “That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
As cliché as it sounds, those words helped me a lot.
My first semester in the dental hygiene program was a
blur. I found it to be a huge challenge to balance being a
single parent with the intense demands of the program. At
one point, I remember having a cassette placed before me
with a large assortment of dental hygiene instruments. Our
instructor described each instrument in detail, highlighting
all of the minor differences that made each one unique and specific. Afterwards my instructor continued her lecture by
explaining the curves of working ends and pointed out all of
the different angles and cutting edges. As you can guess, the
information was flowing in one ear and gushing right out the
other. We were then informed that we would be expected
to identify the names and specific uses of every one of our
instruments in a clinical examination. The labels of our
instruments would be covered in tape for this exam. When I
heard this piece of news, I almost fell off my chair right then
and there.
Looking back on it now I can see I had nothing to worry
about since CNC does an exceptional job of preparing their
students for the working world. Participating in interactive
lectures for several hours each week built a strong academic
foundation for my career. I recognized the value of attending
these lectures in person as did the program instructors.
Faculty were also accommodating on multiple occasions,
allowing me to attend two- and three-hour lectures with my
daughter when child care was unavailable to me.
As a hands-on learner, I would have to say the most
valuable time I spent in the program was in the dental clinic.
I recognize that not all dental hygiene learning institutions
are fortunate enough to be able to provide students with an
abundance of clients to work with. Having to be responsible
for recruiting your own clients can add stress to an already
stressful time. CNC has worked hard over the years to
build a large and diverse client population, giving students
many opportunities to learn from and work with clients
who have challenging and unique needs. I currently live
in Terrace, BC, where my office provides dental care to
several small villages in the surrounding area where access
to dental care is limited. The population is such that I see
very complex clients daily. During my time in school I had
plenty of exposure to complex clients with varying levels of
periodontal disease, extensive health histories, and unique
client management needs, so I was well prepared to begin
my chosen career.
Student Perspective: Graduation Day
Graduation day was another monumental day for me as
I looked back on the challenges I had both faced and
overcome. One of those challenges happened during
my year completing the prerequisites. I was shocked and
devastated to discover that I wouldn’t be able to complete
all the courses within a year due to a scheduling overlap.
Chemistry and biology were in the same time block and
I needed both for the dental hygiene program. After
some meetings with the college dean and relevant faculty
members, I was given permission to take my biology course
without ever attending the lectures. It was agreed that I
could borrow equipment from the college’s library to record
these lectures to later review and make notes. Before each
biology class I would run to set up and record the lecture
and then rush back down the hall to attend my chemistry
lecture. I would later collect my equipment, sign it out for
the night, review the lecture at home, take notes, and return
the equipment the following day.
Not all challenges are faced externally either. Something
else that I learned in my time at CNC was the importance
of positive self-talk and not giving up. I am a student who
failed a mid-term exam. I am a student who failed a final
exam. However, more importantly, I am a student who
graduated from an accredited dental hygiene program with
a diploma with honours! It can be easy to lose sight of your
end goals in the hysteria of failure and disappointment.
Having some special faculty there to get your head back
in the game with love and support can help clear the fog.
When you feel like you are losing, fight harder because as
long as you’re still standing you can still win. On graduation
day I was elated at my ability to handle adversity and felt
a sense of accomplishment as I prepared myself to take on
the working world. I was excited but nervous to leave the
program. The thought of no longer having an experienced
dental hygiene instructor to double-check all of my work
and review all of my debridement was scary. I had just
been given a licence-to-scale and it felt both empowering
and terrifying. With great power comes great responsibility
they say. So, I did my best to stride with confidence into my
new full-time position as a registered dental hygienist in my
hometown of Terrace, BC.