Days 7 & 8 & 9
Ahhh finally the weekend. It has been hectic, good, bad, happy, sad, just about every emotion rolled up into three days.
Friday was a short and bitter sweet day in clinic. We had an early day because we needed to pack up the gear that belongs to Greg, Jim, Monica, Julia, and Sue. L L L We saw a few less patients then we normally would and had some celebratory Red Strips on the trip home.
Friday night was the going away cocktail party for the peeps who were leaving from week one. Before the cocktails my team and I had delivery from Scotchies, (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147311-d1516484-Reviews-Scotchies-Montego_Bay_Jamaica.html) which I’ve mentioned before has FAB jerk chicken, rice n peas and such. Then we had our goodbyes. Jolyn put together an awesome slide show and video with highlights from the week. It was so super to get to see what everyone else had been experiencing, and hear their stories of how awesome their experiences have been over the past week.
I cry so much! Just about every time someone talks about what they went through, the people they have helped, the people that have helped them it just gets me. I’m so not normally an emotional person, but this place just does it to me! It felt so great when it was my team, TEAM AWESOME’s turn to get up in front of everyone and just gush about how great the week was, how much we instantly bonded with one another, how much we grew to love our 1.5 hr commute each way b/c it meant that we sang along and shared stories about our lives. I’ve learned a lot from Sista, Monica, Greg, Jim, Julia and Susan and MAN, am I going to miss them!!
Saturday was a bit of a free day. I was excited to get up in the morning and see the sun shining. I wanted to have beautiful weather for when Sandy and Steph arrived in the afternoon. We got some beach and pool time in during the a.m. then it got dark and stormy, as things tend to do in the tropics.
Saturday ended up feeling like a really stressful day for me. We had been planning on a room switch b/c we were going to have two more rooming with us, but things around the resort seems to be a logistical nightmare. We were locked out of our room from 11 a.m. on, and were told that the new room would be ready at 2 p.m. Well, long story short, we ended up in the same room, I was locked out in my swimsuit and dress for four hours, Sandy and Steph had transit issues and didn’t arrive until around 9 - missing the nice weather and the Sat. night meet n greet cocktails.
On top of all this, Peters birthday was Saturday. He turned 40. Being here on this particular day felt like a really big sacrifice. I really wanted to be with him on this day. We all leave things behind to come on this trip. We leave families, dogs, cats, our practices, our friends and loved ones. It’s the one thing to me that really feels taxing while being on the project. I could see patients all day until my feet gave out and I would survive. What I really miss is being around my loved ones to help boost me back up when I have spent all of my own energy on caring for someone else. Or, in this case caring for many other someone elses. I’m doing my best to eat well, stay hydrated, rest when I need to and express my needs as best I can to those around me to be able to energize myself to enable me to keep on providing care and support to those who need it so desperately here.
Saturday night we had the next get to know ya cocktails for the new group for week two. It is definitely a different dynamic this time around. We have fewer veteran dentist and hygienists and more dental students. I think we have around 30 from Temple and Ohio State. I am super excited to see how much they grow emotionally/ professionally/ spiritually in the next seven days!!
Finally, today is Sunday! I can’t believe we have been here for just over a week, with a week to go!! Tina and I made a point to get up early today and get some beach/ pool time in before mandatory meetings began. I’m really happy we did. Our free time, and even more specifically free time in the sun is so few and far between. After that we went to the meeting where we found out what our assignments will be for the next week. Tina and I will be in Maroon Town again. There are benefits to it, we know whats what, where things are and can help everyone get acclimated with whats going on in the area. The downfall is that we are not getting to experience a new place. Either way, we are serving the same purpose, and shall do so with a smile J
We are joined by two other dentists who were in a different clinic this week, as well as Stephanie and Sandy, plus 5 dental students from the Univ. of Ohio. Its definitely going to be a different experience in that way. We don’t have any hygienists, so the students will be doing some hygene as well as surgical/ restorative work, trading off working and assisting one another. Tina and I will be assisting the two veteran docs. They have a different speed and philosophy than our previous group did. One doc is going to do strictly extractions, and Tina will be assisting him, the other will be doing strictly restorative, and I will be assisting them.
The downside; I think we’ll be treating fewer patients than we did in the previous week, the upside is that there may be more connecting time with the patients that we do see.
That fact is a little ironic. At the meet n greet Sat. night my advice to the newbees was to take time to slow down, talk to people, connect with them, relate to them. I had said it along the lines of that process was something that I was going to try and focus on this week, as opposed to wanting to be an uber-assistant and see as many people as possible. Well, I think I may just be getting my wish.
Quote of the day:
“Be careful what you wish for.” From Tina, in regards to experiencing spending more time on individual patients translating into seeing less patients overall.
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