Working my way Up
As a partnership between the University of Washington School of Dentistry and Seattle Children's Hospital, the CPD was created to provide care for low-income families as well as children that needed special care. You know when they say you have to earn your position and work your way up? This was entirely my reality. I started my freshman year shredding paper and filing insurance information, it was mindless work but I always thought about what needed to be done and that I was contributing in anyway. Following this, I worked with Dr. Travis Nelson to create the first Social Story program that included real pictures of people and dental equipment to help prepare children in the autism clinic for their visit to the dentist. I admired the efforts of Dr. Nelson taking on the challenge to improve the comprehension of autistic children at the dental office. This project allowed me to experience a combination of personal interaction which I had found rewarding before in speech therapy and the clinical procedures I had always been fascinated with in my studies. I desired to explore other challenges of patient interaction and be involved with developments of new dental technologies, so I applied to become a research assistant at the Center under the supervision of Dr. Amy Kim. Soon I was on the clinic floor informing potential patients of our studies before asking for their participation. I learned that I needed to phrase procedures in a way that would not make patients’ parents apprehensive while maintaining clarity of the protocols. I grew to be mindful of the parents’ mood and consider their circumstances before discussing any treatments. I attribute almost every success I have in the field to my time here, it has taught me to much about patient interaction, professionalism and need for further research. Not to mention my co-workers have now become my best friends and I am SO excited to see everyone's career flourish. Below is a compilation of my time at the CPD. I will miss it dearly.
http://thecenterforpediatricdentistry.com/for-parents-and-patients/special-needs/