M.

Cunningham

Dental Hygiene Portfolio: Fall Semester 3 (2022)

Self-Assessment:

Out of all the semesters, I feel like this one flew by the fastest. It felt like I was just

meeting my Little and opening her instrument kit with her at orientation, but now I just

completed Mock Board and my last final exam for this semester. It is crazy how fast time flies

when you are focused and looking toward the future. As each semester progresses, I feel more

and more like a dental hygienist. Looking back to when I knew absolutely nothing compared to

now knowing so much more is insane. I learned how to care for and treat different patients in the

dental clinic with various medical needs. I learned how to administer local anesthetics. I am

organizing a community event to implement during the last semester of my senior year. I also

wrote a research paper and research proposal, which I will also implement next semester. I

completed ninety-one quads of calc one patients. I also completed more calc two and calc three

patients than needed for requirements, so I get to carry a few quads over to next semester.

Overall, this semester went by in a flash, and I have a feeling that next semester will go even

faster.

For this fall semester, I took six courses, which equaled seventeen credit hours. The

classes I took this semester included Local Anesthesia & Pain Control, Clinic Practice 3,

Radiology Lecture II, Management of Special Needs Patients, Evidence-Based Decision Making,

and Community Assessment and Program Planning. Out of all of these classes, I think learning

local anesthetics was one of my favorite classes. It was nerve-wracking since everyone that I

talked to before taking the class called it, “stab lab”. The first time I gave an injection, I was very

shaky and nervous. I will admit that I had no clue what I was doing, and I am glad Professor

Klaur was there to guide my needle in for me. However, as we continued to practice and learn
 M. Cunningham

more, I became more and more confident in myself and giving injections. I finished my classes

with all A’s and ended this semester with a 3.98 GPA. I felt like my performance this semester

was very dedicated. I spent a lot of my time sitting on my couch and studying for exam after

exam. As I neared the end of the semester, I started to become a procrastinator. However, I

nipped that bad habit in the bud very soon after it started to occur. I turned in a lot of my

assignments early and worked ahead as much as I could because it was the only way to balance

out my social life and school life. One of the biggest choices that I made this semester is that I

told myself that I deserve days away from school. With this, I kept on a very strict routine of

balancing homework and home life. I am very proud of myself because I managed to not only

work hard and turn things in early, but I also made time to play pickleball around sixteen hours a

week. Pickleball is one of my greatest passions currently, alongside a career in dental hygiene.

Being able to make time for myself as well as school life is a choice that I plan on focusing on

next semester as well. This school-life and home-life balance impacted my goals because I

showed myself that I can work hard, but also play hard in the end because of that hard work.

This semester impacted me as an individual and a healthcare provider because it made me

realize that school is important but taking care of myself is also important. In a few short months,

Indiana University South Bend will be behind me, and I will be a registered dental hygienist. I

learned that grades are important, but school is not my whole life. At this point in time, my plans

for the future are to relax for a few weeks to give myself a brain break. A few weeks before the

next semester begins, I plan on taking my local anesthesia exam in order to get licensed as well

as begin studying for one of the most important exams for my career, boards.