Introduction

Hello, my name is Kaeley Gill and I am a dental hygiene student and soon to be alumni of The Canadian Academy of Dental Health & Community Sciences. Once Graduated in June 2023 I will officially kick start my career in the fall after all registration requirements have been met.I have been intrigued by the dental field for many years and finally, after the impact of COVID-19, I decided to take my career seriously and applied for the dental hygiene program. Since then I have gained nothing but excitement for the industry and feel as though my organized, compassionate and empathetic personality is a perfect fit for my future career.The intended audience for my portfolio includes, myself, CADH professors & faculty, potential employers, and anybody else interested in my accomplishments as a dental student.

 

Since starting my studies at The Canadian Academy of Dental Health & Community Sciences, I have seen remarkable improvement both personally and professionally, and this portfolio is intended to highlight my growth. Clinical care provided by me to many wonderful individuals during DH Clinical Practice 201, 301 & DH Consolidation 401 are among my proudest achievements displayed in my portfolio which can be found in my client profile. Many assignments, individual & group efforts from our 25 theory based courses are also included here. This gives me great reference for the future, if I ever need to look back for guidance or a refresher I have it all condensed in one place.Over the last 20 months one of the main themes which stands out for me is my confidence as a clinician. In such a short time, I have gained instrumentation skills that I felt were impossible during my preclinic experience in Level 1. The idea of actually using instruments in a real person's mouth was so frightening and I truly felt so inexperienced. I didn’t allow my fear to stop me and I used it as a guiding force to push me through. By the end of clinical practice in level 2, only 10 short months later, I felt so confident, not only in my instrumentation skills but my assessment skills, critical thinking skills & my ability to relate theory to practice had developed in ways I didn’t even know were possible.

 

As my career develops as a dental hygienist, I have many aspirations and ambitions to continue leveling up in my career. One of the best ways for me to do this is by having goals, both short and long term. To start, one of my short term goals is feeling more confident in debridement with my ultrasonic scaler. Due to the fast paced environment and IPAC protocols which were in place until 2023, I had limited time to develop my skills as greatly as I would have liked to. By the end of 2023 and as my private practice experience evolves, I intend to feel completely confident when using my ultrasonic scaler and I will achieve this by practice, exposure & watching videos on technique if necessary. Thinking more long term, I still have fear about medical emergencies happening in my operatory. I know this is a reality and the possibilities of me having to respond to one at some point in my career is likely. Because of this, I want to ensure I am invested in all CRP courses I take, the more I hear and practice the information the better I will retain it and therefore act more quickly in a time of need. I plan to achieve this goal by pursuing at least 3 continuing education courses on medical emergencies annually, following all medical emergency protocols in my office or creating one if there isn’t one in place, and making sure I know how to use everything in the medical emergency kit at the office. This goal extends to the full length of my career.

 

As I reflect on my journey over the last 20 months developing interpersonal skills, critical thinking skills and forming into a healthcare professional, I have many achievements to be proud of. Although it hasn’t been easy, I’ve worked hard to maintain confidence in my care, a positive attitude and a hopeful outlook. My strong passion for dental hygiene and desire to help those in my community has brought me this far and I look forward to seeing where it takes me in the future.