Modern Hygienist - October 2008 - (Page 40)

career | EDUCATION Going the distance Creative education options pay o in a big way. by Tina Clarke, RDH, BSDH Lane Community College offers a twoyear Associate Degree in Dental Hygiene. Since the program opened, Lane dental hygiene graduates have completed their licensing exams with a minimum of 98% passing rate. For more information on the program, visit lanecc. edu/hp/dental/dh.htm. It was one of those day s when whatever can go wrong will go wrong. We all have them—the patient cancels last minute, the computer doesn’t work, and is the air-water leaking again? I was driving home from a very long, hard day and you would think that I felt defeated. However, I was on cloud nine. It was the day my students applied all the skills I taught them to real live patients… and they were fantastic. You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Lane Community College (LCC) in Eugene, Ore., received a generous grant from the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA). This is a federal organization that helps to administer grants and other programs relating to labor issues. For DOLETA, this is the first time they have granted money for distance site education in dental hygiene, in this case, to start three dental hygiene distance education site programs. The first one opened fall of 2007 at Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC) in Albany, Ore., which is about an hour from the main campus at LBCC. The other two, opening in fall of 2008, will be Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., and Lewis and Clark College in Lewiston, Idaho. I am the Site Coordinator and Lead Clinical Instructor for the LBCC site. STRUCTURAL NEEDS The program is in a location with a tremendous need for dental hygienists. The area dental offices are challenged with finding hygienists and are often forced to go outside the local community to look for help. The new programs will graduate one class every two years, helping to keep the local market from being flooded with new hygienists looking for jobs every year. These students go through the same application process as the main campus students and because they live in the area they have first choice to attend the “distance site.” In the fall of 2007, six students began their journey through dental hygiene school. In the fifth week, one student realized that she really didn’t want to work in the mouth after all. Good thing she figured that out early! Now, five students have completed their first year of dental hygiene education and are looking forward to their second and final year. They will graduate in June 2009 and join the ranks of the professional dental hygiene community as Registered Dental Hygienists. In the fall of 2009, another group of individuals will enter the two-year program. I am the only face-to-face instructor for these five students. They take lecture courses online and come to LBCC—within a 20-minute drive of their homes—for all “hands on” learning. This includes all clinical courses, 40 modernhygienist.com | October 2008 PHOTO: GLOWIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES http://www.lanecc.edu/hp/dental/dh.htm http://www.lanecc.edu/hp/dental/dh.htm http://www.lanecc.edu/hp/dental/dh.htm http://www.modernhygienist.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Modern Hygienist - October 2008

Modern Hygienist - October 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Letters News Modern Solutions Trends: Homecare Trends: Perio Trends: Ergo Trends: Mid Care After Chemo Professional Rewind Esthetic Expertise: Make or Break Relationship Hands-on Hygiene: Have You Seen the Light? Going the Distance Training for Life Presi-dental Politics Ad Index Moonlighting

Modern Hygienist - October 2008

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