Talk About a Steep Learning Curve!

Wow! Today was my second day at my new job and it was exhausting!  There is soooo much to learn-names of instruments, cleaning methods for exam rooms, organization of all supply cabinets and drawers (there's lots!), the doctor's preferences in instrument arrangement, the color-coding of the schedule that is displayed on a monitor that tells everything about each exam and, thus, what items will be needed for it...

I'm so burned out at the end of the day, but still have "homework" to do-as in studying supply catalogs to get to know all the instruments, their uses and names, and all the other stuff that is used in exams and restorative procedures.

There's a big rush because the other person who works this position is going back to school on Tuesday.  So that means I will be flying solo for 3-4 hours a day, while she's in class.  Talk about a crash course in dental office work!  I was supposed to have another day to learn, Monday, but a prior employee's funeral was then so they closed the office.

I only wish the person who is training me knew how to teach.  The office manager keeps trying to offer suggestions to her, but she is so nervous about me learning everything in time that she is just throwing it all at me. (She really needs a lesson plan!)  So all day I'm told to do this, then do another thing, before I've completed the first, then she complains that I do it too slow.  This was day 2, I only got my feet wet yesterday.  (Oh, she's terribly OCD, too)

So, I'll probably be spending the weekend studying photos I've taken of all the drawers and cabinets so I can memorize where everything is and how it's supposed to go.  Thank goodness for digital cameras! I'm going to take some more tomorrow of the instrument cases and their layouts so I make sure I know where each one goes for the different exams.

As for other happenings in our lives, Cameron went to a jam session tonight. Apparently, there's some guys that heard some of his music and are wanting to get a new band together.  So, they asked him to play with them tonight.  I wish I could have gone with him, but this chaos of a job isn't going to kick my butt for too long.  I know I'll get to know everything, then it will be like any other job and I'll have more energy when I get home.

A little later...

Tuesday and I just came back from a little walk. It's very nice out tonight and lots of other tenants were out, too.  Unfortunately, so were the mosquitoes!  They seem to find me quite tasty and they are rather small here, so it's hard to see them coming.  Dastardly little blood-suckers!

I was just looking for the photos we took of our little prairie dog colony and realized I don't think I ever posted the pictures from our Las Vegas (NM) trip.  So, here they are:  Overnighter in Las Vegas

I need to get some studying done, then off to bed!