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https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0d524f1bd59826290b2b963f2065cdb2.pdf
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Behind The Scenes During Covid-19
By: Kathryne Kuhlmann
�When patients walk into the waiting room, they
are wearing masks and gloves. The waiting
room is empty when they first arrive. What is
normally bustling with people is now dead
silent except for the hum of the computers and
the classical music playing in the back. The new
recommendations from the CDC and the ADA
have turned the usually friendly atmosphere
into a cautious and wary space that smells of
harsh cleaners and medical supplies.
�It’s as though all trust has been tossed through
the window. In addition to updating medical
forms, patients now have a three question form
in regards to their social distancing habits and
any symptoms they may be experiencing. If that
wasn’t enough, before and after each encounter
with a patient, all surfaces are wiped down
repeatedly. The employees who work the front
desk cannot greet patients with a smile, as they
are wearing level three surgical masks and
gloves. These new barriers are not only physical
but also emotional.
�As everything else changes, one thing that has
remained the same is the sterilization
technique. After instruments are used they are
placed in the Ultrasonic Cleaning System. After
soaking for the designated time, they are
placed in self-sterilization pouches so they can
be placed in the Autoclave. The Autoclave heats
up the pouches to 121°C to ensure all
instruments are sterile. With everything that is
going on, it is comforting to know that some
things are still the same.
�On a typical week day these rooms are full of
people, conversation, music and proper oral
hygiene instruction. Now, there is only one
occupied room at a time. The music and
instruction remain the same, but the topic of
conversation has shifted. The only thing
people want to talk about is the pain that
motivated them to make an appointment, the
lack of necessary supplies, who is sick and
when the shutdown might end. Any older
patient who arrives requires constant
reassurance that the environment is sterile
and all other new regulations are in place, as
they are extremely anxious. These
conversations are draining as we try to focus
on the positive and encourage our patients.
�Limbo is any doctor’s least favorite place for
patient files. This is where all patients who do not
have any future appointments are organized. Each
addition to the shelf is like a stab through the heart
and as each day of quarantine gets longer, more
charts are added to the shelf. Only emergency
appointments can be made so any preventative and
cosmetic appointments must be delayed until
further notice. This is especially heartbreaking
because some of the preventative appointments are
needed to help people prevent these emergency
appointments. Some diagnoses like periodontal
disease might seem minor but these symptoms are
actually extremely important to the overall oral
health of a patient as can affect tooth and bone loss.
We want to help these individuals before they are in
pain but we can’t due to the stay at home order and
it’s devastating
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID-19 Journals
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Description
An account of the resource
This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled.
The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Behind the Scenes During Covid-19
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Kuhlman, Kathryne
Description
An account of the resource
Class project of GVSU student Kathryne Kuhlman, illustrating effect of COVID-19 pandemic on a dental practice, where she worked as a dental assistant.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020-04-16
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
COVID-19_2020-04-16_KuhlmannKathryn
Format
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application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
eng