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This summer is flying by! This past month has seriously been life-changing and amazing. It’s been awesome to learn from a coffee roaster, stay at a dude ranch, and to spend a week at Sierra Trading Post.

I have been loved on by the people at all the jobs and the hospitality I’ve experienced is priceless. People really like this One-Week Job Project. I’m thankful for the hot meals, free coffee, excellent host homes, and fun adventures I’ve had!

This week I’m back home in Tennessee to rest up for my future jobs and travels & work at a Dentist’s office for Job #3. I’m working with Dr. Keith Tedford of Tedford Family Dentistry in Ooltewah, Tennessee. It’s a three for one deal since I get to job-shadow the dental hygienist, dental assistant, and the dentist himself, Dr. Tedford.

It’s a major bummer that I can’t get into people’s grills myself to do dental work, but that might not be such a good idea. I’m not officially trained as an assistant so I am just watching all week.

When I mention how I ended up at this job this week, most people cringe at the thought of working inside peoples’ mouths as a career. I’ve always been intrigued by medical jobs, but am not a huge fan of blood and guts. The dental field is unique since they typically work 9-5, Monday-Friday. Unlike some medical jobs that require odd hours, inconsistent schedules, and lots of emergency cases, dentistry offers a consistent schedule and very few crazy invasive procedures.

I’m actually shadowing my personal dentist and his team this week. It’s interesting to be on the other side of the chair. Here are some of the factors that intrigue me about working in dentristry:

Schedule: Dr. Tedford and his assistants work only week-days and get off around 5PM daily. There are both part-time and full-time positions and the schedules are usually the same for each person each week. For the moms on staff, they can work part-time and still be free to take care of their kiddos during the week.

Variety: Everyday is completely different! Even though the staff performs the same procedures (cleanings, filling, root canals, crowns, etc.) daily, they work on different peoples’ mouths. In a sense, the dental industry requires good problem-solving skills since no 2 mouths are the same. Dr. Tedford and his team have to consider a patient’s whole dental history when working on their teeth.

People-Oriented: this may be seem like a no-brainer, but I love people. In trying these jobs, I’m learning that I thrive on interacting with people. If I’m forced to sit in a cubicle all day, I’m seriously like a flower that doesn’t get watered! As a family dentistry office, the staff get to see both kids and adults on a regular basis.

Overall, I’m enjoying my time here! I definitely feel more compelled to research dental assistant & hygienist programs in my area. The highlight of today was getting to drill a tooth (part of a set of fake teeth) and put in a filling. Dr. Tedford instructed me to drill a cross-shape on the top surface of the

Drilling a fake tooth for a fake filling (just for practice)

tooth to mimic how he would drill to get any decay out of the tooth. After that, I squirted composite into the cross shape on the tooth. To harden the filling, I used a curing light (shines super bright blue light). I don’t know how it works but somehow shining the ultra-bright curing light on the composite creates a hard filling.

Using the Curing Light to harden the filling

Several people have informed me that too much time has passed since I’ve last written – I’m sorry for that! While I have been using my time for many other things (as always), that is not the reason for my blogging absence. It’s been awhile because frankly, I’ve been having trouble figuring out what to say. In my first One-Week Job blog post, I said this:

“I’ll be talking about the jobs, of course, but the implications of my involvement in them will transcend the environment I’m in at the time.”

When I used these words a few weeks ago, I meant to convey to You that I wouldn’t just be giving you a play-by-play of my work days, but that I would be asking questions that brought my experiences from the workplace into a universal place, one that You could easily access. Moreover, I meant do both things somewhat equally.

You may have noticed that I have given few details about what I was actually doing as a nonprofit worker. That’s because I have very little to say about that part of the job, which is neither a great nor a horrible thing. It simply means that there are things to be to be said about why I feel the way I feel. This time around, things’ll be much heavier on the question side and  less so on the task-oriented side. There is an opportunity for learning. I hope to shed some light on some of that “learning” in the “Question Time” section.

Seven hours ago, my fourth day of work ends. I’m waiting for the elevator. Stephanie, one of the Jed Foundation staff members, walks up to wait with me:

Stephanie: “This elevator is so slow. You take your time to say goodbye to everyone in the office, leave, and end up seeing them again seconds later because the elevator still hasn’t moved.”

Me: “Yeah…yeah…haha…it’s slow. I don’t know, I’m used to it by now. Doesn’t really bother me.”

Stephanie: “Yeah you seem like you’re pretty patient.”

Me: “Eh you know…” (smiles shyly)

I’m in New York, New York now.

I’ve traveled ~679 miles this week, and ~2841 miles overall. Here’s the trusty visual again:

This week, I’m working with a nonprofit organization called the Jed Foundation. Their mission statement:

“The Jed Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization working to reduce the rate of suicide and the prevalence of emotional distress of college students.”

This job is my first traditional one, for I’m working 10am to 6pm all five days. I have my own desk and computer too! The work that the Jed Foundation does is personal for me. Having experienced mental illness for most of my life, one of my focuses in life is to do all that I can to remove the unnecessary stigma that follows it. I made sure that one of my one-week jobs would give me knowledge to keep me on that path.