so calvin just took this class on motivational interviewing and he's been on a motivational interviewing rampage with our patients.
motivational interviewing is a technique to probe patients' wants and desires, assess them, educate them about oral health, and basically get them to want (and thus be motivated to pursue) the appropriate treatment that they need. it's kind of a huge mountain to scale, with the majority of the population being afraid of dentists and all, and especially in this population where
1. people are afraid of the dentist
2. people have a different paradigm as to what is an appointment ("maybe i'll come if i don't have anything better to do! it's gonna be a surprise!" as opposed to, "oh, thank you for setting up an appointment time, which means that i will show up, and if i can't make it i will let you know ahead of time, otherwise i will feel ashamed.")
3. people might not think it's important to go to the dentist until something hurts, and then they finally come while they're already in excruciating pain, so of course it's not that pleasant of an experience, and then finally we're back at #1.

anyway, in dental school all of my classmates hated our motivational interviewing class. it was the bane of many's existence. in school i tried to lay low. i kept quiet. got my work done. didn't say anything within the radar. i've blocked a lot of memories out, but it kind of amuses me how much disdain there was for our behavioural science and treatment planning or communication-enhancing type classes. hahaha.

so it's been amusing (and helpful) seeing calvin so enthusiastic about asking patients why they came to the dentist and trying to empower them to take care of their oral health.

meanwhile, while we're working on patients, we are in constant dialogue. so we analyze this motivational interviewing thing. and he goes, "amy, you're good at asking people what's going on in their lives and listening to them."

i'm an affirmation monger. so that feels good. it's something i appreciate about working at esperanza, that i have time to get to know the patients and learn about their lives. christ's ministry goes beyond physical healing and christ really addresses heart issues. i strive for that.

my secret confession is that

i think deep down there's a part of me that lives to entertain and for entertainment. so there is this residue of motive for me to ask "what happened?" if a patient hasn't shown up for a long time, or is not having a good day because i just find their stories soooo interesting, being worlds apart, and it gives me something to think/talk/blog about.

of course i care about my patients' lives. but i guess the interesting stories are a good incentive to take the time and get to know them.