WEBVTT 00:00:01.209 --> 00:00:03.378 Today we are meeting with Sergeant Jessica Sutherland. 00:00:03.378 --> 00:00:05.338 She's a dental technician here in Edmonton, 00:00:05.338 --> 00:00:07.966 and we'll share what it's like to work in dental care in the forces. 00:00:07.966 --> 00:00:09.342 Hi, Jessica. Hey. 00:00:09.342 --> 00:00:11.469 Okay, so this is One Field Ambulance, is that right? 00:00:11.469 --> 00:00:13.596 This is. Tell me what you do here. 00:00:13.596 --> 00:00:15.515 I am a dental technician, 00:00:15.515 --> 00:00:18.727 and my job is to help facilitate dental treatment for the soldiers. 00:00:18.727 --> 00:00:21.104 Whether it's on exercise or while deployed. 00:00:21.104 --> 00:00:22.605 So cool. 00:00:22.605 --> 00:00:26.109 And what’s like a similar job in the civilian side 00:00:26.109 --> 00:00:27.819 to dental techs in the CAF? 00:00:27.819 --> 00:00:30.030 A similar job to what I do here 00:00:30.030 --> 00:00:32.365 in the CAF would be a dental assistant. 00:00:32.365 --> 00:00:33.199 Okay, cool. 00:00:33.199 --> 00:00:35.660 And do you get to use these vehicles? 00:00:35.660 --> 00:00:36.244 These ones? 00:00:36.244 --> 00:00:37.537 Not exactly. 00:00:37.537 --> 00:00:40.331 But if you come with me, I'll give you a tour of what we use, 00:00:40.331 --> 00:00:42.792 and it's just outside. This way. Let's do it. 00:00:43.918 --> 00:00:46.921 So this is our MDC, also known as our mobile dental clinic. 00:00:47.255 --> 00:00:47.797 Cool. 00:00:47.797 --> 00:00:50.175 So everything that you need in the field is in there? Yep. 00:00:50.175 --> 00:00:53.136 Come on. I'll give you a tour. All right. 00:00:53.136 --> 00:00:54.179 Welcome to the MDC. 00:00:54.179 --> 00:00:57.307 This is a fully self-sustained dental clinic on wheels. 00:00:57.307 --> 00:00:59.476 Wow. Give me a quick tour. 00:00:59.476 --> 00:01:02.270 So, basically, we have everything in this unit 00:01:02.270 --> 00:01:03.605 that you would see inside the clinic. 00:01:03.605 --> 00:01:07.358 Except for if we have to go, we can pull in and drive away. 00:01:07.567 --> 00:01:10.445 Wow. Okay, so you must have deployed before then. 00:01:10.445 --> 00:01:13.239 I have I deployed on Operation Reassurance. 00:01:13.239 --> 00:01:14.657 Wow. What was that like? 00:01:14.657 --> 00:01:16.534 It was honestly one of the most rewarding 00:01:16.534 --> 00:01:19.788 experiences of my career, and I don't think I can top it just yet. 00:01:20.330 --> 00:01:22.540 And do you work with the same team when you're there? 00:01:22.540 --> 00:01:23.750 Not at all. Actually. 00:01:23.750 --> 00:01:27.378 I deployed with a dentist from Petawawa who was absolutely amazing, 00:01:27.378 --> 00:01:30.673 and I had just met him seven days after being in-country. 00:01:30.673 --> 00:01:31.591 Oh my gosh. 00:01:31.591 --> 00:01:32.967 Okay, so what's the difference 00:01:32.967 --> 00:01:36.971 then when you're deployed and when you're working at a base, clinic? 00:01:36.971 --> 00:01:40.141 So at a base clinic, you could really only do 1 or 2 jobs 00:01:40.141 --> 00:01:41.726 at a time where as when you're deployed, you're 00:01:41.726 --> 00:01:44.771 wearing every hat that you could wear as a dental technician. 00:01:44.771 --> 00:01:48.358 So I did supply, I did maintenance, I did chair side assisting, 00:01:48.358 --> 00:01:51.402 I did admin, I did it all. 00:01:51.402 --> 00:01:55.073 Plus liaise with the linguists from other countries to ensure 00:01:55.073 --> 00:01:58.576 that we were able to provide our patients with proper post-op care. 00:01:58.910 --> 00:02:00.912 That sounds really rewarding. 00:02:00.912 --> 00:02:01.955 It truly was. 00:02:01.955 --> 00:02:03.665 And honestly, like I said, 00:02:03.665 --> 00:02:07.335 it's the top of my list for experiences I've had so far in my career. 00:02:07.794 --> 00:02:09.003 So, Jess, I have to know. 00:02:09.003 --> 00:02:10.839 What's your favorite part of the job? 00:02:10.839 --> 00:02:13.842 My favorite part of the job is actually being here at Field Am. 00:02:14.050 --> 00:02:17.512 I don't just get exposure to the clinical side of things, I get exposure 00:02:17.512 --> 00:02:23.434 to all of the other medical trades and how we can work and cohesively 00:02:23.434 --> 00:02:27.689 treat patients while on a deployment or out and on exercise. 00:02:28.148 --> 00:02:30.942 Okay. And would it be possible for me to go see the clinic? 00:02:30.942 --> 00:02:32.902 Oh, yeah. Totally. Let's go. All right. 00:02:34.863 --> 00:02:36.698 Hey, welcome to the down clinic. Thank you. 00:02:36.698 --> 00:02:38.408 This looks a lot different than the MDC. 00:02:38.408 --> 00:02:40.743 It is, but if you come in, I can show you around. 00:02:40.743 --> 00:02:41.786 Yeah. 00:02:41.786 --> 00:02:44.205 Okay, so what does a typical day look like here? 00:02:44.205 --> 00:02:48.376 A typical day would be us interacting with each other, having our team meeting 00:02:48.376 --> 00:02:51.462 right off the start, and then we proceed into patient treatment. 00:02:51.880 --> 00:02:55.425 Okay, so earlier you mentioned that when you're on deployment, 00:02:55.425 --> 00:02:56.217 it's a team effort. 00:02:56.217 --> 00:02:57.343 Is that the same thing here? 00:02:57.343 --> 00:03:00.889 100% a dental clinic can't function unless it's a cohesive team. 00:03:01.222 --> 00:03:03.516 Oh, I love that. I can't wait to see more. Yeah, sure. 00:03:03.516 --> 00:03:05.518 Come on, I'll give you a tour. 00:03:05.518 --> 00:03:08.521 Okay, Jess, finish the sentence for me, okay. 00:03:08.563 --> 00:03:11.524 The most important qualities for dental tech to have are. 00:03:11.524 --> 00:03:13.151 Flexibility and organization. 00:03:13.151 --> 00:03:15.111 Because you can't have one without the other. 00:03:15.111 --> 00:03:17.197 If things go sideways, you got to be flexible. 00:03:17.197 --> 00:03:18.323 But you also have to be organized 00:03:18.323 --> 00:03:20.825 to be able to pass the instruments the way they need to go. 00:03:20.825 --> 00:03:22.243 I like that. 00:03:22.243 --> 00:03:24.829 And if you retired tomorrow, what would you miss most? 00:03:24.829 --> 00:03:28.041 I would miss the camaraderie, but not just from the clinic itself, 00:03:28.041 --> 00:03:31.044 but from everybody I've ever interacted with in my career. 00:03:31.544 --> 00:03:33.046 Oh, nice. 00:03:33.046 --> 00:03:34.505 Okay. Oh. 00:03:34.505 --> 00:03:36.007 What's this? 00:03:36.007 --> 00:03:37.967 This is our MDR sterilization room. 00:03:37.967 --> 00:03:41.095 This is where we clean our instruments and make sure they're safe for patient use. 00:03:41.179 --> 00:03:43.723 Nice. All right, Jess, I'm at my last question. 00:03:43.723 --> 00:03:44.557 Oh, okay. 00:03:45.642 --> 00:03:47.393 Would you recommend this trade to others? 00:03:47.393 --> 00:03:51.022 100% because not only do you get experience to the clinical side, 00:03:51.022 --> 00:03:55.318 but you have valuable opportunities to expand your career throughout the CAF. 00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:57.403 Nice. All right. 00:03:57.403 --> 00:03:59.989 I'll let you get back to your patients. Awesome. Thank you so much.