Dental hygiene's ability requires organizing a complex project comprising of numerous individuals to bring their contributions together to support client needs and outcomes with harmony. [2]  A coordinator can encourage actions that promote shared values ​​and respect of team in the workplace, work with others to help dental hygienists to identify their ability surrounding dental hygiene’s self-initiation.

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     Before attending a dental hygiene school, I had the opportunity to coordinate various events by participating in various volunteering opportunities. Since I entered dental hygiene school, my volunteer experience has helped me to coordinateand work as a dental hygienist in a more professional environment. For my first reflection, in my first semester of Communication class, I had to create a "Spaghetti Tower" as my first group activity. With a group of four people, including me, we had to use limited spaghetti noodles and floss to create the tallest spaghetti tower in 10 minutes. In a short time, my group made various attempts to determine the role of each member and built the highest structure. In order to help each other and get things done quickly, we shared ideas, shared tasks and encouraged each other. This was a great exercise in coordination as I contributed to a teamwork. After all, we were not as successful as we expected, but we learned a lot about how to manage teams and implement strategies to achieve our goals. [Evidence 1]

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Evidence 1: Perform team work to build a spaghetti tower during the first semester at school

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      I have long realized the process of learning in the dental hygiene is not bound to a classroom or university building. To be a coordinator, I can say that my greatest achievement in the past two year is being the Manitoba Dental Hygiene Association (MDHA) student representative. A dental hygienist requires a coordination skill in planning promotional events with a group of dental hygienists and taking practical action to raise the status of the dental hygienist in a valuable, safe and efficient manner. MDHA group members serve as coordinators in annual general meeting, oral health presentations, seminars, meetings with our governing bodies, activities for professional associations, and more. 

 

   I was selected as a student representative of MDHA by my classmates in the first school semester. I was able to contribute as a coordinator by volunteering at the Mix and Mingle event. MDHA hosts an annual "Mix & Mingle" event, a networking event organized to provide opportunities to interact with local colleagues, as well as MDHA members, MDHA Board and Staff, at the Annual General Meeting.  At the entrance of the event venue, I confirmed the name of registrants from the member list, distributed name tags and event information to the registrants. I acted as a coordinator to ensure that the registered dental hygienists could participate in the Mix and Mingle event smoothly. I experienced that dental hygienist did not only work at the dental clinic, but we can be an organizer of an event and we can bring together similarly minded people to perform tasks in a polite, safe and efficient manner. Being a coordinator is very important to becoming a dental hygienist. [Evidence 2] 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evidence 2. Mix and Mingle event volunteer at the Annual General Meeting

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   As a MDHA board member, I attend monthly meetings to speak up on behalf of my classmates and work as a liaison of MDHA for my class. Being a student representative allowed me to attain great sense of satisfaction as a coordinator since I could represent all 26 people’s opinion to MDHA at the monthly meeting and I could be a MDHA’s announcer regarding events for students. I see this representative experience has been providing me a crucial experience to develop coordinated relationship with others and to interact with classmates to support them. [Evidence 3]

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      Over the past two years, I have developed some skills as a coordinator through leadership opportunities, communicators, and volunteers. There are still many shortcomings, but I will focus more on growing as a coordinator in the future by participating in seminars and engaging in dental hygiene association activities.

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