PRACTICING ON
PE ARLY WHITES When Sami Harp entered the Dental Hygienist program at Chippewa Valley Technical College she was one of only a few in her cohort to have no dental experience. It quickly became clear to her that the classes were tough, especially with no prior exposure to the industry. She persevered and plans to graduate in May 2024. “Not having that (dental) assistant background, I had to work twice as hard,” she said. “The other students had that experience, and they were way ahead of me. Getting through that first year was tough. It’s the hardest I’ve ever had to work.” Harp said if she’d had an opportunity to practice on simulation manikins, she likely wouldn’t have struggled as much.
More seats for students also means more students will graduate. That’s music to dentists’ ears. Entorf said the new manikins will be portable, and she plans to take them to high schools to pique the curiosity of students in hopes they might choose the profession.
HAVING THE ABILITY OF SIMULATION DOUBLES THE STUDENTS’ CHAIR TIME AND THEIR ABILITY TO MASTER THE SKILLS.
Dental manikins have been Pam Entorf’s dream for years. Entorf, the College’s Dental Assistant and Dental Hygienist - PAM ENTORF Instructor and Program Director, and Myra Reuter, Executive Dean of Allied Health and Emergency Services, made CVTC’s case for a sim lab to the Delta Dental Board of Directors in July. In September, the women were informed CVTC was awarded the grant of nearly $579,000 to construct the dental simulation lab.
The lab will be designed in a large classroom at the College’s Health Education Center in Eau Claire and will provide students with an exceptional learning experience. It will be the first of its kind in the Wisconsin Technical College System. “We’re training the workforce of the future,” Entorf said. “Having the ability of simulation doubles the students’ chair time and their ability to master the skills.” Reuter said the grant will pay for a lab that will provide the Dental Assistant and Dental Hygienist programs the ability to accept additional students and provide more realistic practice utilizing dental manikins.
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The lab will consist of 15 training stations with room to grow to 20. The College expects to graduate an additional 10 assistant students and five hygiene students each year. The CVTC Dental Clinic also sees patients, and the sim lab will increase productivity in the clinic so more patients can be seen. The simulation opportunity is expected to increase care to low-income dental patients seen in CVTC’s clinic by 10 percent.
NOVEMBER 2023 | CVTC.EDU
The dental simulation lab is expected to be completed in February 2024 and ready for students for the second half of the spring 2024 term.
“To say we’re excited is an understatement,” Entorf said. “The students get real world experience now, but the simulation lab will increase those capabilities. It’s an opportunity for us to do what we love, to give our students a comprehensive education and to help support the dental community.” Although Harp is expected to graduate in May, she will have a few months to practice on the manikins in the lab before she moves on. “It’s a huge privilege for us to be able to utilize simulators,” she said. “Having these simulators is really going to be able to give students the extra practice they need. “Even though I came in with no experience, the instructors at CVTC are phenomenal. If I’m at where I am without having that lab, I can only guess where those students are going to be with extra practice in the lab.”