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Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
. #makeadifference . Check out @ilobsterit on how to enter their photo contest by February 23rd, 2018 . #doctors #medicalassistant #dentist
February Alphabet Challenge: O is for Operatory 8 #whathappensinroom8
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Dental Operatory 3 at RiverEdge Dental Bradford
RiverEdge Dental Bradford
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Bradford, Ontario
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Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
LILONGWE, MALAWI - Lt. Col. Darrel Carlton, an ophthalmologist stationed at the Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, dilates the eye of a Malawian citizen during pre-operatory procedures before cataract surgery during a Medical Readiness and Training Exercise (MEDRETE) at the Kamuzu Central Hospital. MEDRETE is a key program in the United States' efforts to partner with the Government of Malawi. (Photo by Spc. Zachary Zimerman, 139th MPAD, Illinois Army National Guard)
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Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
Dental Operatory 1 at RiverEdge Dental Bradford
RiverEdge Dental Bradford
28 Bridge Street
Bradford, Ontario
L3Z 3H2
Dental Operatory 2 at RiverEdge Dental Bradford
RiverEdge Dental Bradford
28 Bridge Street
Bradford, Ontario
L3Z 3H2
Volunteers help community smile
By Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Troth
jefferey.l.troth.mil@mail.mil
CAMP CASEY, South Korea – For most volunteers in Korea, when they return to the states they will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped others in their community and may have been formally recognized for it.
But, for three Area I volunteers, they will take with them a new-found skill set they can use the rest of their lives.
They have just completed the American Red Cross Dental Assistant Education Program at the Camp Casey Dental Clinic Aug. 3. In January, when the clinic announced that they were offering the program for a second time more than 40 volunteers applied. Six were chosen and only three successfully completed the 100 hours of classroom study and the minimum 500 hours of clinical work.
“During their past six months of volunteering, they have worked hard,” said Dr. (Capt.) Francis Nahm, a dentist at the clinic and the education program director.
“It was a lot of information combined into a few weeks,” said Jessica Medlin, one of the three graduates who had almost 550 volunteer hours in the clinic. “It was kind of nerve racking having to go home and study and try to remember all of this information that they have given you. But it ended up being very easy by how they taught it.”
Their first two weeks in the program are spent immersed in classes on basic anatomy, medical terminology and health care ethics, as well as general dentistry and dentistry instrument layouts.
“In the 100 hours they have to learn, memorize and understand the physiology and bio chemistry of the body,” said Nahm. “Then they move onto dental, the oral facial area, then they go to the teeth and then the gum. There is a lot of terminology, just terminology after terminology for them to learn.”
“When we first started the class I didn’t know how I was going to remember it all, but they showed us diagrams of the teeth and other stuff and eventually it just clicked,” said Cimone Langley-Hopkins, who had been studying criminology at California State University, Fresno, prior to coming to Korea. She thought that this program could help in the forensic field if teeth impressions were needed to identify a criminal.
“It was a good thing having the doctors as our instructors, because this is their job and they know everything,” said Langley-Hopkins, whose husband, Pfc. Alexander Hopkins is in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Fires Brigade. “Anytime we didn’t understand something in the book they would take us into the operatory and show us there.”
Once the volunteers passed the classroom final exam they moved to the operatory, for the observation portion of the program. During this time they watched the actions of and assisted an already qualified dental assistant. Once the doctors were satisfied with the volunteers’ work, they became the primary assistant and participated in everything from dental exams to oral surgery.
“Although they are volunteers, they are considered part of our team,” said Nahm. He said that since the volunteers are not pulled from the clinic for other tasks as military dental assistants are, the clinic is able to continue to see patients, which is a benefit for the clinic and Area I.
The benefits for the volunteer students are numerous. One is the cost. The Camp Casey program is free; a similar program taught at a civilian facility would cost $6,000 to $8,000 according to Nahm. Another benefit for them is the certificate they received upon completion of the program.
“When they finish we validate their total hours with the Red Cross,” said Nahm. “That certificate is honored as a dental assistant certificate and is transferable to a civilian certificate.”
Medlin, Langley-Hopkins and Hui Gibbs (who graduated early when her husband who was a contractor left Korea) are looking forward to getting jobs in a dental clinic when they return stateside.
Medlin knows that having the specialized skills of a dental assistant will give her job opportunities when she follows her husband, Pfc. Daniel Medlin, of Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this fall. While in Arizona she plans on getting an associate degree in health care management so that one day she can be a clinic’s head dental assistant.
“I still want to pursue my degree in the criminal justice field,” said Langley-Hopkins, who finished the program with over 600 volunteer hours. “But for right now the career path that I have decided to take is in the dental field.”
The release of our first IW cabinet in our In-Wall System line of cabinets. Designed for 8'-9' wide operatories this cabinet is only 12" deep.
PROJECTING MEDICAL POWERS BEYOND THE OPERATORY
Commander Angela Roldan-Whitaker a native of Bogota, Colombia currently serves as Chief, Public Private Cooperation, Exercises and Coalition Affairs J7/9, U.S. Southern Command in Miami FL. In June, it will be 15 years since she joined the Navy through the Health Professions Scholarship Program, and 31 years since she enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Seaman Recruit.
BLUF: The operational and joint educational opportunities I partook in inspired me to pursue an assignment to lead at a joint command at the strategic level, culminating with my selection to U.S. Southern Command. My experiences in Military Medical Training and Exercises, Mil-to-Mil Subject Matter Expert Exchanges, Global Medical Capacity-Building efforts, as well as my professional military education, language and cross-cultural proficiency prepared me for my current job. As Public Private Cooperation Chief, I lead the integration of non-federal entities and the identification of opportunities leveraging existing partner nation (PN) networks and avoiding duplication of efforts by U.S. Embassy in PN, USAID, and PN’s military and civilian authorities in SOUTHCOM AOR. I am here today thanks to the mentors and leaders who, despite my many pivots, believed in me, challenged me, mentored me, and paved the way for me to carve my own career path.
How does your career pathway demonstrate the Surgeon General’s 4 P’s?: I believe that my current role and the career path that led me here are a direct result of the wide range of possibilities available in Navy Medicine. The future of Navy Medicine depends on making people our first priority. When we develop people, prepare them to fill new milestone positions, and promote educational development, we create a culture of excellence for others to emulate.
Route to Commission
Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP)
Unique Skills
Fluent in Spanish and Italian, and has reading proficiency in French
Education
2000 – B.A., magna cum laude, Psychology, San Diego State University, CA
2006 – D.D.S., University of California San Francisco, School of Dentistry, CA
2007 – General Practice Residency, Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, CA
2019 – M.A., Military Operational Art and Science, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
2020 – M.A., Strategic Studies, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
Assignments
1. Jun 2006 - Jun 2007, General Practice Resident, U.S. Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, CA
2. Jul 2007 - Jul 2010, Division Officer, Naval Branch Clinic, 1st Dental Battalion, Camp Pendleton, CA
3. Aug 2008 - Oct 2009, Dental Officer in Charge, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit/USS BOXER (LHD 4) ESG
4. Jul 2010 - Aug 2012, Department Head Health Services, USS GREEN BAY (LPD 20)
5. Jul 2012- Jul 2014, Department Head, U.S. Naval Hospital Sigonella, Italy
6. Jul 2014- Jul 2015, Director Dental Services, U.S. Naval Hospital Sigonella, Italy
7. Aug 2015- Jul 2018, Regimental Dental Officer, 20th Seabees Readiness Group and Dental Department Head, U.S. Naval Dental Branch Clinic Gulfport, MS
8. Aug 2017 - May 2018, Dental Lead Planner, Operation Continuing Promise 2018, USNS SPEARHEAD (T- EPF 1)
9. Aug 2018 - Jun 2019, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
10. Aug 2019 - May 2020, Student, Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
11. Jun 2020 - Present, U.S. Southern Command, Chief of Public Private Cooperation Division, J7/9 Exercises and Coalition Affairs Directorate, Doral, FL
Additional Qualification Designation (AQD)s
64B – General Practice Residency, 161 Dental Corps Officers hold this AQD
JS7 – JPME Phase 1 Graduate, 41 Dental Corps Officers hold this AQD
JS8 – JPME Phase 2 Graduate, 4 Dental Corps Officers hold this AQD
67A – Executive Medicine, 215 Dental Corps Officers hold this AQD LA7 – SWMDO, 291 Dental Corps Officers hold this AQD
68M – Global Health Specialist, 4 Dental Corps Officers hold this AQD
Published in Weekly Dental Update, March 19, 2021.