Can a Professional be Human?

Cecilia, or CC as she liked to be called, (not her real name) was a fourth year dental hygiene student who had been struggling throughout the 4 year program. Her clinical skills were weak, her academic performance borderline, and her tendency to ride the coat tails of others left her stranded on team projects. At the end of fourth year she was advised she would not graduate and would need to meet additional clinical and academic requirements to achieve matriculation. Her reaction to the news vacillated from shocked silence to uncontrollable sobbing. She voiced clearly that she did not feel that she had the strength to continue - that she had been completely drained of all emotional, intellectual and personal resources and did not see how she could pull herself out of these depths to continue on.

As one of the clinical instructors assigned to CC, I was nervous about how I should approach her in this fragile state. I took this role seriously, realizing that documentation would need to be thorough and precise to support any pass or fail recommendations that I made. I also realized that CC would need emotional support and guidance as she mustered up the strength to continue. My role, as I saw it, was not just to assist her in refining her clinical knowledge, but to buoy her confidence - to help her not only ignore the internal dialogue that was telling her she was a failure, thereby preventing her success, but to replace those negative words with positive ones. I put a great amount of thought into how I could best handle this situation, and am reminded of last terms blog entry on vitality and where vitality comes from - often from those around us. CC was lacking vitality in clinic. She admitted to losing her energy, and I felt she needed outside positive reinforcement. My intention was for her to feel safe with me, to feel encouragement from me, believing that she would flourish if she was comfortable under my eyes.

It was with this in mind that, after one fairly successful day in clinic, I congratulated her effusively, patting her on the back giving her the biggest smile I could and exclaimed "You ROCKED it today!" The look of happiness on her face told me it was the right thing to do for her. She needed to hear those words. Sure she still wasn't ready to graduate, but she had improved immensely and I felt she needed some positive encouragement.

                                                   

As just a part of the team working with CC, I failed to recognize that she would take these words and share them with other members of the faculty. These words contradicted what she had been hearing from others and she wanted those who were in the position to grant her success that she was 'rocking it' in clinic. What I had failed to realize, that in my bid to increase her confidence, I had given her ammunition to use to her advantage. This was brought to my attention by the clinical department head, suggesting to me that a more appropriate phrase would have been "You have demonstrated that you can satisfactorily meet the

requirements as they have been outlined in the course curriculum". I almost fall asleep typing those words. They lack life. They are benign. But they are considered 'professional', leading me to question my identity as a clinical instructor.

There are obvious 'rules' of professional conduct that any clinical instructor needs to follow. No gum chewing, no inappropriate touching or sexual innuendo, treat the student and the patient with respect - no yelling, condescending tone or otherwise rudeness directed to the student or patient. There are strict curriculum, or rubrics, that students

need to meet, and one of these is professionalism, but in searching the UBC dental site, there are no clear definitions of professionalism for the instructor in terms of verbal communication. We are to model professionalism, but what does this mean? It is outlined simplistically as presenting a clean image, and to be considerate and courteous at all

times. But what about the positive affirming things we say to students. Those moments when we let our guard down and show the student that we are human can have an immense impact on them, and us, as we are rewarded with the appreciation on their face.

In researching the definition of professionalism outside of the criteria established by the UBC dental site, I stumbled upon the book Professionalism is for Everyone by The Goals Institute. It is a pretty elementary 'how to' book, though one paragraph that seemed to sum it up for me said that "Professionals approach all individuals, situations, and circumstances with a built in guidance system of ethics, sound judgement, fairness, equity, reasonableness, practicality, common sense and good taste" pg18 Basically, it sounds like a 'do unto others' philosophy. This still does not answer my question of how to be human with a student, or client, for that matter, while maintaining a 'professional' demeanor. I continued my search by referring back to last weeks assigned readings.

Latta and Kim's article refers to the philosophy that "we invest in cultivating lived understanding of curricular practices as concomitantly situated, thoughtful, and intentional." (pg680) and that this effort to bring curriculum to life can only be done through the conduit of the teacher. How the teacher achieves this may not always be in accordance with the administrator, as I found with my 'you rocked it' comment, though if it serves the student in a beneficial way, is it completely wrong? As I continue to hone my professional identity, Latta and Kim's article provides a beneficial insight into this 'situatedness', 'thoughtfullness' and' intentionality’. By looking at the situation

independently and using a thoughtful approach to the specifics of CC’s situation I had the intention to encourage a teacher/student/knowledge connection by encouraging her to go forward through congratulating on her current performance. My goal was to inspire confidence and

learning in CC as an individual, specific to this situation.

Do I pat all students on the back and exclaim “You Rocked It”?  Of course not. Not only would it would lose its effectiveness, but I would look like an idiot. The decision to apply this approach to this situation was based on an intuitive desire to help this particular student who was

feeling beaten up and deflated. Reading this article I feel confirmed in my actions. The freedom to approach education as dynamic and complex is something all teachers should feel comfortable doing, using their professional judgement in teaching situations.

Writing this narrative and reflecting on the three concepts mentioned above, I feel better about my words to CC. I do not tell every student they 'rocked it', though I felt that this situation called for it. So did I break the professional code in my words to CC? I'm still not certain. Do I want to be the type of professional who uses phrases as directed? Resounding NO. So what is my professional identity? It is dynamic, but it is always full of thought with the intention to nurture the love of learning, or to build confidence, or whatever else is needed for the particular situation I find myself in at that moment.