Impressions
Virtualled Out ! by Dr . Stephen T . Radack III , Editor
Let me start this editorial by saying that I believe in wearing a mask , social distancing , handwashing and remaining diligent when it comes to being out in public . Being in the office is the same as it always has been ; wear the proper PPE and protect your patients , yourself and your staff . That being said , is anyone else out there “ virtualled out ” by now ? I don ’ t even think that is a word , but it seems appropriate after six months of the global pandemic in the U . S .
By the time you read this , the 2020 ADA House of Delegates ( HOD ) will have concluded . That is the virtual ADA HOD . The meeting started October 15 and concluded October 19 . That is five days of Zoom and / or live streaming of this annual governance meeting . At the same time , the ADA FDC Annual Meeting ( known this year as the ADA FDC Virtual Connect Conference ) with awesome CE , keynote speakers , entertainment and an exhibition hall was also virtual , as opposed to being live in Orlando .
The last in-person meeting of your PDA Board of Trustees took place in January . Since that time the board has met at least a half a dozen times via GoToMeeting . Staring at a computer or tablet screen with little boxes of the people you might normally see around a board table just doesn ’ t seem right . Can you say Hollywood Squares ?
In April and May I sat in on usually four Zoom lectures a day with my students at LECOM so they could meet the requirements to complete their education since the clinics were closed . In those presentations you never saw the students . You only were able to see who was participating . This was truly a challenging way to finish up that fourth year . No “ hands on ” dentistry . No ability to try and hone those skills before taking that clinical licensing board and then heading off to that first job or a residency .
In September , my Ninth District was supposed to have its annual meeting as well as two continuing education ( CE ) courses and a social event with the new fourth year LECOM students . As I am sure you have already concluded , that event was cancelled , but we were able to hold a first ever virtual annual meeting thanks to the assistance of Andrea Castilow , our component and membership coordinator at the PDA . Again not quite what we expected , but those members that attended , as well as our PDA president Dr . Jim Tauberg , ADA trustee Dr . Linda Himmelberger and PDA executive director Ward Blackwell were able to do so from the comfort of their home or office . I guess that could be seen as one advantage to being virtual .
The CE courses we had scheduled have been rescheduled over the next few months , you guessed it virtually , thanks to PDA . I am certainly grateful that I will be able to get the Act 31 ( Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting ) and Act 124 ( Pain Management and Identification of Addiction ) courses that are required for 2021 relicensure without having to leave Erie . I don ’ t know about you , but I took a lot of online virtual CE courses during the time we were shutdown . We were stuck at home so why not ? And it sure was convenient . CE and a coffee from your couch with sweats and slippers on . Pretty sweet … for a while .
I am glad my daughters are done with school , especially when I see the wide range of options that students and their parents are dealing with this fall . The members of the staff at our office have children from pre-school to college . Their current education models range from in-person to a hybrid version of half in-person and half virtual , and finally , 100 % virtual . My hygienist has 4 children from 10-16 years old and they are all learning at home right now . Some of our college students go to class in person , but others are doing both . My neighbor was so excited to start her freshman year at N . C . State , but no sooner did she move into her dorm than the administration decided to go to all virtual classes . Less than a month later she was home after clusters of COVID outbreaks closed all the dorms and emptied the campus . Now she is a first semester freshmen at N . C . State in her house in Erie , Pa .
PDA Board of Trustees meeting , April 25 , 2020 .
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 5