Strive-Achievement
May - June, 2011 edition

Jodie Condon, RDH, BSDH (center, standing) with Oakland Community College students (left to right) Bethany Manzitti, Allison Kastl and Angie Johnson. Condon's capstone project was well received, and OCC has asked her to stay on as an adjunct clinical faculty member.

Jodie Condon, RDH, BSDH, knows how to make the best of a situation. She earned her associate degree over 20 years ago, and has worked as a dental hygienist in a variety of private dental offices. But over the years, major life changes have inspired her to find what she called “the courage to start a reinvention process.”

After being out of a classroom for a number of years, she made her way back to school to earn her bachelor’s degree. The necessity of supporting herself and three children drove her to find new opportunities, but not without some apprehension.

“It was exciting, it was challenging. I was fearful of whether or not I’d be able to do the work, especially juggling working and children that are 17, 14, and 7, and the activities they’re involved with,” she said.

Although nece­ssity brought her to the E-Learning Degree Completion Program at the University of Michigan (U-M), passion and perseverance made her successful.

“It seemed like a natural thing to pursue getting my bachelor’s degree. The courage came from going through a struggle and learning that I could do things I never thought I could,” Condon said. “It wasn’t a fast thing, it happened over time. Being a hygienist, we’re always trying to help other people change, so I sort of applied those skills to myself.”

During her time at U-M, Condon put together a capstone project on evidence-based decision making (EBDM), “the integration of current best research evidence, in conjunction with clinical experiences and patient values, to make decisions regarding patient care.” EBDM was a new topic for Condon, despite her having stayed up-to-date on her continuing education course requirements. The project’s goal was to “develop and implement an introductory [EBDM] lesson for first-year dental hygiene students at Oakland Community College (OCC).”

According to Condon, the U-M program required the capstone project to be designed to tackle a problem, or part of a problem, that has not yet been addressed adequately, or take a new approach to a problem that has already been addressed. The project should demonstrate an integration of one’s studies as a baccalaureate student. In addition to being of sufficient complexity, a capstone project is also expected to have some practical significance.

“Through discussions with my U-M advisors, I realized there was an opportunity for this experience to be more than just a project for a grade. EBDM principals were interwoven within every U-M course; we learned how to access PubMed, completed literature reviews, and worked to back up our classroom discussions/opinions with current credible evidence,” Condon said. “The topic of EBDM was very intriguing for me because it utilizes technology (accessing databases) and supports the highest quality of patient care …. I am also passionate about teaching, so developing a capstone project that could have an impact on my profession and included an educational component spoke to my desires.”

The project included a pre- and posttest questionnaire designed to assess student knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding EBDM. This enabled teaching sessions to be designed specifically for the students at OCC and took into account prior learning experiences on this topic. Condon’s project was well received, and OCC has asked her to stay on as an adjunct clinical faculty member. Most recently, she presented an EBDM educational session to the dental hygiene staff at OCC. This was an unexpected outcome from what began as a relatively small capstone project. She will now have the opportunity to help the school implement EBDM into its dental hygiene curriculum.

“EBDM spoke to me personally because I had been out of dental hygiene school for so many years. In the 2002 Journal of Dental Hygiene, authors, Finley-Zarse et al. report that clinicians tend to utilize knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired as a student when making treatment decisions. Consequently, the longer professionals are out of school, the larger the gap in their knowledge, which may hinder them from providing the latest treatment and current best practice,”[1] Condon said. “Going into the program at U-M, I didn’t know about EBDM. But once my instructors explained it to me, and I read a research paper about it, I said, ‘Wow, this is a way for me to provide the best quality of care that I can within the parameters of being a dental hygienist.’”

Condon said that before entering the program at U-M, she had to rely on information she learned in dental hygiene school and from continuing education courses to answer patient questions; she didn’t know how to efficiently access electronic databases to find research articles available from the hundreds of professional journals published each year—a hurdle many practicing dental hygienists may also face.

“Everyone speaks about EBDM in our profession, but potentially there are hygienists who may not have received training on how to access electronic databases to obtain the most current and reliable research. People know EBDM is useful, but they’re just not sure how to go about using it,” she said.

Condon said many dental hygienists might not have had research classes in their program. Appraising scientific literature can be confusing, and critically reviewing the research/study results can be challenging. Even though EBDM has been in the dental hygiene profession for years, and is found in the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) and American Dental Association (ADA) accreditation standards and competencies, it’s taking a while for it to become fully integrated across our profession and curricula.

Condon explained that one of her mentors for the capstone project, Stephanie Markwardt, RDH, MS, dental hygiene director at OCC, has been an educator for many years and wanted to provide her first-year students with additional EBDM skills and improve critical-thinking abilities. “Stephanie was involved in my capstone project, and it spoke to her and worked well with the program at OCC. They’ve expanded on it a lot and have added additional projects and assignments within their program. The capstone project has been sort of an eye-opening experience,” Condon said.

And not just for faculty or students, but for Condon, too. Through her capstone project, Condon learned the value of mentorship, and how it can create new unexpected opportunities. She recalled that there were times when she didn’t think she could successfully complete the project because it was such a comprehensive undertaking. Condon said Markwardt asked her to work in the campus clinic one day a week, opening a new work opportunity in addition to working as faculty. Condon added that her mentor at U-M, Susan Taichman RDH, MS, MPH, PhD, was extremely helpful, knowledgeable and encouraging.

“My thought was ‘There’s all this information on EBDM and why would my project be important?’ but [Taichman] said my capstone was totally different than other EBDM projects in that I’ve actually put something in place and am assessing it in an educational institution, and there isn’t a lot about that. She would be the wind beneath my wings and say, ‘Yes, you can do this, Jodie. I’m here to help you.’ I couldn’t have done it without her,” Condon said. “She gave me a lot of her time, sharing her knowledge and insight, even though she’s extremely busy. She’s a researcher, she’s an instructor, and this was another thing added to her workload, but she was still willing to do it.”

Taichman returned Condon’s enthusiasm for the project and mentoring relationship, saying, “Jodie’s interest in EBDM occurred early in her degree-completion education. She embraced this herself and then moved to the next level of desiring to share this knowledge with others. The strength of her capstone project lies in her own understanding and practice of EBDM. It was a pleasure to mentor her through this process.”

Anne Gwozdek, RDH, BA, MA, director of U-M’s Degree Completion Programs said the Dental Hygiene Program has EBDM threaded throughout its curriculum, and added, “Jodie’s capstone project was a reflection of that emphasis. In addition, she recognized that this would support ADHA policy and the research agenda. Making this all come together in a project was a great accomplishment on Jodie’s part.”

Condon explained that just like EBDM, mentorship is another focal point of the program at U-M. She added that Gwozdek is ‘very aware’ of the importance of mentorship and encourages faculty to mentor students.

“Having a mentor helps you see things differently,” Condon said. “It’s a networking opportunity, and it makes each person an exponentially stronger connection. You have an awareness of career possibilities that you might have never considered before.”

She added that her mentorship experiences strengthen her belief that dental hygienists should become mentors for each other, especially those who work in alternative settings that can provide work opportunities outside of private practice.

“We’re sort of in a secluded circle of professionals, and working our way into the hospitals and alternative care settings can happen through mentorship. Just like EBDM, it takes a while; it takes little steps, and every little step helps,” Condon said.

She said implementing research into practice, especially where EBDM is concerned, has been a slow transition, but one that is picking up speed. “Integrating new ideas takes time; some areas of health care are ahead of others in utilizing EBDM …. Once we know it, and embrace it, it really is easy to incorporate into our work. As hygienists, we’ve had to support change—our profession continues to evolve, and every day we’re encouraging our patients to change their habits and lifestyles, something we’ve had to model,” Condon said. “It can be a challenge to find opportunities to educate the dental hygiene community, to continue the trend of moving forward with EBDM skills and ensure we have access to the online resources necessary to put it into practice. However, once those things are taken care of, it’s easy to implement because EBDM supports the work we already do. As Jane L. Forrest, RDH, EdD, writes, ‘Mastering EBDM skills will enable better communication with other practitioners and patients, which will ultimately lead to improved health care for our patients.’”[2]

For her part, Condon wants other dental hygienists to understand the importance of continued learning and the doors it can open by creating a network of faculty and practitioners. She advises her colleagues to never underestimate the power of education, and to be open to new experiences like hybrid or online programs.

”I’ve learned that everything is connected. I felt passionate about EBDM, which led me to utilize it as part of one small project. From that project, I had the opportunity to teach a small group of future hygienists, which may impact thousands of future dental patients. From that teaching experience, I went on to teach a group of college faculty about EBDM. From there, I may have an impact on the next generation of faculty and on others in our profession,” Condon said. “Every one of us can use what we’ve learned in our programs to positively impact others. Each time we obtain information, we can share our knowledge. Over time, each person contributes to a body of knowledge and eventually an entire profession is moving forward. If you do what you’re passionate about, when you share what you love, it’s exciting, it’s important, and it’s challenging. Is that making a difference?”

References

1. Finely-Zarse SR, Overman PR, Mayberry WE, Corry AM: Information-seeking behaviors of U. S. Practicing dental hygienists and full-time dental hygiene educators. J Dent Hyg 2002; 76(II):116-124.

2. Forrest JL, Miller S, Overman P, Newman M. Evidence-based decision making translational guide for dental professionals. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2009.

This edition of Strive Achievement was prepared by Mariam Pera.