Star Stories

Jennifer Watson

Star Stories

CLSS 2100

11/16/11

1- Team work

I worked in a dental office for five years; mostly I worked with the dentist and the office manager. For the most part I worked in the back with the dentist and the office manager in the front with the billing. I would set up the operatory for patents and assist the dentist on the patents. Most of the time things ran really smooth and the patents were evenly apart, occasionally the office manager would come back to the Dr. Ormsbey and me with news of an emergency. A woman with a broken tooth, a man with a tooth ache, or a child who climbed up a slide, fell and cracked his permanent teeth and could we please find room to fit them in. Of course we could! We would skip lunch, everyone sharing in the duties of cleaning and setting up new rooms, even Dr. Ormsbey would be back with me cleaning the rooms or the interments the whole time through or lunch hour. Some days we would not catch up till way after it was time to go home and none of us would leave until we all had our work done; it was like family, that’s real team work.

2-Major challenge

The dentist I worked for Dr. Sergeant sold his practice I was working in to move down to St George to be closer to his Mother after his Father had passed away. I had been working with him for about three years and he is an amazing guy so naturally I was devastated, we all were the Hygienist and the office manager as well. The doctor asked us if we would stay with the practice to oversee the move because he would be able to get more for the practice if the staff would stay in order to help the patients feel more comfortable. The other two girls, the office manager and the hygienist said no, they stayed as long as they did because they liked him so much but with a new Doctor they would have no reason to stay. I felt a little nervous to stay when I did not know the Doctor and he was bringing his old staff with him but I stayed to help the transition go more smoothly for our patients who I had come to know very well and love. I called each one over the next six months and assured them the new Doctor was great and they would love him. I was able to bring over 80% of Dr. Sergeants patients to the new Doctor and make Doctor Sergeant’s practice worth every penny the new Doctor paid for it.

3-Past Goal

After the birth of my last child I found myself 80 lbs. heavier then I was before I had children. My husband had been running marathon for ten years and I really wanted to run one. I knew I was too heavy but sure if I trained I could do one, after all if he could do it! LOL; I started my training and I was diligent, unfortunately I was plagued with stress fractures. Every time I would get in a good routine I would end up with one, it was the most frustrating thing. After about nine months of training and seventy pounds I ran my first marathon! I would love to say it went smooth but no, I felt pain in my left femur at mile 15 or so but I thought it was just spot pain. By mile 19 I felt my leg snap and told my husband I think my leg just broke. He said it was just spot pain and like a good wife believed him. The next seven mile were extremely painful and slow going ,that seven miles took me over two hours to complete, barely getting us in the required time of six hours, 5:58:58. I made it though! That day we found out I did break my leg and my husband still feels bad about that, this was over seven years ago and now I have completed 32 marathons and my times are much faster.