The West Virginia University School of Dentistry is one of a few higher education entities to offer more than a two-year degree in dental hygiene. In addition to learning to provide direct patient care, students in the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene program develop skills and knowledge necessary to open them to countless career possibilities. They include clinical positions, administrative and managerial tracks, teaching jobs, research work and consumer advocacy.
The curriculum, which integrates liberal arts courses at WVU's main campus, requires hygiene students to complete a minimum of 125 hours of community service before being eligible to graduate.
Jodi Drumheller, a dental hygiene student from St. Albans, WV, took advantage of a community service opportunity to act as site manager of an oral cancer screening event at the Immaculate Conception Health Fair in Clarksburg, WV in October 2022.
"It allowed me to gain more experience in working directly with patient care oriented toward the prevention of oral cancer. The health fair event was free to all patients and gave our dental students the opportunity to screen patients for oral cancer and our dental hygiene students the opportunity to educate patients on why it is important to self-screen for oral cancer and how/what to look for when screening for oral cancer on one's self," Drumheller said.
Students chosen to be site managers of a dental hygiene community service event are responsible for coordinating the overall event including managing other volunteers, working to market the event and having the necessary instrumentation and tools needed for the event.
"A lot of work is put into events, such as this one, that goes unnoticed until you are part of the team orchestrating the event. I learned that to plan a healthcare event such as this one, you have to work with everyone involved as a team to ensure the event runs successfully," Drumheller said.
Liz Puette, assistant professor with the Department of Dental Hygiene, is active in a majority of outreach events but volunteers her time specifically toward oral cancer awareness events.
"The planning time prior to the event, implementation of the event, and follow up of the event count towards her Area Health Education Center's (AHEC) community service project and credit. To complete her hours and enhance her experience by learning more, she also attended a Mountains of Hope meeting regarding the proposed Oral Health and Cancer Rights Act. She is also creating a video to help promote for April’s Oral Cancer Awareness Month that she also plans to share with Mountains of Hope," Puette said.
The objectives of AHEC place an emphasis on minority populations and rural and/or medically underserved settings.
In recapping the event, Puette had glowing reviews of Drumheller's influence.
"She did an impressive job, was on task, had excellent communication and took the lead. I truly enjoyed working with her as her mentor on this project."