Cheesin' in Wisconsin

One time, I had a conversation with someone about how many choices are available to me in medical school. It was a wild thought: I never felt like medical school was one full of choices. A lot of boxes to check within a few pre-determined pathways, but never did I feel like I had many choices after I was accepted into school. This year has been different, and has really reminded me that I have never been surrounded by so many choices. Chad and I had the entire country to choose from for work, and we are continually overwhelmed by the love from the communities we join. Wisconsin was an especially cool choice because my aunt and uncle, who have lived in WI for years, fed us and let us use their washing machine.

Before I get too far into this, it's important that I let you know that I was tied for the lead in the family Fantasy Football league. If you're thinking, "What in tarnation? Isn't the NFL basically everything Amy stands against?" Yes, it is. Which makes this success all the sweeter, because approximately 3% effort went into making my team and coaching it along the way. Either way, go Taylor Swift!

We were greeted in Milwaukee with a beautiful parking lot at the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds for the Smile Wagon, an introductory bonfire with my aunt Natalie and uncle Ron, and that sassy Midwest wind. What the RV park lacked in scenery was made up by its convenient location, since we were only 5 minutes from Natalie & Ron, and both Chad & I were within 25 minutes of work. The RV park was so beautiful that Chad never even took a single photo of our set up to show y'all.

The next weekend we hosted our first Chiefs watch party with Natalie & Ron, and their friend/neighbor Mike. Who says you can't entertain guests in an RV?! Chad ended up being able to carpool to work with both Ron and Mike, which prevented us from needing another car rental. We are blessed.

Wisconsin was made even sweeter when my mom came to visit! The second overnight guest of the Smile Wagon (lest we forget our first guest: Dr. Meg Franzetti). We explored Fish Fry Friday and the oldest custard shop in Wisconsin: true community staples. It rained for some of her time with us, but we made the most of the time with lots of snacks, laughs at a local comedy show, and heated political debates.

Just in case you've never been to Wisconsin, there are a surprising number of trees here. Though Chad and I had a low baseline for density of trees (because Kansas), we are changed people after living in Maine. In Wisconsin, the tree population also comes with a buckthorn population, an invasive plant that outcompetes native species and reduces biodiversity. My aunt Natalie is part of a local brigade that cuts down and removes buckthorn on the weekends. We saw lots of these plants on a hike, and she taught us how to appropriately remove it. We came back to have a pizza party in their backyard using their homemade, wood-fired pizza oven. Though the country is in turmoil and feels like we're in an episode of Black Mirror, there are still people out here fighting the good fight.

Chad has had a WILD time in Wisconsin. Like, even wilder than adding mushrooms to his most recent fall chili recipe. Turning it over to him so he can appropriately vent:

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Hello hello, it's me again. I don't even know where to begin. My temp job in Milwaukee was something else. I should add that I did not mention our blog to a single person I worked with so that I could spill the unfiltered tea.

First of all, finding work in Wisconsin was unexpectedly super hard. None of my temp agencies had anything for me, and I contacted probably 40ish practices on my own with no luck. I was about to give up and only do teledentistry the whole time here, when a company I had previously talked with got back to me. They had a doctor request paternity leave for 3 weeks, which just happened to be the exact 3 weeks we'd be in Milwaukee. How perfect, right?

As it would turn out, this doctor ended up changing his paternity leave schedule multiple times, but they had already agreed to bring me in. So, they shuffled me around to 3 different locations where they had space (but not really a huge need) for an additional doctor. The company is a local corporate group of practices across Wisconsin and Illinois that sees primarily patients with Medicaid. In a nutshell, this translates to high-volume, less-than-ideal quality dentistry for many reasons.

On my second day, I nearly walked out. Without getting into too many dentistry details, I was overbooked, fell over an hour behind, had a patient walk out due to waiting too long, paired with brand new assistants, worked in operatories that weren't adequately set up/stocked, and thrown into very complex situations with a few patients. To top it all off, I didn't have a lunch break (which they forgot to mention beforehand) and this was the lowest pay of any temp job I've had thus far. Also, this company does not employ hygienists, which means the dentists have to do the work of both the doctor and the hygienist at the same time. It was one of the most frustrating/least enjoyable days of dentistry I've ever had. For context, I've now worked in 17 different locations, including remote clinics in Honduras and the regional jail in WV.

This was not the kind of work environment I wanted to be in. I told myself that day to stick it out, process everything when I got home, and provide my thoughts/feedback to the admin team to see if anything could be addressed. I knew there was something to be learned from this experience and didn't want to give up right off the bat. I sent an email the next morning with my list of concerns, and to my surprise, almost everything I brought up was addressed by the end of the day. Two of the regional managers came right away to the location I was at to chat with me in person, and they completely validated everything I mentioned. In fact, they thanked me for doing so because many things they were unaware of. The work days immediately got better, and I was able to stick it out for my full 3 weeks. It still wasn't the best job I've ever had, but I did learn a lot, which at the end of the day was exactly what I wanted out of this year of travel dentistry. Overall, this served as a great lesson for me about the importance of self-advocacy and providing constructive feedback.

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We celebrated our time in Wisconsin by going out for dinner with Natalie, Ron, Mike and his wife Irene at a local eatery. It was the perfect way to end our time in the upper Midwest.

Lastly, some other updates:

• I FINALLY used all of my ClassPass credits, which has been a long time coming. It only took 2 consecutive 5:30 am spin classes to do it, and I am stronger for it.

• Because I am a human body filled with chaotic energy, I recently dropped our surge protector and the plastic cover shattered. So, we made a huge RV upgrade. We are now the proud owners of a Watchdog, which is super fancy surge protector that automatically turns the power to the rig off if needed.

• Not important: Chad and I got new glasses.

• Very important: Chad ended up at Rotary Club meeting with Mike, where he learned about Violins of Hope while eating a mediocre breakfast.

• We recently got an electric blanket, which has truly changed the chilly RV game.

• I am knee deep in interview season for residency! Very exciting, and I feel very fancy in my new suit.