Springfield Trade High School - Beaver Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

Page 23 text:

DENTAL ASSISTING DEPARTMENT The aim of the Dental Assisting Department is to provide, in one year’s in- tensive training, the necessary experience that will lead to employment as an assistant in a dentist’s office. Practical experience is gained in the well-equipped school clinic. Dr. MacElliot and Mrs. Kendrick, a dental hygienist, are in charge of the clinic this year. Dr. MacElliot will give dental care to those students who do not have a reg- ular dentist. The girls assist Dr. MacElliot in his work on the students, which provides the same situations that will be encountered in any dentist’s office. Laboratory work is also one of the necessary skills which must be developed. Making and repairing dentures, making plaster molds and model teeth are a few of the many techniques which are learned. An X-ray machine and dark room facilities make it possible for the girls to learn the process of making and developing X-rays. The girls also gain experience in the art of receiving patients and in keeping records expertly and efficiently. In addition, courses are required in child psychology, first aid, nutrition, English and science. « Here Dr. MacElliott explains (to Marilyn Kelly and Elizabeth Zielinski) the laboratory procedures in the construction of a full denture. Dr. MacElliott is presenting classroom instruction in X-ray technique. Elizabeth Zielinski is holding a timer while an X-ray picture is being taken of Elizabeth McCarthy’s teeth.

Page 25 text:

A meal is being prepared by Shirley Hayward and Peter Blohm. «« Here Margaret Prince, Priscilla Carter, and Carolyn Peters are using “Susie” to learn anatomy. PRACTICAL NURSING The purpose of the Practical Nursing Course, which is under the supervision of Mrs. Johnston, is to prepare practical nurses to care for mothers and new- born babies, for chronic and convalescent patients, and to assist the professional nurse in the care of the acutely ill under the supervision and direction of a qualified physician. The course covers a period of fifteen months, of which five are spent in school and ten in the affiliating Springfield hospitals. Trade High School grants a certificate to those who complete the course satis- factorily. The graduates are then eligible to take the examination for licensing as practical nurses which is given by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing. Employment opportunities are unlimited. Hospitals, convalescent homes, visiting nurse services, and federal agencies are all in need of licensed practical nurses. Mrs. Johnston supervises while Priscilla Carter and Carolyn Peters practice the handling of sterile goods.