Emma Nodine

Daily Summaries 

Tuesday – 03/17/2026

On this day, I focused on organizing and preparing for the next phase of my appointment timing and clinic efficiency project. I began by developing a structured plan for how I will approach researching and analyzing the data, including outlining the order in which I will gather information and how I will organize my findings related to clinic scheduling patterns. I also planned ahead for my upcoming meeting with Larissa on 03/19/2026 by identifying specific reports that will need to be created or pulled from the system to support my analysis.

In addition to planning, I collaborated with the dental assistant, Mandy, to review and verify the procedure codes currently being used within the clinic. Together, we identified which codes are actively in use to ensure accuracy in my data analysis. After this discussion, I began compiling and organizing these procedure codes into categorized groupings aligned with the Point-and-Click reporting structure. This step will allow for more efficient analysis of appointment types and timing data moving forward. Overall, today’s work strengthened the foundation for accurate data collection and ensured that future analysis will be both organized and aligned with actual clinic practices.

Thursday – 03/19/2026

On this day, I continued working on organizing the procedure codes from the large comprehensive list of all possible procedure codes to gather data for the new appointment timing project. I sorted through the code reports sheet and organized the relevant procedure codes that are currently being performed in the clinic into the categories outlined by the Point-and-Click reporting system to prepare for my meeting with IT. While doing this, I carefully reviewed and verified each code to ensure accuracy and proper alignment with the reporting structure. This process helped streamline the dataset and make it more clear and usable for future analysis. Additionally, I began preparing the cleaned and categorized data so it can be effectively used in IT-generated reports for evaluating appointment timing and improving scheduling efficiency.

Summary of Week 9 with Competencies 

• 1.1 Plan Assessment
  • 1.1.1 Define the purpose and scope of the assessment
  • This week, I continued developing the foundation of my appointment timing and clinic efficiency project by clearly outlining the purpose and scope of the assessment. I identified that the primary goal of this phase is to analyze procedure timing and scheduling patterns in order to improve clinic efficiency and optimize appointment scheduling. By organizing a structured plan for how I will approach data collection and analysis, I established a clear direction for evaluating workflow patterns within the dental clinic.
• 1.2 Obtain primary data, secondary data, and other evidence-informed sources
  • 1.2.1 Identify primary data, secondary data, and evidence-informed resources
  • I identified key data sources necessary for this project, including appointment timing reports, procedure codes, and scheduling data within the Point-and-Click system. I also prepared for collaboration with IT to obtain accurate and comprehensive reports. Additionally, by working with the dental assistant to verify actively used procedure codes, I ensured that the data I will be analyzing reflects real clinical practices, strengthening the validity of my assessment.
• 2.1 Engage priority populations, partners, and stakeholders
  • 2.1.2 Facilitate collaborative efforts among partners and stakeholders
  • I collaborated with clinic staff, including the dental assistant and IT personnel, to support the development of this project. By consulting with Mandy to confirm procedure codes and planning a meeting with Larissa to generate necessary reports, I engaged key stakeholders in the early stages of the assessment process. These collaborations are essential for ensuring data accuracy and aligning the project with clinic operations.

Week 9 Summaries 

During my ninth week with the UGA UHC Dental Clinic, I began laying the groundwork for my appointment timing and clinic efficiency project. I focused on organizing a clear and structured plan for how I will approach data collection and analysis, including determining the order of research and how to best categorize scheduling and procedure information. This planning phase was essential for ensuring that the project will be conducted in a systematic and efficient manner.

I also collaborated with clinic staff to strengthen the accuracy of my data sources by speaking with one of the dental assistants, Mandy. By working with a dental assistant to review and verify the relevance of the procedure codes currently being used, I ensured that my procedure list is accurate to the current offered procedures for a more accurate report to be drawn. I used this information to prepare for an upcoming meeting with IT to request specific reports needed for evaluating appointment timing and workflow patterns.

Overall, this week focused on gathering data and information to begin working on my new project about appointment timing scheduling. The goal of this collection was to ensure that all procedure codes and report categories were standardized to best align with the current clinical workflows to optimize the new scheduling system. I will use this data to create a reliable timing analysis of the current procedures to create the most efficient scheduling recommendations.