Have you ever gone into a nursing home and experienced helping an elderly person and seeing them smile? I have, and I would do it over again any day. This helped me think of the career I wanted, which was working with the elderly as an LPN. My first experience was in an assisted living facility where I worked. After helping multiple people there and seeing all their wonderful smiles, this made me realize that being an LPN was the job for me. The elderly, I feel, are the people who need the most love and attention. The person that can fulfill their need is me as I have a big heart and the soft spot I have for the elderly. My first night was overwhelming; I didn’t know what to expect or even know if this was what I wanted to do. Then the adventure began as I started my rounds all the residents were in bed with a few roamers still awake. The first call light went on that night, so you could picture me with nervousness walking to the room. What did I find but a sweet little old lady that just needed help walking to the bathroom. I held onto her arm and walked beside her to …show more content…
But my first night by myself, it was just me with no other aide. I was so nervous. I kept questioning myself, can I even do this? Am I going to be okay? Even if I wasn’t going to be okay, I had to do it. Going through my rounds and checking on all the residents I felt okay, I felt like I could do it. Then a call light came on, then another, and another; I panicked. I told myself I could do it, so I did. I walked into the first residents room and helped her to the bathroom and went on to the other resident which just need a glass of water. The last resident needed her bed changed because it was soiled, he wasn’t very happy with me because I took too long getting to his room; I informed him I was alone and he told me that he was sorry and wished me luck. After the first cacaos, everything seemed easy. I know I could do
Within the U.S. Healthcare system there are different levels of healthcare; Long-Term Care also known as (LTC), Integrative Care, and Mental Health. While these services are contained within in the U.S. Healthcare system, they function on dissimilar levels.
I was then introduced to a patient who was in isolation. Her legs were immovable and were crossed in a very uncomfortable position. I wish I could’ve done something so that her legs could be in a more comfortable position, but all I could do was observe and get her a cup of ice cold water to drink. During this clinical observation, I didn’t get to see much but overall, it was a good experience. It made me realize what it was like to be in a hospital setting and what it meant to be a nurse. Seeing how the patients were still able to smile through all the pain they went through, it made me want to become a nurse even more because I would also like to make my patients happy. If I could do one thing differently during this clinical observation, I wish I didn’t ask my senior nurse about what externships she took and instead, I wished I asked her more questions about the patients in order to gain more information about
When I learned that one individual can only do so much while a group of passionate individuals can even move mountains, I took on the role of a shift leader to moderate volunteers and joined the emergency department to study a new environment the hospital offer. During that time, I trained numerous volunteers and assisted countless staffs in saving lives at an effective rate with quality services. Many volunteers I trained are continuing their ardent determination to thrive in the small volunteer room alongside with zealous
It was intimidating and a bit scary, but instinctively I tried to help the patient and his family in any manner I could. As the day progressed, I had less anxiety when administering medications to the patient, and I felt more at ease with checking on the patient and his family to ensure they had no unmet needs. Because of our initial encounter with the doorway assessment, providing patient care was not as frightening as past first days of clinical have been. This resulted in a quite interesting post clinical conference where every student had something interesting to discuss regarding the patients they cared
Elderly Culture and Nursing Homes Nursing homes offer a wide range of long-term care assistance for older adults to be able to meet their everyday needs. Older adults from different cultural backgrounds experience conflict with their decision to participate in a nursing home, catalyzing the underlying stigma different cultures hold towards nursing homes. In many cultures, older adults look for family as their primary source of care. However, when their needs cannot be met due to disability and mental health issues, it begins to take a toll on the person’s instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). IADLs are complex daily actions that are needed to live (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2015).
My educational experiences sparked my first consideration of a career in physician assistant and encouraged me to further explore this interest. At the same time, I started giving community services to healthcare. My first opportunity to personally interact with the patient was in the emergency department as a volunteer at Dekalb Medical Center. The first day I stepped onto the floor, my
Having a group of senior citizens following you around for dinner most likely doesn’t sound like a fun night. However, working at a nursing home doesn’t feel like an actual job at all; I actually enjoy spending my nights at the Grand Residence. Not only has this job given me responsibility, but I also have built relationships with many residents. While spending my evenings at a nursing home throughout my high school career, I have come to the realization that I am comfortable and genuinely happy with pursuing a career in patient care in the foreseeable future.
On the first evening of service, I was prepared, yet scared that I would say something wrong or the children there would not accept my ideas. When I arrived, the group was small, as promised since it was a Saturday and many of the hospital guests were out with their parents or home for a fun weekend of activities. The children and youth who were there, however, gathered 'round for some of the activities I had planned. First, I made it a point to learn everyone's name which meant that I p...
Nursing Home Abuse With over 1.5 million elderly and dependent adults now living in nursing homes throughout the country, abuse and neglect has become a widespread problem. Even though some nursing homes provide good care, many are subjecting helpless residents to needless suffering and death. Most residents in nursing homes are dependent on the staff for most or all their needs such as food, water, medicine, toileting, grooming- almost all their daily care. Unfortunately, many residents in nursing homes today are starved, dehydrated, over-medicated, and suffer painful pressure sores. They are often isolated, ignored, and deprived of social contact and stimulation.
I started my Nursing career in India and then I came to the United States and became an RN. I entered Nursing with the thinking that Nursing is a profession that will always allow me to have a job and all my patients will get better. However, from my experiences I understood that Nursing is more than just giving medications, and it requires clinical competence, cultural sensitivity, ethics, caring for others, and life-long learning about others and the evolving field of medicine. Florence Nightingale once said:
I followed the RN nurse who was to assist and prep the operating room (OR). She first went into the clean utility room, where she picked up essentials for the surgery. When everything was gathered and prepared, we had to sit and wait for the patient who had arrived late. The RN would check the computer constantly to see if the patient was on file. After the clock hit 9, which was the time for the surgery, the RN nurse decided to go help put the patient on file quicker. When we arrived at the patients room, there was a nurse making the patient fill out papers. The RN nurse took over the papers while the other nurse completed the documents on the computer. While watching all the questions being asked, and the time it took to fill out the paper work, I realized that the paper work process is not easy.
Certainly, I began with the goal getting of his vital sign and giving him a bed bath. Fortunately I had practice how to take a vital sign and giving a bed bath before my first clinical at the university skill lab and I had developed this confidence before my clinical tour. That day will be mastering the skill which I had just learned in manikins, and applying in real human with huge safety precaution. In between morning my instructor was giving me a brief before I getting to the patients room. From her experience she knew what kind of challenges and a patient behavior can be I face. As I proceeded to my own patient, I hit a roadblock that would give me a flat tire for the rest of the shift.
I was both excited and scared on my first day. I was curious about everything that I could see, smell and hear. I was excited because everything was new to me. The office was very quiet, all the physicians were concentrate on their work. Everything in the office was organized very well. The equipments were gleaming as they attracted me to touch. The smell of the ink was still dimly in the air. I got a little scared when I stepped into the hallway. It was really crowded, people seem very busy no matter if they were patients or physicians. People were everywhere. It was really easy to pump into someone. Rapid footsteps made flap sounds on the marble floor. The smell of the hospital special antiseptic solutions was very pungent. The call bells in the wards were very sharp, and they were coupled with the red lights in front of the wards and white walls. I had never felt more nervous before. I felt dazed because I had no idea what I could do, but this was piqued my fighting will more. Overall, I like this place. The department where I worked in was called the comprehensive internal medicine ward, and it also included a rheumatology clinic. Though I had volunteered in hospital for a very long time in school, I’ve never got a chance to get in the real business as a volunteer. So I was eager to learn everything. My instructor was a really person. He was near my father’s age, so he took care of me like his daughter....
Adult Nursing is a very rewarding career which provides endless opportunities. I would describe myself as a caring and compassionate person. I believe I possess these qualities naturally. I am compelled to put other people’s needs before my own. I can contribute my personal qualities to this course of being dedicated and determined into committing myself to this 3 year course and excelling academically. Personally, caring for my mother with high blood pressure made me interested in the world of medicine. This long term sickness inspired me to gain more experience outside of the home and volunteer which confirmed that this was the right course for me. I am fascinated by the practical aspect that the course involves as well as the theoretical
On my third week of clinical shifts, I was able to spend the day in the operating room watching surgeries. The doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists were all very informative. I was in awe watching the anesthesiologists and surgeons do their work. My mind was going a mile-a-minute as I tried to follow everything that was going on.