Orientation

Today we had our orientation at the nursing home; even though it was just an overview and tour of the facility, it got me excited for the upcoming weeks there. We'll be working with rehab and short-term patients (as opposed to Alzheimer's or other long-term patients), so we'll be doing a lot of assisting them with ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) and their rehab. Even though it's not our area, Tracy still had us go through the Alzheimer's unit, and my personal experiences with my grandparents made something already really sad hit even more closely to home. One of the patients there even looked like my grandmother; it was a good lesson in learning how to use your emotions and experiences to your benefit and the benefit of the patients instead of just crying (which I almost did. Day one. Go me). It definitely wasn't all sad though; some of the patients we encountered in the hallways were legitimately excited to see us, which immediately made my day; I'm really excited to see how I can not only make someone feel physically better but also emotionally. We'll each be assigned a patient per week and, since there isn't the constant influx and outflow of patients like in a hospital, will probably have some of the same patients. I'm really excited to be assigned a patient and get to see the diagnosis and treatment process first-hand, as well as to get to know that person as more than a diagnosis. We're given access, even just as nursing students, into patients' confidential information and their physical privacy; it really demonstrates the trust that people give to nurses and that we really need to respect that trust. Once we get our patients at the end of this week, we have to start learning all about them from their medical information, and then next Monday we'll actually meet them and start getting to know them for who they are not on paper. I'm so excited about being a part of the health care team; we meet with the other health care professionals (HCPs) to discuss the patients and the process. Basically, my feelings of legitimacy are off the chart right now haha I think this experience will definitely be challenging at times, but I can't wait to start really being a part of the medical field and start learning who I really am as an almost-nurse.