Mentor day 5

Last week I was able to go to Kaiser and spend 50 minutes learning vital signs and interviewing a registered nurse who showed also me around a little bit. This nurse specialized in wound care and taught me how to check a patients vital signs - blood pressure, pulse, and temperature. She gave me a tour of the medical rooms and showed me the tools used by the nurses and doctors. She then taught me how to perform a jux delight. When a foot is injured, you wrap the jux delight around the patients foot to keep the swelling down. During the interviewing, she informed me that it took 8 years with all the schooling to become a RN because of the science degree that you must obtain.

Time: 4:10PM-5:00PM
Total: 25 hrs & 5 mins

Culminating Blog Post

Throughout my capstone project, I used critical thinking and collaboration to help others. I took the time and patience to learn how to do multiple things by the volunteers, and then had to apply my new found skills. I gained a lot of knowledge from this experience that could come in handy later in life. I had to break out of my shell and be a more talkative and open person to communicate with people. Once I became comfortable, I became more outspoken and learned a lot about the people there. For example, there was a patient there that I had a conversation with and I learned that he loved to color. Coloring made him feel more at ease and stress free, so the next time I went to volunteer I brought him more crayons and coloring books. I sat down with him for hours, coloring and talking to him about why he loved coloring so much. He said it was like a form of therapy for him so I told him about art therapy and how it actually is good for your mind and body.  It felt good to help him, even if it was just giving him coloring books. It made him really happy, which made me happy.

What I gained from the capstone project is experience in the nursing field. I learned so much about what it is like to be a nurse and tend to other people’s needs. I gained a lot of knowledge throughout my time spent with my mentor. With shadowing and practice, I now know how to do a number of things like how to make a hospital bed, how to change and dress a wound, take someone’s blood pressure, and medicine distribution.  What I personally gained from this experience was better social skills. I had to overcome my shyness so that I can better communicate with everybody, patients and other volunteers. It was kind of hard at first, but once I got better acquainted with everybody it became easier with time. Another personal gain from this experience was seeing what the nursing field was like. It opened my eyes to some of the things I would have to learn about and do as a nurse. What I realized during my time volunteering is that I don’t think I want to become a nurse anymore. I like the fact that it challenges me to be more open and expressing, but it’s just not something I see myself doing for the rest of my life.

Some challenges that I faced during this project was communicating with people. I’m a quiet person until I get to know somebody, so for me to go around asking people I didn't know what they needed or how they were doing was difficult for me. It was hard to understand the patients most of the time because of the medicine they were on. Some had a hard time speaking and others had a hard time hearing or comprehending what I was saying. I overcame all the difficulties with patience, understanding, and by being less shy.  I knew that it was not only hard for me, but it was also hard for them.  I took my time to listen to what they were saying and to also make sure they understood what I was saying. 

Mentor Day 4

Today I started off by cleaning the kitchen. I swept the kitchen and hallway floors, then mopped those areas. I helped heat up enchiladas and beans, then served it to one of the residents. I talked to him for a while and kept him company. After he went to take a nap, I went into the dining room and there was a resident coloring. I asked him why he liked coloring so much and we talked about how it kept his mind busy and made him forget all the problems he had. He said he had problems inside that he hasn't even dealt with yet, and drawing and coloring made him feel good and express himself. Without me even mentioning art therapy, he said it was therapeutic for him, so we sat there for a couple hours talking and coloring. Coloring with him brought me back to my original idea for my capstone essay - art therapy is healthy for the mind and body because when you feel good emotionally, it helps you physically. We discussed all the positive attributes of art therapy and how it benefits you for the remaining hours.


Time: 9AM-3PM
Total: 24 hrs & 15 mins

Mentor Day 3

Today I did and learned quite a few things while volunteering. Right when I got there I had to sweep the kitchen and clean dishes. I dried the dishes and put them back in the cabinet and drawers that they belonged. After I was done with that, I made a bed for a new resident that would be coming. Then I went outside to sit and socialize with one of the residents who were just sitting out there by themselves. Once I was finished talking, I went back inside to help transfer a patient from a wheelchair to a bed with ease and care. Then I observed and learned about how to do a dressing change on a wound. First you have to clean the wound with a cleanser, then apply whatever the doctor orders. In this case it was an antibacterial wound gel that creates a skin barrier for the raw skin. Once you apply everything you cover the wound with a foam dressing, which is basically like a foam padding, then use a specific tape to tape it on so it stays. The dressing  provides cushioning while also protecting the wound and absorbing any drainage that may occur. After observing the dressing change, I learned how to make a hospital bed. First we put down a regular bed sheet, then we had to put an alternating pressure air mattress. This mattress relieves pressure on the body for patients that can't move very well while helping prevent bed sores. Once the mattress was on we covered it with a sheet, then a draw sheet. A draw sheet is a cloth sheet that is put under the patient so that it's easier to re-position the patient. To re-position the patient you must un-tuck the sheet and roll it up to them as close as you can - this makes it easier to move them to the top/bottom of the bed. For the remaining hours, I went back outside and conversed with the other resident and kept him company.

Time: 9AM-3PM
Total: 18 hrs & 15 mins

Oceania

Oceania is a place where everybody follows strict orders from one dictator, Big Brother. They aren't allowed to think anything bad of big brother or the party or do anything that big brother wouldn't agree with or they will be punished by being vaporized and become an unperson. In every house there are telescreens on you that the party could wire into and watch you. As it says in the book, "there was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment" so Winston kept his back turned towards the telescreen. This was Winston's biggest conflict, being watched and controlled by the party. There was only one small little area in his house that he could not be seen by the telescreen, and he took advantage of that. Winston bought and started writing in a diary, which from the start was already breaking the rules. He knew it was illegal and could be vaporized for committing thoughtcrimes, but continued doing it anyway. Winston was on edge at all times because he was guilty of thoughtcrimes and thought that the Though Police would find the book filled with things such as "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER" in it and punish him. Winston made sure he always looked "normal", so he would "set his features into the expression of quiet optimism" when in front of the telescreen. He had to make it look like he wasn't guilty of anything and doing exactly what everyone else was and worshiping big brother without questioning or thinking about the party and how things are going.

Mentor Day 2

Yesterday I went to volunteer and began my work by chatting with my mentor about what was wrong with one of the patient/residents. His name was Wayne and he was very sick and had a hard time talking because of a stroke he had in the past. She said it would be somewhat hard to understand him but you could make out what he was trying to say. She also said it would be easier on everybody if I just asked him yes or no questions so that I can help him. He slept for a good amount of time, but when he was awake, I would help him adjust his bed so that he could re-position himself to be more comfortable. I would also help him apply lotion to his dry skin and get him anything he needed like something to eat or drink. After a while, I was then told to keep this other resident company because there aren't many people there for him to be with. I talked with him for hours, letting him vent to me. I just listened to what he had to say and to be honest, I actually had a nice conversation with him. I played games and conversed with him to keep him preoccupied and keep his mind off other things.

Time: 9AM-3:15PM
Total: 12 hrs & 15 mins

Stranger Than Fiction

To be an author means being the writer of a paper or story, but being a narrator means to be the person telling a story. There are distinct differences between the two. Being an author doesn't necessarily mean you're a narrator. You could be writing about many different things. For example, as the author of a research paper I didn't narrate a story, I just stated facts. My paper was simply to inform others. On the other hand, a narrator tells a story when writing. In the movie Stranger Than Fiction, the author told the story of Harold Crick. She wrote about a "fictional" character that turned out to be a real person whose life she happened to be narrating. She was providing a spoken commentary of his life and day to day activities.

Being an author isn't as easy as it seems. After writing my research paper, I realized it takes a lot of time and effort. I think the impact of my paper is that it will give others an insight on what elderly abuse is and how to detect and report it so it doesn't remain an over-looked and unreported problem.

Mentor Day 1

For my first time volunteering, i basically sat down with the woman in charge of the facility and we discussed what i was there to learn about and do. We talked about how they prepare meals for the patients, provide them medicine, and care for them. i had to sign a few papers so they had documents of me volunteering for government purposes. I introduced the mentor letter and agreement letter to her and we discussed the capstone project and what i wanted to do in the future. i was then introduced to everybody there and helped in the kitchen by preparing and cleaning. After I was taught a few things about medicine and how it is distributed in a hospital to patients.


Time: 9AM-3PM
Total Time: 6 hrs