Wow, I for one
cannot believe that it is that time to say goodbye already. I must say, I am
very excited say that this clinical experience has been a successful one. I did
not know what to expect when I walk into my cottage, but I am going to be
walking away with a feel of gratitude and empowerment. As a group, I feel that
each and every member built some kind of great rapport with our clients. The psychoeducational
group activities planned by us helped us to interact in a very meaningful way
with our clients. We all were given the opportunity to get to know each patient
on our unity. I feel that as a group, we all now have a strong understanding of
what it is to live with a mental health disorder.
What did I
learn about myself? Well, I learned that I have great compassion for those
living with mental disorders because I am very aware that one can lose their
mental well-being if not careful. I also learned that I am the type of
individual who wants to live my life without judgement of others. I learned
that I have been given a strong foundation by not only my family/culture but also
through my education on how to accept people for who they are. These past weeks
I have noticed how my interactions with the patients have helped teach me to be
more patient, understanding, and empathetic. Everything in life is a process,
and requires patience in my opinion. If these patients whom some are due to a court
order can bear down and hold on to the “Hope” of one day leaving the facility,
then I should never have a complaint in the world. After all, I am free to roam
about in society. I am not locked inn, isolated, and consistently monitored. I
am blessed and feel that I have been a blessing to the participants that I
encountered.
How did I
impact their lives? Well, through our group activities, we grow as a group
together. The patients, over time, have learned to trust us, and in my opinion,
believe that we have their best interest at heart. We brought them joy,
laugher, games, and therapy at the same time. This to me is a component that
they may have been missing. We gave them something to look forward to every
week. Our interactions were very positive and they received it that way as
well. My biggest surprise was just the unit’s policy/practice hours of “quest
time” that they patients had to endure while were there because I looked at it
from a pointless standpoint. I can
clearly understand that the staff were trying to keep peace but to me, I saw
more patients, appearing to be responding to the loss of stimulation by
aggressively pacing and I also observed some level of agitation. Overall, this
experience was not an easy one but a definite worthwhile. I feel blessed as a
future nurse to have had this opportunity.
I cannot believe how fast the time has passed. My experience in psychiatric nursing has been a wonderful experience and termination was a lot harder than I thought it would be. On this day we did teaching on hygiene and served pizza and snacks for the patients. They were very respectful and attentive. I will never forget my first day at Spring Grove Hospital and how afraid I was. My fears soon passed. Many of them expressed their appreciation for what we did as well as stating they were going to miss us. I feel our work at this facility was positive. For me personally it was a learning experience as well as an opportunity to grow. My client who was very shy and reserved came up to me and said he wanted to give me a hug and two other patients did as well. I was a little apprehensive at first, but I realized that these people are only human and they have feelings and compassion just like the rest of us. Despite the fact that they are struggling with a mental illness the bottom line is we all want to feel that someone cares and appreciates us. I was happy to help and hope that as a future nurse I can contribute to the ongoing effort to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness especially in the African American community.
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ReplyDeleteBaltimore crisis response Inc. has been an eye opener for me in mental health. Kudos to my Professors. In the beginning of my clinical, I was not confident at all; I was scared to talk to a mental patient not even to talk to the group to conduct psychotherapy. But now I have learnt how to successfully conduct a psychotherapy education not just to an individual patient but also to an entire group. My confidence is now at its peak. I have learnt how to engage in a therapeutic communication with a client and also learn how to administer medication to a patient with mental illness. In addition to the courage and confidence that has been instilled in me by my professors, I have also learnt how to be an advocate to the psychiatric consumers and also I have learnt how to be an educator, and coordinator. I have been given the opportunity to be the nurse manager for my clinical group which made me see myself as a leader since after wards. I have also learnt that before a client can be admitted either voluntarily or involuntarily, there must be a thorough evaluation of the client by the nurses, psychiatrists, and case managers. Although, I was not caught unaware of any incidences, but my mouth is still agape on what I have accomplished within the time frame we started the clinical. I have a lot of positive impact into the lives of the psychiatric consumers I was designated to in the sense that, I have been their educator by teaching them how cope with their lives after discharge, how to employ a positive coping skill that will be beneficial to them in order not to relapse. I have also worked with the case manager of the agency in finding alternative place of abode for the clients after they are discharged in order not to be homeless and an advocator and collaborator. It has been a great experience for me.
This clinical rotation was so wonderful. Everything went on smoothly, no problem. I had a wonderful instructor and my client co-operated well by responding to my questions. I learnt that I have developed a positive confidence and attitude to work with people with mental illness and behavioral problems. There were no surprises for me. I made a positive impact in the life of my client in RICA by being a good role model and offering myself to listen to his concerns. Generally, I really enjoyed every day of this clinical rotation and grateful to my instructors for a good job.
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