The day of firsts...
A very busy second day! It was my "skills day" on my clinical schedule, which basically meant that me along with two of my classmates saw other patients and did...skills. My morning started out by giving my first injection; I was so nervous that the client got a bit antsy too. But once it was over I was so relieved; I did a little happy dance in the hallway, which I'm sure some of the residents probably got a hoot out of. The two students who weren't giving injections in the room had to wait in the hall; we got serenaded by a lady in the room next to us (not really sure to what...but it was singing...and it was adorable)
I also saw the flip-side of long-term care, and actually saw the definition of "long-term." There was one particular instance, can't say what though, that really broke my heart, almost to the point of me tearing up. I realized today that it takes a special calling to do this line of work, and to be honest I can say that it is a calling I wish not to pursue for many reasons. Today I really had to put the sadness of everything behind me, but in some cases it was just really hard. I learned that this is not a profession I could continue, working in long-term care, because I feel I would struggle with not mourning with the residents in sad conditions. Let me clarify; I feel that it'd be hard for me to work in an environment with the kind of population we've been seeing these last two weeks.
But the highlight of today had to have been from a client we helped take care of today. I can't say what his present circumstances were, but let's just say they would make daily life very difficult. As we were helping him put his belongings back to his bedside table, we were briefly conversing about...life. And all he could say was "well life is what you make it. You just have to do what you can with what you have and live to the fullest that you are able." Those weren't the exact words, but it was something along the line of that. And all the while he said those things he had a smile on his face. On the way back to campus I was thinking about what he said and could not get it out of my head for a while. It was the first time in my life that I believe I truly felt such selfishness; again, the theme is a day of firsts. But then I realized that the profession I am seeking is a very "un" selfish profession, not to mention rewarding and humbling. All the more reason to press on and keep the faith.
I also saw the flip-side of long-term care, and actually saw the definition of "long-term." There was one particular instance, can't say what though, that really broke my heart, almost to the point of me tearing up. I realized today that it takes a special calling to do this line of work, and to be honest I can say that it is a calling I wish not to pursue for many reasons. Today I really had to put the sadness of everything behind me, but in some cases it was just really hard. I learned that this is not a profession I could continue, working in long-term care, because I feel I would struggle with not mourning with the residents in sad conditions. Let me clarify; I feel that it'd be hard for me to work in an environment with the kind of population we've been seeing these last two weeks.
But the highlight of today had to have been from a client we helped take care of today. I can't say what his present circumstances were, but let's just say they would make daily life very difficult. As we were helping him put his belongings back to his bedside table, we were briefly conversing about...life. And all he could say was "well life is what you make it. You just have to do what you can with what you have and live to the fullest that you are able." Those weren't the exact words, but it was something along the line of that. And all the while he said those things he had a smile on his face. On the way back to campus I was thinking about what he said and could not get it out of my head for a while. It was the first time in my life that I believe I truly felt such selfishness; again, the theme is a day of firsts. But then I realized that the profession I am seeking is a very "un" selfish profession, not to mention rewarding and humbling. All the more reason to press on and keep the faith.
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