Internship Fall 2014
The Villages of Wilkes
Surroundings and Services Offered
My internship site is a nursing home located right outside of downtown North Wilkesboro. The Villages of Wilkes, is such an amazing place to take your loved ones to stay for therepy or for just longterm care. At Villages of Wilkes we offer three meals a day, activities every hour from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., a beauty salon, and also outings once every month. Our therepy hall consists of seven therepist, a huge gym and an outside area for you to go and relax after having a long day of therepy.
My Strengths and Liabilities
Being a junior in highschool, everyone is asking you what you want to do with your life and what you want to be. I have always wanted to go into the medical field for as long as I can remember so when I heard there was an opportunity at the nursing home, I was so excited. When I arrived I was told all of the rules and was asked what my strenths were so that she could place me in the right place. I told her that I am always bubbly, smiling and a huge encourager which really has helped me to encourage the residents to really strive for that last push in therepy or to come to an activity that day. Also, it helps me to reduce my liabilities because when I am always happy and positive, I reduce the risk to get mad at a resident or forget a very important thing that I should have done which in the long run can really put a resident in risk of injury or worse.
Marketing Activities
The Villages of Wilkes, really goes out of their way to make sure that their residents have everything they need and that the families are happy at all times. The way that we do this is we have auctions, promotional 5ks, facebook pages, and we try to give to a charity every chance we get. Those marketing skills help to get the name out to the public and also helps everyone to know that they really care about the resident and want the best for them.
The Positives and Negatives
I will have to say that there have not been alot of negatives about this internship. Most all of my experiences including, getting to know the patients on a personal level, being the one to see them grow from the time they get there to the time they leave and most of all getting to experience them make new friends and have fun with everyone else. The only thing that I can think of that would be a negative about this internship is the loss of the residents. In the beginning you dont expect to get so close to them but when you do and one of them passes away, it is so hard but you just have to know that they are in a better place and that you got to be in their life and may have even made an impact on them which is so amazing.
Applying What I Have Learned
I have and am taking health science classes that are very beneficial to me in the nursing home. Also, at school and just being a teenager in general has really taught me how to apply myself and mainly how to react to situations that I have never been put in before. This has helped me to stay calm and not to stress when in a stressful situation at my internship.
Qualities and Characteristics in the People Around Me
I am not exaggerating when I say that at, The Villages of Wilkes, we have the nicest, most caring and loving staff that I have every met. They genuinely care for the residents as if they were their own family member, which is such a blessing. No matter how rude or aggrevating the resident is being, the staff always has a smile on their face and stays positive! I want to be like them and when I get into the medical field I will definately strive to be half the person that these people are.
Importance of Oral and Written Communication
Oral and Written Communication are two of the biggest things that have to be near to perfect in the medical field. Without these skills, you could put someones or youself in danger which could turn out bad. These skills dont come easy, you really have to become a team with your staff and most of all you have to develop trust with them because without that you arent a team. You must communicate with the other nurses or doctors that may be seeing that resident and if something serious has gone on you need to make sure that it is either on their chart or that the doctor knows about it. This is an important part of being at the nursing home, especially with peoples lives in your hands.
My Activity and Accomplishments
Going into this internship, I have to say I was very nervous about interacting with the residents and the staff but it was a breeze! I am so proud of myself for really stepping up and taking part in the activities everyday because before this internship, I would have just sat there and not interacted with them at all. It has taught me how to just be myself and have fun with others, especially the residents that love to cut up.
Frustrating Situations to Learn From
Lately, with all of this sickness going around, the nursing home has been on lockdown, which means that when I would go, I would just sit there for my internship time and not be able to do anything. This really frustrated me because I couldnt do anything and I felt like it was useless for me to go and just sit. Later, I got to thinking about it and realized that I should be happy that I had this opportunity to go and be a help to the residents there and not just be upset because I had to sit there for a few days. That really taught me to be happy for what I have and not to be a grouch when nothing goes my way.
Special Personal Qualities Needed
To work in a nursing home, you must be happy and excited to be there every day. If you had a bad day and are down in the dumps, the residents can tell and that will just ruin their day too. Also, you must love to talk and you cannot be shy because once those residents see you, they will talk a mile a minute...trust me. After this experience I can really see myself working in this industry in the future because I have noticed how much I love seeing the residents light up when they see me in the afternoons but most of all I love helping people and that is what I want to do with the rest of my life.
How to deal with Different Personalities
All of the people at, The Villages of Wilkes are so nice and caring but there are maybe two or three that never smile and just really bring you down when you come across them one day. I have come across many personalities from, sweet to caring and then to just hateful and rude. When you do run into people or residents like that you treat them how you want to be treated and that means always smile and stay positive because you dont want to make their day bad and you may help brighten their day, you never know!
Teamwork and Collaboration
Teamwork is also a major part of the nursing home business. Without teamwork you dont really have anyway of helping a resident in need of something but at Villages of Wilkes, everyone is all about teamwork. The nurses and staff members are always volunteering to help one another with anything they need and if someone asks for their opinion on something they always give positive feedback.
Working with Others
The most important thing that I have learned about working with others is to work together and not let just one person do it all. Most of the time if a resident was taking too long or not doing it right, I would want to step in and take the reigns and do it myself but then I would have to step back and help them and work together as a team.
View of Life Beyond Highschool
Used to I would take things for granted alot and if I didnt get my way, I would get so upset. Now after this internship, I can really tell a difference that it has made on me and my attitude about things. I know that I cant take life for granted anymore because before you know it, it will be over and gone. Most of the residents are young but just cant live on their own which is so heart breaking but I couldnt have asked for a better way to have learned it then to have the chance to meet these amazing people and residents at The Villages of Wilkes.