Appropriate for a student?

[bethem]

I am a nursing student and I have just finished a rotation at an aged care facility. I was only there for two weeks and I was on a floor that had a lot of demented patients. There were two or three that I really bonded with, and one of them asked me to write to her after I had finished. I was wondering if you thought it was appropriate for me to write to her, or even if you think it's appropriate for me to come and visit sometimes. It's likely that they won't even remember me now, but there are some there that have no one visiting and I hate that. There's a German woman who speaks no English any more, and no one in the nursing home can communicate with her in her language, but I speak a bit of German and I was able to tell her things like "You are safe, we are here to help you". I just hate the thought of those ladies being alone.

But on the other hand, if I keep coming back and it's sporadic, it might just upset them if they expect to see me and I have something else on, like uni or clinicals.

What do you think?

[katy_kenemy]

I don't think it is as likely as you do that they won't remember you. I always thought that with Alzheimer's, at least, the pt can have lucid moments. So if you promised to write, I think you should write. It's not your fault you can't be as consistent as you would like with visiting and writing because you are in nursing school.

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

:yeahthat: I work in LTC and we occasionally get groups of kids or students that come in and really bond with a resident. Sure its okay to write or even pop in every so often. You'd be surprised what they remember.