I woke up excited and nervous about clinicals. I put on my school issued scrubs, with girdle underneath, and tied the waist tight. I am 5 ft 3 and 290 pounds, and a girdle is necessary in order to keep my pants from going straight up my butt. I tied them extra tight because I did not want them slipping down off my ass like they did during bed making yesterday.
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I was a little too enthusiastic because when I tied them up I broke the string out. So I broke out the needle and thread and a safety pin and proceeded to fix them. I congratulated myself on a great job and slipped them back on. This time went I went to tie them I had two strings on one side! Oh well, I tied up that side and I pinned the other side to my girdle. I left the house on time.
I allowed an extra thirty minutes to get there because I had never been to this nursing home, and I am unfamiliar with the area. I was enjoying the drive until I hit stop and go traffic. Forty minutes of stop and go traffic. So I called my instructor to tell her that I was running late. She told me to drive safely and call her when I arrived. Well I exited out of traffic and proceeded to get very lost. Very, very lost and the two diet cokes I had on the way needed to come out. I pulled over and raced into the nearest restroom. In my hurry I broke the safety pin that was holding the right side of my scrubs up.
I arrived at the home an hour late, but the instructor was glad that I made it. I went into the dining room and fed a dependent resident breakfast. She could not speak and kept her eyes closed but I talked to her all throughout breakfast. We had 12 students so we were able to feed everyone slowly and carefully. What a privilege. I loved it!
After breakfast I got to assist the CNA while she changed and dressed a man. Then I got to shave him and even give him a manicure. The ladies were getting their nails painted so he insisted, "No shellac!" Nail care was fun but I should have worn gloves while cleaning under his nails. I saw him later in the hall. He was showing his friend and asking the friend if he had his nails done. This resident remembered me and called me by name.
At lunch I fed another resident. She also did not speak and kept her eyes closed. I soon learned that she did not like coleslaw but she enjoyed her potato soup. Her diet was pureed and her water was thickened. I had never seen thick water or pureed garlic toast before! She choked several times but we got through it.
One of the CNAs stirred a resident's food altogether and proceeded to force feed her large bites. Of course the food oozed out of her mouth and the CNA scolded the resident for it. I was not happy.
After lunch I took my resident back to her room and transferred her into bed. I should have set her down further toward the head of the bed. We had to move her up. This time I did the changing. I had no problems because she was not soiled. I did have trouble finding the soiled linens room. I kept ending up at the restroom instead. Pesky hallways.
I checked on another resident and found her crying. She kept saying, "I can't remember him." She was talking about her husband so I pointed out his picture and began reading a card he had given her. This made her cry more so I stopped. I knelt down and held her hand and just felt sad along with her.
I practiced a few skills while experiencing a vast array of emotions today. There was laughter, anger, sadness, bewilderment, fear, and the satisfaction that comes with helping someone in need. It has been a good day.
