How I Made a Difference

Throughout clinical this semester, I met so many welcoming and kind individuals. Each patient made a difference to me and made an impact on my clinical experience. I hope I was also able to make an impact on their lives as well. One patient that I felt I left an impact on was someone who had been at the facility for a while and did not have many supporters.

This patient has been at the care facility for a very long time and had hardly any visitors. When I was assigned this patient, my main goal was just to give them someone to talk to and spend the day with. I spent the day helping this patient with activities of daily living. They joked about the breakfast that the facility gave out and I helped clean sticky fingers from the syrup. They also allowed me to brush their hair and play cards with them. I knew that my main goal was to give them a day that was just about them. Since the patient seemed to be lonely, I strived to speak with them as much as I could throughout the day. I could tell they were greatly enjoying their time with me, and I was happy that I was easing their burden ever so slightly.

At the end of the day, I circled back around to the patient’s room. They seem to be waiting for me and I ask them how their day was going. They said that they had been waiting for me to come back to see them and were glad I stopped by again before I had left. They said that they appreciated how much time I took out of my day to spend with them and that they were so glad I was their student nurse for the day. I was happy that I had help but was sad that I couldn’t spend more time with the patient.

I did not realize how much of a difference I had made in that individual’s life until the next time I was at clinical. I was working with other patients that day but decided to stop in and say hello to them. They were extremely happy to see me and had said they had started doing some of the fun things we had done the week prior, such as playing cards. They thanked me again for spending the day with them and showing them ways to keep this situation fun. I realized that my impact on them that day had truly helped them, and I was grateful for the experience.