Pre-Hospital Elder Life Program Reflection

Before volunteering at the HELP program, I feel as though I have a relatively well-rounded knowledge of delirium and the factors to prevent delirium. Last year in nursing school we spent a lot of time going over delirium and ways to prevent it. This was extremely important because delirium is becoming more prevalent in hospitals, especially in the elderly population. Delirium occurs when a person becomes confused or disoriented to person, place, time, and/or location. This can make a person’s hospital stay longer than anticipated and affect their health. The factors to help prevent delirium include having the patient go for walks or doing range of motion exercises, frequent reorientation, adequate nutrition, ensuring they have their glasses or other devices, and making sure they are sleeping at night. These factors will help prevent delirium in patients that are at risk of developing it.

This past summer, I worked at a hospital and cared for a patient that had unfortunately developed delirium. I was working a night shift and the patient was extremely confused and disoriented to time. They kept getting out of bed, assuming it was morning. The patient did not get adequate sleep and was even more confused in the morning. This experience solidified the knowledge I was given last year in class.

My goals for the HELP program volunteer experience are to help the patient reduce their risk of developing delirium by reorienting them and providing the preventative measures that we have learned about. Another goal would be to get the patient to do ROM exercises. Since I will be volunteering, I cannot physically help the patient get up and go for a walk, but I would like to help them do ROM exercises. My last goal would be to be aware of the warning signs of delirium and be able to notify the staff working with the patient if they seem to be more disoriented to person, place, situation, or time than in previous encounters.

I do not think I am nervous about this volunteer experience. I feel as though I am ready to talk with the patient and see if I can help them prevent delirium by speaking with them and helping them person ROM exercises. My feelings prior to volunteering are feelings of excitement to be able to help someone and hopefulness for a good experience! For the aging population, I am aware of the community services that help pay for health or living expenses and help provide rides to patients that are unable to drive.