Thoughts on "her"

My resident had such an amazing life. She is Norwegian, and comments on how beautiful it is there when I ask her about it. Her accent is pretty sweet too. So, she got married at age 23 (one of the best days of her life) to a "good man". They had four children, and said she loved raising children. "All her kids are good kids", she said. It seems she won't open up about much else. When I get her talking about her family, her eyes light up and she smiles. Also, she has a problem with fatigue. Most likely, if someone were to come see her, she would be in her wheel chair, head down, and resting. I'm not sure why she is always tired. I do know that if I ask her open-ended questions about her husband or her children, she will smile and talk to me about it. She turns into a warm person reminiscing about those days, even if it's only for a few minutes. All this to say, first impressions aren't everything. When I first met her, she was pretty indifferent to me and did not speak. I thought she didn't like me, but I quickly learned what makes her happy. From the surface, she looks like a fatigued, old woman who isn't very social. When one searches deeper, they find an amazing woman who had a life filled with love and happiness and adventure.

Thoughts on Clinicals

I must say I am really enjoying this clinical experience so far. It seems like it's going so fast, although getting up at 5:00am is not the preferred.
I think the reason I am enjoying this so much is because I get to really make a difference and apply what I've been learning. It's amazing to have someone under your care. I feel blessed to be able to help.
My resident is 84 and she is really sweet. I gave her meds the other day:) We talked about her husband and her family and we were able to connect. At first, I was really sad about the whole situation. It was an eye opener to see that people are winding down and our bodies will all fail us one day. It's just sad to see the residents want to be able to do things on their own, but unable to. There was this one lady who was getting so frustrated that she couldn't get out of her wheel chair and into bed, so she started calling for help. I happened to walk by and tried to help her get comfortable, and she said to me: " nobody cares if we're dead or alive. They're here when we don't need them, but never here when we call". Even though she was probably speaking out of her frustration, I couldn't help but wonder about what she said. It's sad to me that this is her perception of where she is living.
I've realized though, that I can only do my best and I can't make everyone happy there. This is a liberating thought for me.

The Goal

As I spend a nightful of reading endless pages, I find myself wondering how I came upon the great idea of nursing in the first place. It's not that I have doubts-- no, I'm still sure this is the right path. Rather, I ask myself why this is so important to me because I know there has to be a greater plan than just having a degree. There has to be a spiritual goal to which I am running towards. I cannot lose sight of that goal. "...forgetting what is behind and straining to what is ahead, I press on toward the goal..." (Phil. 3:12-14). The goal, for me, is to let God be the Lord of glory in my life, and for me to be a willing vessel. Let us not forget the reward, for that is an eternity of relationship with our Creator. Even in elementary school, I knew I would one day be a nurse. I wasn't a willing vessel yet, I just liked taking care of people. Now, the most important factor of this path is being open to hearing God's voice and then implementing that in my life. Assess (is this really God's voice?); Diagnose (yes, I will be a nurse); Planning (what are my goals?); Implementation (doing the best where I'm at); Evaluation (was I a faithful vessel? To be determined).

Welcome!