The Pre-health course for 2022 has come to an end and the students have been reflecting on their journey this year. Thank you, Charley, for sharing your experience.

“Before starting the placement, I was nervous and clueless. I was scared that when I started doing my placement, I will mess up and I was having second thoughts on doing it because I feared failing, and one of my biggest fears was unintentionally hurting someone, especially older people. After the first day, my fear is still there because I was just observing and seeing how much work the caregivers are doing and how hard it can be, especially when you are taking care of 3-5 residents. The carers were a huge help because they made things easier for us. They were already teaching us and guiding us even though it was just the first day. 

 After term 2, I am still a bit nervous, but the resident that I am taking care of was giving me reassurance that I am being gentle and was not hurting them at all. Hearing those words and hearing their “thank you” and knowing that they are looking forward to seeing me the next week makes me motivated. 

After term 3, this is when I am starting to enjoy the placement more because I am always looking forward in seeing the residents as well and hearing all the stories that they have. Even though I am enjoying the placement, there was a time that I became sad because working in a nursing home means that you should understand that no matter how much you enjoy spending time with your residents, time will come that they will soon leave you and every time it happens, I still get sad. I cope with it by treasuring our memories together and making sure that I am doing my best in taking care of them and making sure that they are safe and comfortable. The nurses, carers, and other staff members are very nice and helpful, and are always keen to answer our questions. At the end of the placement, I was a bit sad, but I am happy that I had the experience and learned a lot from it.

We learned how to help residents get up and ready for the day, helped them eat and drink and spent time talking with them. I learned that if a resident found it hard to communicate with words that I learned about body language and gestures as communication. I can use these experiences in my future work because I know that these are very important skills in healthcare and while they might be basic skills, I know that they are all essential.”