On my first day of clinical, I was very nervous as most new nursing students are however on my first day, I got to give my first shower. I met the patient I was going to shower with the help of some fellow nursing students. The patient seemed extremely nice and genuinely a good person which I appreciated because I was nervous. While giving the patient a shower I noticed they seemed kind of down, so I decided to ask them some questions about what their interests are and they seemed to cheer up when expressing their love for race cars. This made me happy because I felt so bad that they seemed down prior to their shower. The patient was then making jokes and asking questions throughout the shower and even throughout the day when I saw them. I had the opportunity to meet this patient and get to know them throughout my weeks of clinical.
The next few weeks at clinical I chose to help whoever was assigned this patient give them a shower. I watched this patient become very happy each time they saw us come into their room to get them for their shower. The patient would always joke during showers and even asked us about how school was going. They also expressed that we will be amazing nurses one day because of how caring we are, and they appreciate all the time we take to make sure they are clean and well cared for. I like to think that the patient truly felt this way and that I made a difference in their life and care by making them laugh even when they seemed down and providing them with care while taking my time so that they felt as though I wasn’t just doing it to get the job done but rather doing it because I cared that they would be clean by the end of the task.
I believe I made a difference by helping this person physically by bathing them but also emotionally by being there to listen and also have conversations with them. The patient had mentioned being lonely there and how sometimes they just wanted somebody to talk to so they were glad that we talked to them every time we came in for clinical. The patient on the last day of clinical had mentioned how they hated goodbyes because people just leave and never say goodbye to them. My fellow nursing students and I decided that we would change that trend for the patient, and we all entered their room before we left and said goodbye. I may have made a difference in this patient’s life by being there for them and cheering them up and helping them with daily living activities however the patient also made a difference in my life. The patient helped me become more confident in providing care by allowing me to start my journey by providing care for them and always encouraging me while I was helping them. They also made me realize that sometimes taking your time with a patient and just being there for them is worth it and that they may be all they need. I will now remember this patient forever and how I made a difference in their life but also how they made a difference in my journey in becoming a nurse.
