Post HELP Assignment

During my involvement in the HELP program my knowledge about delirium and how to prevent it from occurring. I would have never thought that cleaning someone’s glasses and making sure they were wearing them would help prevent them from experiencing delirium, but it does. I never realized how much talking to someone can also help in my experience most of the patient’s enjoyed talking to me and telling me about themselves which appeared to improve their mood. Asking the patient general questions and asking them about themselves requires them to think back to the past and the present which help orient them and helps prevent delirium. I didn’t think simple tasks such as cleaning glasses, asking questions, and providing activities such as coloring, or cards would prevent delirium but after volunteering for the HELP program, I realized how much of an impact it has on the patient and their health.

            The most meaningful aspect of my volunteer experience was getting to help the patients in the hospital in a different way than I usually am able to while at clinical. While volunteering for the HELP program, I got to talk to patients but not as a healthcare provider which showed a different side of them. The patients seemed more open and shared a lot more information about themselves than they usually do when I am taking caring of them as a nursing student which was nice to see. Also, getting to see some of them smile while talking about family or their jobs was extremely rewarding because some of them had shared that they don’t get to see or talk to many people just the nurses and healthcare providers. I enjoyed being able to be a person that could listen to them and be present with them rather than just talking to them about their health status. Overall, the experience with the patients as a whole was eye opening and I enjoyed my time with them.

            I set two learning goals prior to my volunteering experience, and I accomplished both. One of my goals was to be able to recognize delirium in patients through this experience which I did accomplish by the end of my volunteering experience. As I went to different patient rooms and talked to patients of all levels, I could start to tell which patients were more confused than others and which patients I saw sleeping often. Some patients never had their glasses on, or they were dirty and needed to be cleaned or they had said they just sit in bed all day. Many patients I got to interact with we had given them cards, glasses, and coloring supplies which they appeared to enjoy which is nice because this will help prevent delirium. My second goal was to become more comfortable interacting with patients who have delirium and patients that we are trying to prevent delirium from occurring in. By the end of my volunteering, I was very comfortable going into patient’s rooms and asking them questions and getting their extremities moving. The conversations flowed better as the shifts went on which was very helpful because it is important to be comfortable talking with patients. Both of the goals I accomplished will help me in the future better care for my patients and recognize signs and symptoms of delirium and allow for me to address it in a timely manner.