Stepping foot into my first clinical, I had no idea where to begin. This wasn’t only my first clinical in college but also my first hospital experience. Prior to this semester I had only taught group fitness classes and worked at lenscrafters as an optician tech. My first time on the floor I wasn’t completely sure where to begin or what I could accomplish. Fast forward 2 months and I think my past clinical experience was where I thought I made a difference in the lives of one of the patients I met. 

I was working alongside one of my classmates to perform a head to toe on this older woman. We introduced ourselves and she made a point to remember our names. Her daughter was there and they both said it was okay to begin with her there. We made sure we were not interrupting their time together as seeing your mother in the hospital after a fall can be emotional. As we began it started out as any other head to toe that we’ve done however only a couple minutes in the client said she was having fun. Typically we hear how they often get a focused assessment or someone is constantly coming in to take their vitals and to check on them and that they are used to these questions. However, this woman with a near perfect memory for her age thought what we were doing was making a difference. She loved the fact that we were student nurses in school to be doing what the nurses are doing. The time and effort we put in to volunteer at the facility to get our clinical hours was confounding to her. By just doing our assigned clinical paperwork we brought a sense of fun and fulfillment to her. As her daughter saw the simple action we were doing she thanked us.

I hope this is just the beginning of impacting someone’s life for the better, even though this action was small it was still the start of something more in my career as a student nurse and a future RN. As a nurse even the smallest action may impact a client’s life for the better. Always remember to be kind and compassionate is just the start and I am excited to see what’s ahead.