Work Experience

For my work experience this time, I decided to chose something completely different and applied to Peamount Hospital in Newbridge. On the first morning, I felt sort of "out of place" and lost, but quickly learned my surroundings and began to feel more comfortable. After being introduced to Joan, the head of the nursing department, I was brought down to St. Ciaráns ward, where I was met by my supervisor, Caroline Kane. Each morning from then on, I made my way down to this ward and began my work. At 9am, I brought some the patients down to the dining room in their wheelchairs, for breakfast. I then served patients their usual breakfast of porridge & toast...with some exceptions for those with different dietary needs, eg. diabetes/coeliac. Once I had fed some patients, I brought them back to their beds or to the sitting room area, where they could watch television if they felt up to it. This became routine for the week I was there. I had a long gap in the middle of the day (between breakfast and dinner), and often found myself at a loose end, with not much to do. The first morning, since I wasn't very well acquainted with the staff and patients, I felt awkward about doing activities without being told to do so. However, as the days went on, I knew I had to keep myself busy & so took the initiative to ask various nurses or patients if they would like some assistance. The patients, I noticed often got quite lonely, being stuck in the same place day-in-day-out, without having perhaps to sit down to talk to them. I enjoyed this part of the work experience...listening to the patients telling me their stories, what life was like when they were kids, their families, their first jobs, etc. I felt a strong connection with one patients in particular, she would always stop me and talk to me about life & her kids. I felt sorry for her, she had so much energy, yet was stuck in the hospital, potentially for the rest of her life, due to a lack of home-care services. The first afternoon, I attended another ward...the recreational unit, where activities such as art, music, etc for patients took place. I really liked this part as I got to talk on a personal level with a young female patient, as I helped her make decorations for St. Patrick's Day. I spent my other afternoons from then on, doing odd jobs around the hospital, for example: making beds, putting away laundry, folding clothes, collecting equipment for the nurses, watching how you update a patients file, and observing various procedures, such as relieving a pressure sore on a multiple scleroses patient & taking blood pressure. Although I did enjoy the interactions with several of the patients, their visiting families & staff members, it was quite a solemn & unhappy environment & I found it hard to constantly keep myself busy. One thing I did find quite interesting, was how the patients were suddenly energized, upbeat & laughing when their husbands/wives/children, came to visit them. Looking at their faces when they recognize a loved one, really did bring a sense of happiness into an otherwise quite a monotonous, morbid career choice.