Josie's Farewell Speech

The stench of death hit my nostrils as I opened the door to go inside, which is why I always hated going to the hospital. We waited the fifteen minute queue, until I heard my name from a nurse. I followed the nurse into a small, beige room. I sat down on the examining table, as my doctor walked in. I told him my symptoms, and he did a quick check up. His cold fingers pressed against my lower back. “Breathe in and out.” He said. I did as told. “Slower.” he exclaimed. At that moment, while I was slowly breathing in and out, I could hear a small click every time I inhaled. The doctor looked up and said, “Ahhh, you seem to have pneumonia.” He explained to my mom and I what that meant because we were clueless. After he finished, he told us that if I waited any longer to go to the hospital, he wouldn’t be speaking to me, which opened my mom’s eyes finally. He told me that I couldn’t go to school for at least another two weeks, gave me a school note and my prescription. We left the hospital. My mom dropped me off, and went to pick up the medication. As I lay in bed, I remember thinking about everything that has happened to me in the past two days, and what the doctor told me. Those thoughts were interrupted by the opening of my bedroom door as my mom walked in. She handed me the medication. I swallowed the pills, and fell asleep. The next morning my mom walks in with a stack of papers. She said, “It’s alright if you’re not able to attend class,

In my community many people do not understand the struggles of kids with serious illnesses and the financial and mental toll it has in the parents. To have more understanding of the problem I encourage people to volunteer at hospitals to gain more knowledge about the problem.

During this time, I felt alone. My parents were at the hospital a lot. I felt I could not trust anyone. I had no one to share my secrets with. I began to hide my feelings. I plastered a fake smile on my face and pretended everything was going to be okay. I knew it was not going to be okay. If Kaylee got her heart transplant, the family would have to get rid of our cat, Maggie. If Kaylee did not get a heart in time, she would die.

For my Clinical experience, I was referred to one of community clinics run by nurse practitioners - yes, NPs- in Suffolk County in Long Island by my coworker. It is called “Nightingale Preventative Care.” I am working in the ER and at first, I thought this clinic would be a type of urgent care office which is a similar setting to the ER. I was totally wrong. For the past two weeks, this place has surprised me many ways and I learned about what the community clinic is alike to its neighbors. Patients can be seen by NPs by the appointment. However, it is located inside of K-mart and has many walk-in patients as well. Many patients who come to visit for their check-up have no medical insurance. Every Wednesday, a representative from Fidelis Care insurance company comes and provides information about Medicaid and Medicare service the company has. I really like to sit down with patients and assess about their medical histories and family histories which I cannot do often in the ER. I had a patient who was Hepatitis A Ab, Total positive Abnormal first day I work at the clinic. He didn’t understand what the test result meant and neither did I. I printed out an article from National Library of Medicine and went over with him. Patient’s education in the ER rarely happens from nurses. I felt great to listen what patients tried to lose their weight or quit smoking. I like to continue on developing skills on patient’s education and preventative care measure for patients.

I spent the days with both the health aide and nurse and at some points, the nursing assistant in the dressing room. I not only managed to assist the health aide in documentation, filing and taking vitals, but observed the assessment and vaccination of children and dressing of wounds. The same principles learnt the previous day was learnt in terms of interpersonal skills, especially the need to not be really harsh in one’s demeanor. I came to realize that despite it being nice working with children, I can’t see myself doing in the long haul; it’s just not for

In September 2015, I had an opportunity to join the team of volunteers of the Inspira Medical Center in Woodbury. I joined the Emergency Department. My shifts were once a week for three to six hours. I had a chance to interact with patients, mostly to help ease their anxiety and fear. This experience was valuable because it allowed me not just to observe, but also to look at healthcare from the perspective of a patient. I realized that I did not have to be a licensed practitioner to understand patients’ concerns and fears. I also realized that any effort on my part to help ease such worries would go a long way towards helping the patient feel more secure in themselves and their

Flowers was showing great improvement. She was no longer in pain and her demeanor had completely turned around. It has been 4 days since Mrs. Flowers was discharged and I can’t stop thinking about her. I’ve had a lot time to think about her hospital stay. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still upset with the whole situation but I can say that I understand it more. I believe that Mrs. Flowers’ daughter was just scared for her mother and that her lashing out at everyone was simply her way of trying to protect her mother. While writing this journal, I remember how angry I was and I see now who clouded it made my judgement. I think it’s important for me to understand that when I’m presented with a similar situation in the future that I try and stay calm. I keep thinking that maybe if I would have been able to explain the gravity of her mother’s situation that maybe the daughter would have come around

My commitment to volunteering at Mother Joseph’s Care Center is for no reason other than the fact that I love the patients who live there. One of my biggest responsibilities at Mother Joseph’s is helping with resident’s outings and making sure that they all are safe and happy on their day exploring the city. Every day that I go in to work, I can see their faces brighten up because they know that I am there to take them to do something fun. Because I have been volunteering there for almost 7 years now, the

I didn’t want to be rude to Joey, I mean he’s been with me since I got to this miserable place you call a hospital. We’ve been through everything, chemotherapy, cutting my hair short, and surgeries. Joey is my nurse and we are really good friends, but sometimes I need time to be alone, so I would tell him to leave. But, in my excuse he’s with me twenty-four seven. In my free time which is every day I watch people leave the hospital happy and healthy, some that I even knew who had cancer. I feel lonely like I'm the only one that has lung cancer and I am but, my parents tell me that I'm never alone. I always wanted to be a normal girl. I was once, but that was eight years ago. I haven't been out of the hospital since. One day while I was watching people leave my mom and dad came into my room. They seemed excited about something but I didn’t really know what it was, it wasn't my birthday or theirs.

This community is filled with firemen, humanitarians, scientists, teachers, and lawyers. However, amongst the individuals who give pride to our community there are thieves, killers, rapists, terrorist, extortionists, and the list continues. Witnessing the damaged people that walk among us, gives me the desire to pursue medical field, insuring the compassion I have for others. There is no level of damage one could do that will prohibit me from fully performing the duties I need to be fulfill as a Registered Nurse. Whenever I help someone in need, I do not need any sort of recognition from the world for helping my fellow brothers and sisters. Also, I do not think I'm somehow superior to those who do not help others when they have to ability to do so. I will never help someone to impress society, but only to insure their well being.

I have always enjoyed helping people who are less fortunate. I am the type of person who volunteers to read to children who are alone during certain holidays. But one specific even completely changed how I want to help people. In June 2011, I moved back to Colorado and decided to pursue a career in cosmetology. It was a lot of fun and I definitely had a knack for it, but I always felt like something was missing. To me, it honestly started to get kind of boring but I continued my education and continued to thrive in my success as a Paul Mitchell Cosmetology Student. On Feburary 3rd 2012 I had a very important cutting assessment, and it would also be the day I got an emergency called that changed everything. I got an emergency call during my

Since March 2015, I volunteer weekly at Memorial Hospital West, where I assist in both patient and nursing staff needs. As a volunteer, I serve as a reception area greeter while giving out general information to visitors and answering phones. I also assist in patient discharge, answering patient call buttons, distribution of meals and water, as well as running errands for the nursing staff which include the pharmacy, lab, and cafeteria. I have also sporadically volunteered at Feeding South Florida, a hunger relief food bank. I assisted in the inspecting, sorting, and organizing of donated can goods which are then distributed to food pantries and shelters. The last two years with the assistance of my mother I have raised money towards the Leukemia

To this day, my mother, a CNA at a local hospital where she’s been for the past 24 year, fears going to hospitals herself; let that sink in. This is common in the community in which I was raised and I’m sure in many other underserved communities across this nation as well. Many do not trust in our healthcare system and I want to work towards changing their perspective. I want to educate those in underserved communities on the importance of taking care of themselves and seeking treatment when necessary. Having been raised in an underserved community myself, I believe that I am in a unique position to truly make a difference. My other hope is that I can inspire the children of these communities to follow their dreams. Maybe, just maybe, they will be able to use our similarities as a starting point as they embark on the lifelong journey of self-identification and self-discovery. Having the opportunity to pursue my dream of becoming a physician, coupled with the potential impact that I can have on communities that are often neglected is the reason that I want to be a healthcare professional.

I got a call one cold, dreary winter night as I was laying beneath the covers on my bed while watching Greys Anatomy. As the phone rang, I didn’t care to answer but the second I hit accept I heard my mother on the other line in a panic. I didn’t think much of it because my mother was the type of person to over exaggerate the little things such as not putting your drink on a coaster. As I waited in silence to hear what my mother said, I could hear my dad screaming in the background. That’s when my mother told me to come to the hospital that something atrocious had happened to my sister. I dropped the phone to the floor and scrambled to the door leaving it wide open. When I got there, I walked up to the front desk as I stumbled walking in. The lady at the counter led me to my sisters room which felt like a million miles away. As I approached my sisters room, I saw the consternation in my mother 's eyes, and the way my dad was refusing to leave the hospital room but being dragged out by some of the doctors. As I looked through the window to where Bria’s body was, I saw it

I’ve been working as a paramedic for a hospital in New York City for the past eight years. The hospital is located in an underprivileged neighborhood in the South Bronx area of New York City. The hospital is made up of a 17-story tower that provides medical, specialty, outpatient, psychiatric, substance abuse, and emergency medical services. The