June 16, 2018

How have you experienced generosity this week?

     I think one of the biggest things that I have noticed this week in regards to generosity is the fact that every individual we have come in contact with this week and everyone that has given us a little bit of their knowledge has been beyond generous, Kayla, Kim, Victoria, every single nurse all of them have gone above and beyond to make this opportunity happen. Not only were all of the faculty of Cherokee and Mission hospital inpatient and outpatient they took the time to share our stories and become vulnerable with us being complete strangers says a lot about them and their culture and they are nothing short of amazing.

What did you do while you were here to improve the health of others?

     Because this was an observational experience it was hard to help others and educate them based off of what we could and could not do, however from this experience it is safe to say that I will be able to better care for my patients from here on out. I have a better understanding of culture and the importance of it and I understand that everyone has a story and I don’t know it, I think that this opportunity was an amazing experience and with it I will be a better nurse in the future.

How do you feel this culture is able to get healthier and keep their heritage for future generations? Why is this important?

     It is important for this culture to keep its heritage so that it can be continued to be told and continue to be around. Without them it is gone forever. I think that education and persistence from the staff here at Cherokee will allow the individuals to continue to get this population healthier, some of the nursing staff that I was able to follow stated that they had a lot of patients still that are unwilling to come to certain appointments, most of the elderly population don’t like coming at all to appointments but she did state that they get to know one another and build trust and one of the familiar older ladies stated to the physician that she would only do her appointment because the nurse wants me to and I want to make her happy.

What did you do this week that was out of your comfort zone?

     I can honestly say that I don’t think that I did anything out of my comfort zone really but I did say I was uncertain of a lot of things going into them. The church for example was a huge thing that I was most nervous about because I honestly had no idea what to expect, I did not think that it would be a church service like we attend back home.

Review your blog from the first day, have you been changed or impacted from this experience?

     I was absolutely amazed by the culture that I got to experience, I learned so much from it and I cant wait to take away what I know and hopefully re-educate those who are unaware. My apprehensions that I had make me laugh looking back now because I realized that this population is one that if you are unaware of something they will educate to you instead of thinking that you are disrespecting them. As previously said this culture and experience has been nothing short of amazing and I am so blessed to be able to have had it.