Elderly Care Center Internship: Assessing COVID-19 Impact and Improving Resident Engagement
Overview
This reflection paper documents an undergraduate nursing internship at an elderly care center during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery phase. The student examines the challenges facing the facility, interactions with ten elderly residents, and identifies key professional skills including empathy, communication, and adaptability developed through direct engagement with elderly care.
What this reflection paper covers
- Internship objectives and primary audience identification - elderly residents and facility viability assessment
- Activities undertaken, challenges faced, and observations of elderly residents' social needs post-pandemic isolation
- Professional development outcomes including moral courage, empathy, and recommendations for improving communication and facility infrastructure
Preview
Journal 5
Student’s Name
Institution affiliation
Professor
Date
Journal 5
The Covid-19 epidemic curve is declining, and elderly people are starting to resume the elderly care center. My primary objectives are to interact with elderly people and watch them play mahjong. In this internship, the primary audience will be the older people, and I will be committed to knowing them better and assessing the viability of the center.
Audience; the primary audience in this health center is old people
Behavior; assessing attendance
Condition; evaluating the impact of covid-19 pandemic to the old people
Degree of mastery; developing effective ways to interact with old people in care centers
We have undertaken activities, playing and interacting, and the results have been phenomenal. However, there are few challenges facing the care center; for example, only a few people are required to join the center due to the pandemic. Elderly people are most vulnerable to the covid virus, and thus extra caution is taken to ensure their health is not compromised. I am interacting with ten older people, and I have learned several things; for instance, they are bored to be alone at home, and they miss the old ways of interaction. Elderly people are usually talkative and assessing from a nursing point of view. I would say they are really happy to meet together and share stories. I was accompanied by two staff members who provide varied services to elderly people and shared ways of improving the facility.