Julia Chapdelaine

Adult Health 1

Professor Blais, Professor Holt

November 19, 2021

How I Made a Difference

            Nurses have a lot of contact with patients and the family of patients. Being kind and following the nursing code of ethics, nurses often make a difference in patients’ lives. I felt that I made a difference in my patient’s life while I was in clinical this past semester. This patient did not have any family or friends that would visit them in the hospital, leaving them feeling lonely with no one to talk to.

            Upon my arrival to my patient’s room, I could tell they had a sad look on their face. At first, I was nervous that the patient was not going to be in the mood to have a student nurse in their room. But after I introduced myself and explained why I was there, they let me do a bedside assessment on them. As I tried to make conversation with them, I felt that they started to open up to me more. My patient was happy to talk about stories of when they were young and all about their family. We told a lot of jokes to each other and shared many laughs throughout my time there.

            As I was saying my goodbye to my patient at the end of my shift, my patient held my hand and spoke to me with a few tears in their eyes. They explained that no one ever visits them at this facility or any facility they’ve ever stayed at. My patient explained they couldn’t remember the last time they laughed as hard as they did that day and how much they enjoyed my company. I left my clinical that day feeling very good about making my patient happy. The feeling from that experience is one that I will chase after for the rest of my nursing career.