My first clinical experience as a CNA is what made me fall in love with the profession of nursing. At that time, I comforted an older adult with dementia. She had aphasia, and I listened and nodded as she babbled to me, letting her know I was listening while empathizing with her. The change I was able to make that day for this woman was profound, and the idea there was a career where I could do that was incredible. Therefore, I was very excited to get to go back into that clinical setting this year. Being with people is what drew me to nursing in the first place! I was also really excited to take this class. Communication is so important, but I know I am not always good at it. Anxiety can get the best of me, and sometimes I overthink on what the right thing to say is. That definitely happened in clinical this semester. There were times when I struggled to connect with a patient or could not find the “ perfect” words I was pressuring myself to come up with. In clinicals, I was often amazed at the ease of which some HCP joked with patients or carried on natural conversation. I feel really really confident in my ability for empathetic and deep conversation, but the natural and light-hearted talk is more difficult. In general, communication at East Hospital did not come as easily as it had in previous clinical scenarios. In the past, I have worked for long-term dementia care units or been employed to care for children and young adults with mental and physical disability. As I grew up with a brother with Down syndrome, I excel at communication with adults with mental disabilities and patients with dementia. However, I was surprised that I had a harder time communicating with the more alert patients. This class really helped me to navigate those struggles. In both the clinical setting and with my own peers, I have become so much better at therapeutic listening skills. Also, this class made me realize how often I used to say “I’m sorry” when that was often not a helpful statement. I also recognized certain terms I used that may upset patients, such as saying elderly instead of older adults or using the term “shot” when talking to a child. I recognize now some of my inherent biases and need to be aware of those when practicing. I also feel more confident in my ability to care for and advocate for various patient groups. I definitely still have a lot of work to do. My communication could be much smoother, and I have come to realize that the pressure I put on myself for “perfect” communication is actually a barrier to my communication! I especially want to grow in my ability to connect and have natural conversation with patients. I think that will come with more experience as I feel more comfortable in patient-care settings. Regardless, I am very excited to get back into clinical practice as soon as possible to keep practicing those communication skills. In the meantime, I have been really cognizant of trying to be an empathetic listener and use therapeutic communication techniques in my daily conversations. Those skills have actually been very helpful in keeping good communication and peace within my own family during these crazy times! Thanks for all you have taught me this semester. I really enjoyed this class.