- Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.
I obtained my state tested nursing aide certification. I took a nurse aide class that fulfilled the 75 hours of classroom and clinical requirements for individuals to become eligible for taking the state competency exam for state tested nurse aides. I learned skills of how to help patients and residents with activities of daily living, catheter care, perineal care of females and males, how to take vital signs, range of motion stretches, and more. Being enrolled in this program to complete my STNA helped me work at Cleveland Clinic Mercy for the summer as a Patient Care Nurse Assistant.
- What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?
Through completing this STEP Signature Project, it helped me realize I am meant to work in healthcare. Ever since I was younger, I was interested in working in healthcare one day. As I grew older, I began taking pre-med classes which challenged me and made me wonder if I was cut out for this field. I wondered if I was passionate about it or if I just liked the idea about it. During my clinicals, I loved interacting with patients and realized all the work I am doing to one day become a provider in healthcare is more than worth it. During this STEP Signature Project, I also realized how much of an impact I make as a healthcare worker and how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to assist patients and interact with them.
- What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP
My first week of my Nurse Aide class at Absolute Health training, we were told we as aides will be with patients the most out of any healthcare worker in a hospital or long-care living facility so we will be the ones who can make the biggest impacts. In the back of my mind, I thought “yeah okay”. In class, we were taught how important language is when interacting with patients, body language and verbal language. We taught the importance of acting with empathy and not pity. We were also told this will come naturally to some people and unnatural with others.
Throughout this summer of my project, I worked and interacted with hundreds of patients. Patients with many different backgrounds, ages, diagnoses, etc. I have learned to interact with patients young and old. I have learned how to communicate with patients who cannot verbally communicate back to me. At first, I struggled to communicate with my first patient who could not verbally communicate with me. However, after practicing using a communication book with her with images of things she may be asking for and practice reading body language of someone who cannot verbally communicate, I got the hang of it. I was able to grow patience and allow patients time to communicate what they need me to do for them.
Before this summer, starting this project, I had not stepped foot to work in a hospital setting before. Previously I have been a home health aide and from time to time volunteered behind the scenes in hospitals. With that said, I was not prepared for the fast pace of the hospital. On a every day basis, I had to problem-solve in the moment. I witnessed a handful of patient falls and I had to act in the moment, yell for help, get the patients vitals, assess if they are breathing still, etc. I learned how to stay calm in extreme stressful situations. I also witnessed death for the first time of one of my patients for this summer. On the inside, I wanted to cry and I felt sick to my stomach. However, I had to be there for the family, stay calm, and after the family left I had to clean up the body. I had to learn how to emotionally detach myself when needed.
- Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?
Being a provider in the future will be no easy job. When communicating with patients patience and acting and speaking humility will be important. There will be times where I will need to share bad news with patients and patients families. There will be times I may unfortunately lose a patient in surgery. Being able to stay strong and keep those hard emotions in will be important so I can support my patients and their families. As I am specifically interested in becoming a surgical PA, there will be times where me and the other surgeons will need to work as a team and problem-solve in the moment if the surgery is not going as planned. Becoming a nurse assistant has been a great stepping stone in my career that has exposed me to the medical world and has allowed me to practice skills that will be essential in my future career.
