Reflection Paper

Reflection Paper Assignment

Paige Holcombe

KINS 4306: Internship in Public Health

Dr. Ernest Kaninjing

April 14, 2024

My name is Paige Holcombe, and I am currently an intern at an assisted living and

memory care facility at Fellowship Home at Meriwether. A senior living complex called

Fellowship Home at Meriwether is situated next to one of Georgia's most picturesque lakes in the

state's center. They are an assisted living and memory care facility that blends traditional

Southern hospitality with modern design. Serving their customers as an extension of their own

since 1978, they take immense satisfaction in being a family-owned and run business. They are

situated on Hwy. 441 and Meriwether Road. They are easily accessible to Lake Sinclair, retail

centers, and healthcare services. With family-style care in an amenity-rich community at a

competitive price, the community raises the bar for senior living. For individuals looking for a

pleasant and independent lifestyle in a safe environment, the assisted living community is

perfect. People who live in this neighborhood want a setting rich in amenities together with basic

personal care services. The assisted living facility provides a range of floor designs, each with a

separate bathroom, kitchenette, thermostat that operates on its own, roomy closet, and other

special features. The memory care department is made to accommodate elders with dementia or

Alzheimer's disease, regardless of their individual needs. Among the amenities offered in this

community are daily activities, a skilled memory care team, plenty of indoor and outdoor space

for walking and exercise, and secured access and exits. There are options for semi-private and

private apartments. Some amenities consist of fitness and wellness programs, library, salon,

theater room, transportation, and more. They also offer various activities for residents to

participate in daily. Among the activities are, for instance: gardening, parties, fishing trips,

cookouts, movie nights, bingo, field trips, shopping trips and more. When it comes to staffing,

Fellowship Home at Meriwether always have a direct care team there. They have registered
nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified medication aids, certified nursing assistants, and

personal care aids. To give residents excellent care, every member of the staff has received

specialized training. about-the-clock assistance with daily living tasks such as eating, dressing,

grooming, using the restroom, moving about, and bathing is provided by direct care personnel.

Residents can be supervised, helped, and/or given medicine by RNs, LPNs, and CMAs. With the

help of this service, individuals and their families may feel secure knowing that their medications

will be taken exactly as prescribed.

Description of Experiences

My role at my internship an activity coordinator, however, I did a little bit of everything

when not doing activities. I designed and implemented engaging activities that promote

cognitive, physical, and emotional well-being, planned, and organized a variety of programs,

such as music therapy and arts and crafts, provided social support and guidance to residents’

families and caregivers, and I also fostered social interaction and a sense of community among

residents. When not doing activities, I would also help the certified nursing assistants with their

job, as well as the nurse with filing papers or whatever else she needed me to do. I helped with

documenting vital signs, including blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and respiration rate,

assisted residents with tasks such as bathing, dressing, grooming, and mobility, provided

compassionate and personalized care to residents/patients, ensuring their comfort and well-being,

and lastly accurately documenting resident care, observations, and changed in conditions. They

most rewarding part about my internship was being a voice for the residents when they are

unable to. Most of the residents are being taken advantage by their families and even some of

their friends, so I was able to gain a good relationship and be a friend to them and advocate for
them. The most difficult challenge I encountered at my internship was death. While being at an

assisted living and memory care complex, I experienced death a good bit while being in the

memory care department. It was very challenging as I gained relationships with the residents so

when they pass, it makes it hard as I get attached to all the residents. However, I try to always

think positive and remind myself that everything happens for a reason. I feel like I had a good

balance and was able to do everything I wanted to and even more.

Perception and Evaluation of the Internship

I think my internship at Fellowship Home at Meriwether met my personal expectations as

I knew what to expect since doing my service learning prior to my internship. However, at my

internship, I was able to do more things that I was not able to do at my service learning. I was not

able to check vital signs such as blood pressure, temperature, pulse, or respiration rate at my

service learning, however, I was able to for my internship which I thoroughly enjoyed because I

was able to learn new tasks. I would say my internship was very open to my ideas and

contributions. I really wanted to do a fun Valentine’s activity for the residents that consisted of

them making their own personalized wreath to go on their doors. I went to my site supervisor and

asked if I could somehow make this happen and she never hesitated and let me go to hobby

lobby to get everything I needed to make this happen. All the residents thoroughly enjoyed this

so I thought they could make something again for springtime. I went back to my site supervisor

and showed her a picture of what I wanted to do for the residents, and she yet again never

hesitated and told me how great of an idea it was and how they have never done anything like

that with the residents due to staffing shortage. Since being at my internship, my supervisor and

even coworkers, were all very open and helpful when it came to ideas I had. The supervision
from my supervisor was amazing as I saw her almost every day, multiple times a day. She would

come and check on me to make sure everything was going smoothly and make sure I did not

need anything. I am very thankful to have had her as my supervisor and I could not ask for

anything better as she was phenomenal. I will most definitely recommend the setting to future

interns if they enjoy being around the vulnerable populations such as the elderly. I would also

recommend the memory care department as I feel like I was able to do more considering they

rely on us to help them, whereas the assisted living side is not quite like that. I am wanting to

work with the elderly specifically memory care residents/patients as I have found a passion and

love advocating for them. I have also applied for a position to be the memory care director as

well as resident care director at a facility back at home.

Internship Preparedness

When I started my internship, I felt really prepared academically as I have taken many

courses that I have applied to while being at my internship site. The courses I felt that I used the

most would be anatomy, community health, health promotion program planning, epidemiology,

and policy and systems. I used these courses the most as I was dealing with a vulnerable

population, so I applied my knowledge from these courses to help maintain a good, safe,

comfortable environment. When it came to anatomy, I knew how to help figure out what was

going on with some of the residents when working with the nurse, when something happened, or

someone got sick. I think GCSU/School of Health and Human Performance could better prepare

Public Health students for real life application of public health concepts and for future

employments, by requiring a specific course related to preparation of internship, what to expect,

and how it could potentially lead to a job. I feel like senior seminar class did not really prepare us
for that as every day we either had a CHES exam or student teach backs for the CHES exams. I

feel like the CHES exams did not really help or benefit anyone but a handful of people and felt

like the class did absolutely nothing to prepare us for our internship or even the workforce. If

there a specific course added to better prepare public health students when it comes to future

employment and internship, I think it would be very beneficial.

Internship Performance

Some new skills and knowledge that were acquired as part of my internship would be

chart auditing. The nurse taught me how to chart audit as I will eventually use this for when I go

to get my master’s in nursing and eventually become a nurse. However, I also might do this with

being a director of resident care and memory care. This new skill and knowledge I would say is

something I had no idea how to do prior to my internship, however, the nurse took the time one

day to teach me and I was also able to help her out once I learned. Chart auditing is an

examination of medical records whether that is electronic and/or hard copy, to determine what

has been done to the patient/resident and see if things can be improved. I was highly satisfied on

my performance of assignments, projects, and presentations with meeting deadlines and efficient

time management. I would stay over a lot at my internship and most of the time pull 12-hour

shifts or more so I would sometimes work on assignments behind the nurses’ station when I was

allowed to and not doing activities or helping other. This helped me manage my time well and

still be there when my coworkers needed me. I would honestly rate the overall quality of work a

8 out of 10. One skill I need to sharpen would be my public speaking skills. I get nervous when

talking in front of a crowd however, I have gotten better since being at my internship and
interacting with families and even other individuals coming in but it is still not 100% when

standing in front of a large crowd.

Personal/Professional Insights/Benefits

My internship at Fellowship Home at Meriwether has impacted my personal growth as

well professional growth. I have felt that I have become more comfortable to try new things as

well as to ask for help if I do not understand up. Before my internship, I was always scared to ask

for help as I did not want to bother anyone and did not want to feel “dumb,” but since being at

my internship, I have really become more confident in asking for help to make sure to not mess

anything up and to also learn the proper and correct way as well. I would also say that since

being at my internship and working with a vulnerable population that experience

Dementia/Alzheimer’s such as the elderly, I have learned that having a lot of patience is needed

as some of them cannot talk or even comprehend what you ask of them. So having patience is

needed to just guide them and help them as they are really confused and do not understand what

is going on. I would also say adapting to change is something I have grew regarding this as well.

Prior to my internship, I would say I was good at adapting to change however, I have become

better to adapting to change as I have experienced death a lot, so I must hold myself together and

keep going. It was hard for me to do starting out, but I have somewhat gotten used to it. I would

also say my public speaking skills have grown too as I use to would not go out of my way to

really talk and I would not feel comfortable enough at all to speak in front of large crowds.

However, my internship has made me go out of my comfort zone and speak to individuals and

has overall helped my public speaking skills as well.