Internship at a Dialysis Center - Essay Example

Internship at a Dialysis Center Workers in the dialysis center help and facilitate the patients to adjustto life. This facilitation in the form of teaching them about the treatments and the kidney diseases, educates them about their current body situations and how they should go about it to avail the best care. In addition, listening to patients and encouraging them to continue with the normal life activities help them live a better life and enjoy what life has to offer (DaVita). Given this fascinating job of helping and facilitating people going through a difficult phase of life was nothing less than an opportunity for me where I could serve the humanity in the best possible way. The overall experience at the Dialysis center has been a combination of both learning and practical application of the knowledge attained in handling and dealing with patients. Since working in the center requires team work, the team collaboration and collective learning on how to deal with the emotional aspects of dialysis and how to treat patients and interact with them in a professional and positive manner were learnt during this time. Another major aspect learnt was how to handle yourself in grief situations that might be experienced during the dialysis settings. Listening to the patients is the most important skills that must be observed when dealing with the patients (Nelms, Sucher and Roth). Since the patients are going through a difficult phase, during their first meeting they generally tend to answer all the questions asked. It has been experienced that as a worker at the dialysis center you must learn as much about the patients as possible, so that you can provide them with the best possible support and care. It is also important to know here if the patient requires some additional or special care, for example in the case of emotional issues, similarly it is important to know how much the patient understands his condition, so that the you can provide adequate assistance as a facilitator. Serving as the patient advocate and support assistant at the dialysis centre I had been involved in providing assistance to the patients by learning about them, listening to them and by providing them the information about their situations and answering their questions. I had also been assisting them and encouraging them to live a better quality of life by making travel and recreational activities so that that can feel motivated and can live a better life. During traveling I had to ensure and arrange for dialysis treatment in the visiting center. Being at the center it is also important to discuss with the patients the available resources they can make use of and to help them avail those services. Therefore, in order to provide support the patients and to teach them about their responsibilities, rights, grievance procedure and the code of conduct were important. I provided supportive counseling at the dialysis facility thus, helping and providing support to the patients which they required. In addition, I helped the patients avail the service which they needed by referring them to the services within the community, like senior centers and support groups etc. Apart from the supportive duties, another important aspect has been the gaining of full knowledge about the patient and to assess the patient’s progress. This was done by attending the Interdisciplinary collaboration and teamwork meeting. In this meeting the entire plan of care is designed and discussed for the client as this helps in knowing how the patient is progressing. The interdisciplinary care plan includes the information such as: the physical abilities of the patient, the general emotional state, the mental ability of the patient and the financial and insurance needs. Based upon these assessments the client’s needs are addressed and the patient’s progress and condition are monitored through measurable and expected outcomes. There are also psychosocial assessments done in order to evaluate the patient’s strengths and need, to assess this information used includes: patients medical information, physical condition, emotional well-being, family support, insurance and financial concerns, treatment modality interests e.g. transplant, hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, and legal information etc. Organizing and meeting weekly with the group dialysis clients in order to know whether the condition is stable or if there have been any changes based upon life issues such as living conditions, emotional adjustment, the treatment or the hospitalization. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss the life on dialysis and transplantation and to determine the areas where the client is coping with changes and to help them in coping up. A discussion with the patient on the current dialysis treatment and transplantation information enables to know if the client wants to try some other form of dialysis treatment and what they wish, how they should be taken care of, thus allowing the worker to know and design the care plan for the client according to their desires and wishes and facilitating and supporting them throughout the treatment phase. At first I believed that internship at a Dialysis center would be nothing more than an academic requirement, however when I personally was the part of the entire system it was a totally different experience. Working at the Dialysis centre and looking around at the clients of the centre made me realize the importance of an individual in a society, to see what we all tend to ignore or forget in our lives. These clients are special in the very true sense, in our society we ignore the care and support that these people require, however in this respect this Dialysis centre has been working and has accomplished a level where it instills in these special individuals the courage and confidence to live in the society with dignity and helps them in living a better life by encouraging and motivating them in every way. Moreover, the workers at the centre are playing an important role in educating and providing the information to the clients and providing support facilities, arranging for recreational activities, listening to their questions and helping them in every way. All the people associated with the centre either being a worker, or a volunteer in the operations of the centre are contributing in one way or the other to the lives of the clients. Having worked here now I am able to understand that we in our busy lives forget how much these individuals need attention, love, care and respect, to live a better life in this society. As it is said that: “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around”(Unknown) Working at the Dialysis centre has been a great opportunity and a very valuable experience for me. This is a great place to work as there is team collaboration, collectivism and the entire team shares the responsibility to provide the best care to the clients. The entire centre serves like a family, supporting its clients in every possible way and adding value to their lives. My over all experience at the centre has been very learning not only professionally, but on a personal level as well. The encouragement, the support, and the helping the patients live a better life and facilitate and support them by arranging recreational activities and devising the care plans allowed to serve humanity in a very special way. I’m very delighted to have worked at this centre and the experience gained here made me believe that People needing care are People first and they are Special. Bibliography DaVita. "Who’s taking care of me at the hemodialysis center?" 2004-2012. Davita.com. . Nelms, Marcia, Kathryn Sucher and Sara Long Roth. Nutition Therapy and Pathophysiology. Cenage Learning, 2007. Read More