Primary Responsibilities: 

My primary responsibility as a student intern is to ensure the residents in the Skilled Nursing are improving their cognitive skills, social life, and overall well-being by working with the activity director, who was also my supervisor. Working with the activities, my daily responsibilities looked like this: I would greet each resident in the morning as I passed their daily chronicles, newspapers, and mail. Daily chronicles include fun facts about the day, puzzle words, and a schedule that mentions the events or activities for the day, which they can join if they're interested. My favorite activities include playing bingo, reading the chronicles, or reading reminiscing magazines to them that bring back their favorite moments of their lives, doing morning exercises with them, such as tossing the ball, gentle yoga chair exercises, and singing along with their favorite songs. The holidays like St. Patrick's Day and Valentine's Day are my favorite because I get to give them small gifts or cookies to celebrate the holiday.  

Personal Development:                                                                             

During this experience, I developed professional skills such as communication, interpersonal, and time management skills. Through one-on-one conversations with the residents and leading activities, my communication skills have improved significantly, allowing me to build new friendships with the residents that I will remember for a lifetime. I see that through my role, I was able to enhance their social-emotional well-being and cognitive skills. The residents are communicating more, feeling happier, and participating actively than before. My current professional areas for growth are to become more confident, express myself more, and step out of my comfort zone by gaining more leadership roles and experiences. 

Academic Connections: 

Taking the Long-term Care course for my elective prepared me for the internship because I was taught about the importance of residents' autonomy, how the administration works, which involves following the regulations and policies of the state government, meal plans and the meaning behind their interior designs, that everything is installed to support their safety. This helped me to respect residents' autonomy during the activities that they have the right to do the activities or not. As I studied the building, I noticed there were many safety measures installed to prevent falling, and the carpet was designed in certain shapes and colors to help them remember the locations of the building. 

Capstone Class and the Career Preparation Course prepared me for my internship by developing professional character in the workplace, such as the importance of greeting staff, networking, effective communication, and interview skills. This helped me to network in my internship site with social workers, the human resources department, the administrator, including the residents. I gained valuable insights from the residents, many of whom were alumni of various colleges in Indiana and had backgrounds in healthcare. I also participated in staff morning meetings where I demonstrated professionalism. I was also able to network with the executive director to learn more about the Administrator in Training (AIT) program.