Primary Responsibilities:

• Help plan monthly activities calendar

• Take residents to and from activities

• Take residents to lunch/dinner

• Oversee and participate in daily activities

• Visit one on one with residents

• Sit in on Care plan meetings/morning reports

Learning Objectives:

At Hoosier Village I have had the opportunity to interact with residents on a personal level. Getting to know the ones I work with everyday is always a goal of mine because I am interested in building personal relationships with those I work with. This comes with a need for greater communication which is a goal I set for myself in everything I do.

After going through my internship, I have had the opportunity to connect with residents and families on a deeper level and really get to know them, beyond what activities they like to partake in. Having this in mind before I started my internship helped me to know what was important to me going forward. Knowing that I have made an impact on not only the residents' lives but their families as well, gives me a great sense of accomplishment. I cherish every moment I have had participating in activities with the residents and knowing that I could bring some joy to their lives.

Personal Development:

Before starting my internship, I had no experience in the world of long term care. This internship helped me gain a better understanding of how planning and organizing, engaging activities for residents is such a needed job. Finding the things that brighten their days, even if it is something so simple, can mean the world to them. I was able to build personal relationships with a number of residents and get to know them beyond the surface level. I really value these connections and I hope that I can put smiles on their faces the same way they do mine. I believe that taking the time to pick and plan events to assist the residents with their social and emotional needs is rewarding work.

Academic Connections:

Many of the classes I have taken at IUPUI helped prepare me for this internship. One of the most helpful classes was Chronic and Long Term Care administration. This class taught me about the inner workings of a retirement facility and what that looks like for the majority of retirement communities. Taking this class during the same semester where I was interviewing for internships really helped me know that long term care was something I was seriously interested in. With the knowledge I had from the course, I could easily help input things in the computer and do paperwork assignments without having to ask for as much help as I would have needed otherwise.