Journals

Journals
 My journal styling was to write down each activity I did within a day, my hours and if something affected me greatly, my emotions, thoughts or feeling surrounding it. Below are three expanded  journal entries. Enjoy!

1.)  September 15^th, 2014 (8:40-2:10; 5.5 hours)

-Brown Bag Program (fun, very social. Helped with Tuna and Egg Salad Sandwiches)

-Fun and Fitness 2^nd Floor Program (observed/participated with residents)

-Walking program (short walk around Eau Claire park)

Sing-a-long 2^nd Floor (sang songs with residents; nervous because I did not know any of them)

-Helped set up for the entertainment they were having in the evening.

I chose to expand on this journal entry because it was the very first one I wrote about my first day at Chartwell Eau Claire. I remember being so nervous, and excited to see what kind of programs they offered and what I could potentially be leading in the future.  I was also pretty clueless about the work that went on in such a large care residence! My hours were usually 9 am-2pm, but I arrived early and was put straight into the grind! I appreciated this because I am a hard worker and do not like to mull around doing nothing. The first program I was a part of was the Brown Bag Lunches. This is a program where a few of the residents make lunches for school age children in Calgary. On Mondays, they make 50 lunches and on Thursdays, they make 45. These lunches are delivered by the staff member who leads the program on the same day. It was a very warm, fun and welcoming environment and all the residents were chatting up a storm. I helped to make the tuna and egg salad, which made me a little nervous, as have never made them before ( I do not like either of them). I am glad that this pushed me out of my comfort zone though!

Afterwards, I was taken up the 2^nd floor, which is secured and was able to observe/participate along with the residents in the Fun and Fitness program. This is a program that combines simple stretches for each area of the body, as well as a light physical activity. That day, it was balloon bounce, where the residents had to simply keep a balloon up in the air by passing it to one another. I had a lot of fun and looked forward to being able to lead this program in the near future.

Just before lunch, one of the Rec Therapy aides and I took a few residents from the 2^nd floor on a short walk in Eau Claire park, which was just a couple blocks away. The main thing with this was to always be alert and to be near the residents, so that they did not get lost or what have you. They absolutely loved getting out and I really liked that Eau Claire let them get out and have some fresh air. I have heard that some facilities do not let people who are on secure floors out too often, but seeing the looks of happiness on these resident’s faces showed me just how important this outing was to them. As long as we kept track of them and guaranteed their safety, everything worked out well for everyone involved.

After lunch, we had a sing-a-long on the 2^nd floor with the residents. Everyone really enjoyed it. I did as well, but I was a little embarrassed because I did not know very many of the songs. However, on the residents who was sitting beside me was kind of enough to share her song book with me and I ended up enjoying it a lot!

Lastly, before I left for the day, I helped set up chairs in the lobby and wellness room for resident’s entertainment that night. They were having a choir come in to sing some songs for them after supper that evening, so they needed to make sure they had enough seating for everyone. 

 2.)    November 21^st, 2014 (9am-2pm)

-wrote up the agenda for the day

-set up chairs for fun and fitness program on main floor

-led fun and fitness program on 2^nd floor (worried/bit scared)

            -documented attendance

-led adapted scrabble scoop game (residents enjoyed it today)

            -documented attendance

-led Rummikub game in afternoon

            -documented attendance

I chose to expand on this journal entry for two reasons. Firstly, it shows just how much had changed since my first day. Now, instead of observing/participating, I was leading the programs independently and then documenting the attendance afterwards. My confidence had grown and I was taking much more initiative than I had at the beginning of my practicum.

Secondly, I chose it because this was the first day since the beginning of the semester that I had gone up to lead an activity on the second floor. After my first day, I mainly worked or led programs for the residents who came down to the main floor and rarely went up to the second floor. But today, I was up there, all by myself. I was a little worried and to be honest scared, because I had not had the opportunity to lead up there much. The residents on the second floor take a little more encouragement to participate and I was afraid I would not be able to do that. Luckily, this bunch is so great to work with and although it did take a bit more effort on my part to get them to participate, it was an excellent learning experience for me. When you work with people, they are not always going to to do what you expect because of their personalities, interests and so on. So, if you are going to work with them, you have to learn this and learn to “roll with the punches” so to speak. I also like that this, again, took me out of my comfort zone and helped me grow as a professional.

Documenting scores is an important task at Chartwell, as it allows them to see which clients are participating and which ones need a little more encouragement. They have a system called Activity Pro where it has a list of all the activities offered at Chartwell and then a list of all the residents. To take attendance, you simply pick the activity you just completed and it will lead you to a chart of all the residents. You pick the residents that attended and move on to giving them a participation score out of three. Most times, all residents who come get a three; the only reason they would get any less than a three is if they were disruptive, left early or so on. These added notes on behavior must also be documented in the attendance scores.

Lastly, I will explain why I put “residents enjoyed it today” after Scrabble Scoop. Scrabble Scoop is a version of the classic game where you must scoop out letters in a plastic pot with a spoon in order to spell the words you have on the card you receive at the beginning of the game. This is not as easy as it sounds and also is quite boring. I certainly did not enjoy playing it, so I did blame the residents for hating it as well! So, to make it more fun for everyone, I adapted the game by taking out the card aspect and just letting the residents scoop out letters to spell whatever words they could. Once they needed more letters, they would take another scoop and continue on until all the letters were gone from the pot. Whoever spelled the most words, was the winner. They absolutely loved it this way and now any time they play it after that day has been done so in this adaptive way. This experience taught me that as a professional, you must be creative sometimes to make things more entertaining for the clients as well as for reaching you goal. You do not always have to follow the rules of a game to be effective, because sometimes, they are just really boring! This also allows you to not waste resources and to use what you have in more than one way.


3.)  December 8^th, 2014 (8:40-12pm)

-          Wrote up daily agenda

-          Led Rhythm and moves on main floor: new CD

- Documented attendance

-          Led Scattegories on main floor (hectic but fun!)

-  Documented attendance

I chose to expand on this journal entry because it was my last journal entry for the semester. Although it was a shorter day for me, as these were all the hours I needed in order to reach my 130 hours overall, it was still very busy and full of learning. I like how this once again shows how much my confidence and knowledge has grown since the first day. This day, I walked in knowing exactly what I needed to do with my day, where all my materials were and that if I needed any help, I was comfortable enough to ask for it from any of the staff there. Before, talking to authority figures scared me. Now, I can easily talk with my supervisors about everything from scheduled activities to what they did on the weekend. I know all the names of my clients, how to encourage them to participate, even how they took their coffee. I am at the level I never even imagined reaching while there and I am so proud of how I have grown.

 I started my day off as usual, by writing up the daily agenda. Chartwell has a chalkboard stand set up in the front entrance so when the residents pass by they can see what is going on that day. On this particular day, I had to change the schedule a bit because the trip to the Lunchbox Theatre has to cancelled last minute. This meant that I had to be quick on my feet and think of an activity to fill in for it. I chose Scattegories as the residents love it and they had not played it in a while. This experience, though minor, taught me the importance of how sometimes you have to go with the flow and be quick on your feet in your profession.

During leading Rhythm and Moves, we used a new CD of music that another Recreational Therapist from another care residence had created for us. It was so much fun and the residents loved the change in music. It included songs from back in the 1950s, all the way up to today, whereas our old music was just what was assumed to be enjoyable music for our residents based on their age. But that is so limiting! Seniors can like whatever music they want, just like any other age category. In particular, the YMCA went over very well and everyone was laughing and enjoying their time.

Scattegories itself was a little hectic because I was leading it by myself and had two teams in which I was helping. I had to try and work on my time management skills and making sure I was equally helping both teams. I did not think I could do it, but somehow, I managed it and we all ended up having a great time. One team thought they would lose, but with determination and minimal help from me, they ended up winning two of the three games we played. It just goes to show you that you should never limit yourself in what you can do.

Conclusion

These above examples not only show my growth over the semester, but also showcase examples of my Statement of Philosophy. There were times where residents or myself were limited for various reasons (by ourselves, by an activity, etc.) but with the right attitude and supports, we made it through it. Ultimately, we got to learn, grow and enjoy ourselves which is what I believe to be important and true.