Communicating With Different Cultures

For my engagement experience, I went to Hershey, PA and worked at Penn State Hershey Medical Center for 10 weeks. I worked there as a Nurse Extern, and with this role I worked alongside a nurse mentor.  I assisted the nurse with her shift’s tasks by caring for patients, performing basic medical tasks, documenting information, and more.  I worked both day-shift and night-shift, 40 hours a week.  I really got to experience a taste of what it is like to be a nurse!

This experience was important to me because I gained further insight into what it means to be a nurse, and it placed me in a position where I could be used to impact lives.  It opened my eyes to see that despite difficult aspects of a nurse’s job, I will have the opportunity to make a difference during the most vulnerable time of one’s life. One impact I felt I had was with a patient whose call bell I answered several times. In those instances of me tending to her basic needs, she had much to share and talk about: her experiences, fears, pain, and just her life.  By the end of my time with her she said to me how greatly she appreciated my listening ear and how brightly I was shining.  This is the impact I desire to make as a nurse – to let my light shine before others and show them how cared for, special, and loved each one of them are.

Without my academic studies and learning experiences within the classroom, I would not have been able to have an experience like the one I had this summer. Throughout my 3 years in college at Penn State Altoona, I have learned all of the sides of what it means to be a nurse.  My academic career has helped me dive much deeper into understanding that nursing is not just a science, but an art as well.  I have learned that through nursing we create experiences for our patients like no other. We are at the bedside for hours at a time attending to each and every need, and the way that I approach each need is what impacts patients’ lives in a special way.  By having this understanding in my mind along with the skills I’ve learned, I could apply them to the clinical setting in a broader way during this experience.

From this experience, I have learned many valuable things that I will bring along with me as a soon-to-be college graduate. I learned that there are many areas of nursing that I could see myself pursuing. I was able to work on not only a medical-surgical floor but see pediatric and neonatal units as well. I found that I enjoy all these types of nursing, among others, so I am allowing this to broaden my horizons as I apply for jobs post-graduation.  I also learned how to communicate with those of a different language and culture than I.  For me, this is an important skill as I plan to be moving to a diverse area after graduation. During this experience, I had a lot of interactions with people of different cultures and some who did not speak any English at all. I was able to learn the dynamic that comes from this barrier, and how it can be overcome through compassion, patience, and understanding.