Final Thoughts

This week has been amazing. I have enjoyed every part of this experience. The community culture in Cherokee, and even in the area in general, is unlike anything I have experienced at home. They have a an undermountable level of pride in their culture and they were  more than willing to share their story with us. This week I was able to experience generosity through Victoria, the ER Manager at CIHA, because she shared so much information about her personal history as well as the Cherokee people's history. Kayla was the nursing educator at CIHA and she was overwhelmingly accommodating to us with our learning experience. There were moments she apologized for not giving us enough experience but she gave us more than I ever thought we would receive. She provided amazing clinical experiences, she took time out of her personal time to spend with us and explain the culture of the community, tell us her own story, and answer any questions we had. While I was here I learned a lot about how I could better care for my future patients. There were many moments that the nurses and physicians did everything they could for their patients, and they took the time to sit and listen to them and what was going on in their life. While maintaining professionalism they were able to learn about their patients personal life, and use that information to better care for them. I hope I can take some of these lessons back with me and learn how to give my patients a chance to be open about their concerns and how I can help them. This culture has been through many trials, and have been suffering from issues relating to historical grief and trauma. The older generation and though very trying times with the American government where they were stripped of their culture and made to become more like "the white people." Overtime, each generation has suffered from domestic abuse and substance abuse related to their historical issues, and also children following in parents footsteps. There is a change occuring in with the assistanceof the CIHA model of care, because it is catered to the culture, creating the ability for healing to occur. Because of this, and with the introduction of Cherokee language and culture programs, the younger generations are beginning to embrace and utilize their culture in many ways. It was described to us that the younger generation, about 15 years old and under are beginning to take pride and wanting to use the language and their culture in daily life. This is important because as time goes on the language will not die, the culture will flourish, and it will assist in healing the culture from domestic abuse and substance abuse issues. This week there were some things we did that were out of my comfort zone, like driving on tiny roads up the mountains. I also went white water rafting and hiked up stairs to see a waterfall. All experiences came with their own personal complications, but we're so fun and helped me learn a lot about myself. On the first day I was apprehensive about the clinical experiences we would have, unsure of how we would be accepted within the CIHA system. After experiencing Cherokee, their hospital, and hearing everyone's story, I see now that they want to share and be open about what steps they are taking to heal and treat their patients and their community. They were so open and caring, beyond anything I ever expected. I loved being here, and I loved everything I was able to learn from them. I think the best thing I learned that will impact how I care for others is that everyone has a story, and that could be a reason for non-compliance or some of the health issues individuals are experiencing, and to take that into consideration before becoming frustrated with patients for not taking the steps to care for themselves. It takes time and patience to develop a relationship with your patient, and the best thing you can do from the beginning is listen and treat everyone with the respect they deserve.