Today in Soldotna, I was in Mountain View Elementary School shadowing school nurse Matt, and giving classroom teachings. I gave two classroom teachings on hand washing to the second graders which were super fun. It’s really fun teaching younger grades because they love to get involved and ask a bunch of questions which makes it very interactive. I used the glow germ kit which helps to show kids how germs are spread and how hand washing helps to remove germs from your hands. It was a HUGE success! Another interesting moment of the day was when I had to spontaneously go help answer puberty questions in the fifth grade classrooms. YIKES! I truly believe that you learn the most when you are thrown into a situation because I learned a lot today about how to answer questions in a way that younger kids will understand some medical criteria. It takes nursing knowledge that we may not have even learned in school, but mostly by experience working with kiddos. If I could have any job in the world it would be to work in a school with kids every day. My nurse that I followed today taught me that school nursing has so much more depth than just caring for the student. There is a huge community aspect to it as well. I’m telling you, you will see me working in a school someday. It’s the last day in Alaska and I can’t tell you how sad I am. If anyone ever gets the chance to travel here and experience the healthcare system, please take the opportunity. You won’t regret it.
Today was such an awesome day! It was our first day being in the schools all around Homer and other small towns in Alaska. I was in the Homer Middle School working with a school nurse which was a super fun experience for me considering I am doing my capstone in an elementary school. I learned a lot from my school nurse and it was interesting to see the different approaches the school nurse at this school takes compared to my preceptor back home. I learned a little bit about healing touch which the nurse used to assess a wound. She rubbed her hands together and then proceeded to hover her hands over the wound and the rest of the leg. She said that she uses this to see if there was an infection by feeling if the energy would get hot when her hands hovered over it. We have been talking a lot about holistic medicine since we have been in Alaska so it was interesting to see this in practice someone else other than the hospital setting. Yesterday we learned about traditional healing at the clinic in Anchorage and they actually use tribal doctors for this practice. I found a lot of similarities in this healing touch practice and the traditional healing that I have experienced. Our medical systems will hopefully move into this more holistic care model. Next stop, Soldotna!
Today we got to visit the most beautiful resort, Alyeska! It snowed a lot last night so the roads were terrible on the way there. Thanks goodness we have awesome drivers who made it so we got there safely. Today was the first time that I have ever tried snowbaording and now I am completely hooked. I can't wait for next winter to come around so I can get a season pass and practice lots to become a professional :) Just kidding, but I do want to get a lot better though! To me, being able to say that my first time snowboarding was on a mountain is pretty dang cool! After snowbaording we rode a tram all the way up to the tippy top of the mountain. The view was incredible and I know everyone is saying this but pictures truly cannot capture the beauty of this place. This is the first time being here where I wanted to say that I was not boarding the plane to go back to Minnesota. I would live here in a heart beat. It's so peaceful and I am feeling like I am starting to find myself again from underneath all the stress and fatigue that life has been giving me these past couple years. My mind feels refreshed and it's an awesome feeling.
Today we went adventuring! We did some site seeing of the mountains and let me tell you, they are absolutely beautiful. I wish that pictures did this place justice. The whole day as we are driving around all of us were saying that we still can't believe that this view actually exists! We also went to the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center and saw some really coll animals. There were wolves, musk ox, black tailed deer, bears, porcupines, and even an eagle that was missing a wing! I just want to tell the world that I got to pet a moose which was pretty much the coolest thing ever. Around 10:00 pm we went in search of the northern lights which was very interesting. The northern lights move often so they aren't always easy to find but we thought we would try since it was a peak time to see them. Unfortunately, they weren't super bright but we did get to see a glimpse of them. Tomorrow is snowboarding at Alyeska. Wish me luck!
We arrived here in Anchorage at about 10:00 pm Alaska time, or 1:00 am Minnesota time! It was a nice long plane ride, lasting about 6 hours. The airport went very smooth, not having to wait in line for security is a great way to start a trip. When we arrived, we waited to get our rental vans for about a half hour and then got a bite to eat at bear tooth grill. I just have to say that their guacomole is out of this world! So, future Alaska travelers definitely get a late night bite at this spot. Our house has twelve bedrooms and sleeps I don't even know how many so there is plenty of room for all 14 of us! I am lucky enough to have my own room with a double size bed on the third floor. We even have our own little kitchen and living room on this floor :) Can't wait to see what the rest of the trip brings! Hopefully some awesome mountain views!
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AuthorHolli Barteck, Senior St. Scholastica nursing student Archives |