Day 8- Thursday, March 16th
Starting my last clinical day in Homer was bittersweet because I felt like it had just begun and I wasn’t ready for it to be over. I had a later start to the morning so after we dropped off Sami and Kaylee to their clinical sites, Andrea and I stopped for coffee. It gave me more time to appreciate Homer as well as the delicious coffee they had in town. When it was time for my clinical to begin I was dropped off and ready to start my last day. The Homer SVT clinic is open 5 days a week and offers the same services the Anchor Point and Seldovia clinic offers. While in Homer, I did about the same things I had done at Anchor Point (help with rooming patients, taking vitals, drawing blood, and administering different medication injections). I was also able to assist with giving a patient an EKG and interpret her results. It was a little intense at one point because we had to call an ambulance for one of the patients that was in the clinic. Just another day at work right? One of the coolest things I did was attend a conference call with my nurse to discuss the plan of care of a patient. We were talking to an Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, PCA Home Health Coordinator, Family Nurse Practitioner, and the patient herself. We talked for an hour about how to help the patient receive the 24 hour care that she wants at home as well as a motorized wheelchair so she can get around her house easier.
After we saw all of our patients my nurse showed me how to document everything on their charting system because they use a different one than we do in Minnesota. Later, Andrea and Kaylee picked me up and we went shopping around town for a little bit until Sami was done with her shift. Once we got back home we got ready for a dinner that we were invited to by one of Sami’s preceptors for our last night in Homer. He lives on a mountain about 20 minutes outside of town but the most interesting part about our night was how we actually got to his house. His house is accessible by car only ¾ of the year and during the time we visited a car wouldn’t have been able to get there. We pulled up to his property and walked 0.8 miles with a basket of brownies through trees, ice, and snow. It was an adventure and definitely made for a good story! The house was beautiful and we had a delicious salmon dinner made with freshly caught Alaskan fish. It was awesome to get to talk to nurses working in Alaska and compare how different their health care system is compared to Minnesota. I couldn’t think of a better way to end our Homer adventure than with a night like this. After we said our goodbyes we hiked back 0.8 miles and drove back home for the last time.
Day 9- Friday, March 17th
For our last day in Homer we spent most of the morning cleaning and getting our stuff together while Sami finished up her last day at her clinical sight. Before we picked her we stopped at a few shops in town. They had a ton of handcrafted art that included photography, paintings, jewelry, etc. that were all made by local people so that was very neat to see. I ended getting quite a few drawings made by a 17-year old girl who had previously won the youth artist of the year award for all of Alaska and she was located right here in Homer. By early afternoon we picked up Sami and stopped at Two Sisters Bakery one last time before making our way back to Anchorage to meet up with the rest of the group. The drive on the way back was just as beautiful as it was before and this time we were able to stop along the way and do some souvenir shopping. We made a few stops in Soldotna and arrived in Anchorage a few hours later.
A little later we met up with everyone and had dinner at the Moose’s Tooth. They had very interesting pizza names but they were all pretty tasty! It’s always fun to try restaurants that are only found in certain cities. This was the first time we were all together since our clinicals began so we were able to catch up and share stories about what we learned and experienced at each location.
Later when we got back to the house, myself and a few other girls watched a movie and had a relaxing night in. It seemed we’d been going nonstop since the trip began so it was nice to have some down time and enjoy each other’s company for a bit. It’d been a very eventful and eye opening past week but it was good to have some time to ourselves as well. We talked about our plans for the following day and went to bed, both excited and sad, for our last free day in a state that we so quickly fell in love with.
Day 10- Saturday, March 18th
I woke up for my last morning in Anchorage with plans to climb Flattop Mountain and watch the sunrise with Jadyn, Kaylee, and Melissa. We got ready early and made our way out the door before 7:30. The hike wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and we were at the top of the 3,510-foot mountain just in time to watch the sunrise and come up from behind the mountains. It was one of the prettiest views I’ve ever seen in my life. The sky was painted pink, blue, and purple and the colors covered the mountains in the background behind the city. It’s another sight I’ll never forget. There countless sceneries of different mountains, roads, woods, streets, and towns that I’ll remember forever. Alaska is a stunning place that I hope I get the chance to visit again in the future.
Our “hike” down the mountain was much easier than our way up (Melissa and I decided it would be more efficient to slide down so we sat on our bottoms and slid our way down. It may have been quicker but it was certainly a little more painful than walking down). On our drive from the mountain back to the house we spotted another moose and this time it was as close as 5 feet away from our car! It was the perfect way to begin our last day in Alaska!
When we got back to the house we got ready for the day and went back to the Alaska Native Heritage Center with the rest of the group. The center was having a huge benefit in which they sold baked goods and homemade jewelry, art, and other artifacts to raise money for the men to go whale hunting. We were also able to watch some of the people at the ANHC perform their traditional dances so that was a neat learning experience. Before we left I got the chance to talk to Yaari again, tell her goodbye, and thank her for everything she taught us. She is a very special person and I’m grateful we had the opportunity to meet her and hear her story.
We left the center and went back to the house to eat before half of us went to downtown Anchorage to do our last bit of souvenir shopping. We ended up at a cute bakery called the Cake Studio and had some delicious baked goods with coffee- of course! After wandering around the city for a while we headed back to the house and rested for a little bit before starting to get our belongings together. We knew it was going to be an early morning for the trip back home so we started packing a little early.
Shortly after that most of the group decided to go to a Hibachi restaurant called Kobe Teppayaki House. It was the most fun I’ve had a restaurant in a long time. The guy assigned our table, Kevin, had us laughing the entire meal. It was one of the best nights I had on the trip so it was the perfect way to end our wonderful stay in Alaska.
We didn’t get back until late so we finished packing our stuff up and cleaned the house. It was sad to see our trip come to an end but I’m glad I experienced it with all of these girls and I’m happy I met all the people I did. I learned something new from each person I encountered and I’m so very grateful to have been given the opportunity to go on this trip.
Day 11- Sunday, March 19th
Our final morning in Alaska began early at 3am as we packed up the cars, drove to the airport, and boarded the plane. Our layover in Seattle went by quickly before boarding our last flight to MSP. After we arrived in Minneapolis, we started our last leg of the trip with the bus ride back to Duluth. We pulled into campus a little after 7 and unloaded the bus.
I made so many unforgettable memories and new friendships throughout this experience and I’m beyond blessed to have had this opportunity. I hope the next group of students who attend trips such as these remember to keep an open mind and try something new because it’s the best way to maximize your learning experience and take away information that you can use for the rest of capstone as well as future RN careers.
Starting my last clinical day in Homer was bittersweet because I felt like it had just begun and I wasn’t ready for it to be over. I had a later start to the morning so after we dropped off Sami and Kaylee to their clinical sites, Andrea and I stopped for coffee. It gave me more time to appreciate Homer as well as the delicious coffee they had in town. When it was time for my clinical to begin I was dropped off and ready to start my last day. The Homer SVT clinic is open 5 days a week and offers the same services the Anchor Point and Seldovia clinic offers. While in Homer, I did about the same things I had done at Anchor Point (help with rooming patients, taking vitals, drawing blood, and administering different medication injections). I was also able to assist with giving a patient an EKG and interpret her results. It was a little intense at one point because we had to call an ambulance for one of the patients that was in the clinic. Just another day at work right? One of the coolest things I did was attend a conference call with my nurse to discuss the plan of care of a patient. We were talking to an Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, PCA Home Health Coordinator, Family Nurse Practitioner, and the patient herself. We talked for an hour about how to help the patient receive the 24 hour care that she wants at home as well as a motorized wheelchair so she can get around her house easier.
After we saw all of our patients my nurse showed me how to document everything on their charting system because they use a different one than we do in Minnesota. Later, Andrea and Kaylee picked me up and we went shopping around town for a little bit until Sami was done with her shift. Once we got back home we got ready for a dinner that we were invited to by one of Sami’s preceptors for our last night in Homer. He lives on a mountain about 20 minutes outside of town but the most interesting part about our night was how we actually got to his house. His house is accessible by car only ¾ of the year and during the time we visited a car wouldn’t have been able to get there. We pulled up to his property and walked 0.8 miles with a basket of brownies through trees, ice, and snow. It was an adventure and definitely made for a good story! The house was beautiful and we had a delicious salmon dinner made with freshly caught Alaskan fish. It was awesome to get to talk to nurses working in Alaska and compare how different their health care system is compared to Minnesota. I couldn’t think of a better way to end our Homer adventure than with a night like this. After we said our goodbyes we hiked back 0.8 miles and drove back home for the last time.
Day 9- Friday, March 17th
For our last day in Homer we spent most of the morning cleaning and getting our stuff together while Sami finished up her last day at her clinical sight. Before we picked her we stopped at a few shops in town. They had a ton of handcrafted art that included photography, paintings, jewelry, etc. that were all made by local people so that was very neat to see. I ended getting quite a few drawings made by a 17-year old girl who had previously won the youth artist of the year award for all of Alaska and she was located right here in Homer. By early afternoon we picked up Sami and stopped at Two Sisters Bakery one last time before making our way back to Anchorage to meet up with the rest of the group. The drive on the way back was just as beautiful as it was before and this time we were able to stop along the way and do some souvenir shopping. We made a few stops in Soldotna and arrived in Anchorage a few hours later.
A little later we met up with everyone and had dinner at the Moose’s Tooth. They had very interesting pizza names but they were all pretty tasty! It’s always fun to try restaurants that are only found in certain cities. This was the first time we were all together since our clinicals began so we were able to catch up and share stories about what we learned and experienced at each location.
Later when we got back to the house, myself and a few other girls watched a movie and had a relaxing night in. It seemed we’d been going nonstop since the trip began so it was nice to have some down time and enjoy each other’s company for a bit. It’d been a very eventful and eye opening past week but it was good to have some time to ourselves as well. We talked about our plans for the following day and went to bed, both excited and sad, for our last free day in a state that we so quickly fell in love with.
Day 10- Saturday, March 18th
I woke up for my last morning in Anchorage with plans to climb Flattop Mountain and watch the sunrise with Jadyn, Kaylee, and Melissa. We got ready early and made our way out the door before 7:30. The hike wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and we were at the top of the 3,510-foot mountain just in time to watch the sunrise and come up from behind the mountains. It was one of the prettiest views I’ve ever seen in my life. The sky was painted pink, blue, and purple and the colors covered the mountains in the background behind the city. It’s another sight I’ll never forget. There countless sceneries of different mountains, roads, woods, streets, and towns that I’ll remember forever. Alaska is a stunning place that I hope I get the chance to visit again in the future.
Our “hike” down the mountain was much easier than our way up (Melissa and I decided it would be more efficient to slide down so we sat on our bottoms and slid our way down. It may have been quicker but it was certainly a little more painful than walking down). On our drive from the mountain back to the house we spotted another moose and this time it was as close as 5 feet away from our car! It was the perfect way to begin our last day in Alaska!
When we got back to the house we got ready for the day and went back to the Alaska Native Heritage Center with the rest of the group. The center was having a huge benefit in which they sold baked goods and homemade jewelry, art, and other artifacts to raise money for the men to go whale hunting. We were also able to watch some of the people at the ANHC perform their traditional dances so that was a neat learning experience. Before we left I got the chance to talk to Yaari again, tell her goodbye, and thank her for everything she taught us. She is a very special person and I’m grateful we had the opportunity to meet her and hear her story.
We left the center and went back to the house to eat before half of us went to downtown Anchorage to do our last bit of souvenir shopping. We ended up at a cute bakery called the Cake Studio and had some delicious baked goods with coffee- of course! After wandering around the city for a while we headed back to the house and rested for a little bit before starting to get our belongings together. We knew it was going to be an early morning for the trip back home so we started packing a little early.
Shortly after that most of the group decided to go to a Hibachi restaurant called Kobe Teppayaki House. It was the most fun I’ve had a restaurant in a long time. The guy assigned our table, Kevin, had us laughing the entire meal. It was one of the best nights I had on the trip so it was the perfect way to end our wonderful stay in Alaska.
We didn’t get back until late so we finished packing our stuff up and cleaned the house. It was sad to see our trip come to an end but I’m glad I experienced it with all of these girls and I’m happy I met all the people I did. I learned something new from each person I encountered and I’m so very grateful to have been given the opportunity to go on this trip.
Day 11- Sunday, March 19th
Our final morning in Alaska began early at 3am as we packed up the cars, drove to the airport, and boarded the plane. Our layover in Seattle went by quickly before boarding our last flight to MSP. After we arrived in Minneapolis, we started our last leg of the trip with the bus ride back to Duluth. We pulled into campus a little after 7 and unloaded the bus.
I made so many unforgettable memories and new friendships throughout this experience and I’m beyond blessed to have had this opportunity. I hope the next group of students who attend trips such as these remember to keep an open mind and try something new because it’s the best way to maximize your learning experience and take away information that you can use for the rest of capstone as well as future RN careers.