Greta Hanneman - Nursing Portfolio

CLINICAL PLACEMENT

During my second semester at Trent University, I completed my first Clinical Placement; this consisted of 60 hours spent at a long-term care (LTC) and retirement facility in Lindsay, Ontario. For the majority of this placement, I was responsible for shadowing a Personal Support Worker (PSW) in developing my skills in areas such as feeding, bathing, dressing and changing. Each day I learned more about the common challenges experienced at LTC facilities such as the time constraints on preparing people for the day and the need to respect the resident's wishes, even if these wishes conflict with care.

However, I also received first-hand experience of the importance of collaboration in care; both the PSW's and students consistently shared responsibilities and leaned on each other for support. Furthermore, I saw physical manifestations of several diseases, completed physical assessments, developed therapeutic nursing student-patient relationships and truly developed my knowledge in terms of the experiences of residents of LTC.

In addition to this hands-on experience, I consistently reflected on my time in LTC/retirement, developed a care plan for an assigned resident, completed an interaction analysis and was successful on both a midterm and final evaluation. I received positive feedback throughout this placement and, when advised to take more initiative in care-giving, I made it my mission to practice performing care independently so that I could really develop the nursing skills that will lay down a foundation for my future practice. Despite my anxiety at first, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in LTC. This experience has left me with a feeling of gratitude, pride and excitement for my future clinical placements.

LAB EXPERIENCE

During my second semester at Trent University, along with my Clinical Placement, I also completed 24 hours in lab, developing my head-to-toe assessment skills. With the help of my clinical instructor, I learned...

- PPE

- Vitals/Blood Pressure Assessment

- Cognitive/Mental Assessment

- Musculoskeletal Assessment

- Abdominal Assessment

- Integumentary Assessment

- Respiratory Assessment

- Feeding & Nutrition Assessment

- Genitourinary & Gastrointestinal Assessment

- Comfort & Pain Assessment

- Nerve Assessment

- and much more!

Throughout this lab experience, I completed simulations to ensure that my understanding and performance of the assessments was correct.

Honor Roll

I earned an average of 80% or higher in high school. This provides evidence that I am a focused, determined goal-oriented learner who worked hard because I saw value in getting good grades.

French Diploma

I took French immersion throughout my four years in high school, and then I passed the DELF examination which earned me this French diploma and a certain level of French speaking ability. I completed this goal because I wanted to take this opportunity to improve my communication skills. As a nurse, it is an asset to be able to communicate with people from all walks of life, therefore, I view bilingualism as a valuable skill.

Staff Award

This award was given to one student based on a staff-wide vote at Notre Dame Catholic High School in Carleton Place. I received this award because I demonstrated an inclusive, positive, supportive attitude toward my peers that the staff was able to notice and encourage. Receiving this award demonstrates my effective communication skills that I developed over time. It shows that I am a personable, kind student that cares for others, which are traits that I would like to exhibit as a nursing student and a Registered Nurse.

Student council Award

This award was given to two students (myself and my co-president of Student Council, Holly Houston), who participated in Student Council in high school and exhibited positive leadership. In my opinion, leadership is an important part of nursing, therefore, receiving this award is to say that I already have some social skills that will be useful in my future career.

Drama Award

This award was given to one student who was an active participant in the drama/arts community at Notre Dame Catholic High School. I received this award as a result of my work with the ND Improv Team as well as my participation in the school play in 2016 and 2017. Receiving this award demonstrates my ability to collaborate with others in order to achieve a goal such as putting on a theatrical production. As a lead actress, I also acted as a leader alongside my peers as we all committed hundreds of hours to the drama department at my high school. When I am a nurse, I will be able to use these collaborative and leadership skills frequently in practice as nursing is a career that involves working with others.

Volunteerism Award

This award was given to one student who went above and beyond in attaining the volunteer hours required to graduate. I collected about 300 hours of community service over the course of four years because I enjoyed taking advantage of these opportunities to help others. In receiving this award, it is clear that I feel strongly about wanting to help those in need in order to make a difference in their lives as well as my community as a whole. As a nurse, I will take pride in seeing myself as a caretaker whose actions directly impact the lives of patients.

Canadian Federation of University Women - Perth & District Bursary

I applied for this bursary in March 2018 and received the bursary later that spring. It was given to a certain amount of women pursing post-secondary education that were in need of financial aid. When I applied for this bursary, I showed initiative and responsibility by preparing for the expenses of University. As a nursing student and a Registered Nurse, I must try to be well-prepared for my examinations or the possible cases to come in a health care setting.

Child Caretaker (2014-2015)

When I was 15 years old, a family friend required help caring for her 1-year old daughter. Her husband was away for almost a year, and she could only work nights. So, from Monday to Friday, I would go over to their house after school to care for this child.I would stay the night and then I would go to school the following morning and the cycle would repeat. In addition to receiving payment for this job, I also thoroughly enjoyed caring for this child. I felt that we had started to build a relationship and in helping this family, I felt proud and fulfilled. Because of this experience, I have an interest in labor and delivery nursing as well as pediatric nursing. Furthermore, I learned a lot about myself, my capabilities as a caretaker and children in general. This contributed to where I am today and where I hope to be in the future: working with families that are in need, like this one, as a Registered Nurse.

North Lanark Regional Museum (Summers: 2016-2018)

Carleton Place & District Chamber of Commerce (School years: 2015-2018)

At both of these locations, I worked in an office-like environment, dealing with daily tasks such as updating the website and planning community events. However, I did accumulate some skills that are relevant to nursing practice. For example, I was consistently communicating and collaborating with others in order to complete my tasks. Often times, there were changes and set backs that required me to develop a sense of resiliency and patience. Although the work itself is not similar to that of a health care setting, I required similar skills to be able to effectively do my job. Also, the fact that I spend years working at each of these locations provides evidence that I am a committed, trustworthy employee, which are often desirable traits to posses when attempting to find employment.

Member of Student Council - Notre Dame High School (2014-2018)

Student Council President - Notre Dame High School (2016-2018)

As a member of student council, I was responsible for organizing events in my community and acting as an advocate for change for my peers at Notre Dame Catholic High School. I also acted as co-president of the Student Council for two years. This experience shaped who I am today in many ways; it taught me effective leadership, positive collaboration and the importance of hard work. The profession of nursing shares many of these attributes, especially the ability to act as an advocate for patients. This experience gave me the confidence I needed to choose nursing because I know I am capable of achieving success in my nursing career.

Mississippi Mudds Youth Theater Group Choreographer (2015-2018)

In choreographing the theatrical production in my home town I was able to lead a group of young people to a goal as well as promote healthy living. Here, I got to work with children which influenced my choice to pursue nursing. Furthermore, I gained a better understanding of the importance of promoting health among young people because I always encouraged them to follow through with their commitments and work hard during rehearsal so that they may see positive results. This experience will also contribute to my future career in the health care field.

Member of the Notre Dame High School Improv Team (2014-2018)

As a member of this Improvisation-Comedy Team, I was able to build my collaboration skills by working with my teammates to create a story. We supported and depended on each other which led us to successful results, which is similar to some aspects of nursing. Also, I learned how to think quickly which I believe will help build my confidence in my decision making abilities when I am a Registered Nurse.

Lead actress in the Notre Dame High School Theatrical Production (2017, 2018)

Being a member of the school play required a lot of commitment, especially to the other members of the cast. I believe that this area of collaboration is very relevant to nursing because, when nurses are not directly working with one another, they are still parts of a bigger picture that is the health care system. Therefore, nurses and other health care professionals must complete their responsibilities as a way of collaborating with others in order to make the system work effectively.

Member of TRENT UNIVERSITY POM CHEER-LEADING Team (2013-2016)

This experience on a cheer-leading team was one of my first experiences on any team. Before I joined cheer-leading, I was more shy and introverted, but this team allowed me to improve my social skills such as effectively communicating when there is an issue or sharing my opinion. Effective communication is important in nursing because it greatly reduces the risk of error, therefore, all nurses must practice their communication skills. On a cheer-leading team, it is crucial that you communicate in order to practice safely as a unified group of athletes. These skills can be considered transferable with nursing.

Contact me

My Nursing Portfolio

Clinical/Lab Experience (2019)

CLINICAL PLACEMENT

LAB EXPERIENCE

Artifacts

Awards/Bursaries (2018)