Day 8: Reflection about Cherokee

The first way that we experienced generosity this week was by having a grant gifted to us for the trip. This helped so much with the overall cost and for us to save money while traveling as well. When we arrived at Cherokee hospital, everyone was very welcoming. Ashley who was Kayla’s assistant, gifted us free tickets which was very generous of them. As for Kayla, Kim and Victoria, they are very busy with their jobs. They have staff to look over as well as many meetings, but they took the time out of their week to spend time and talk to us and to make sure that we had the best experience possible. The nurses at the hospital explained so much to us and wanted to help us learn. I think that this culture is able to get healthier by having their effective healthcare system that is put into place for them. The challenge now is educating them on the importance of using those resources. For future generations, they can keep their heritage by continuing to teach the ways of their past. They teach the arts and crafts in school and they have their language school. This is important because their culture is sacred, and they were the first people in this country and their story should always be shared and protected. This is a culture that I have gained so much respect for and I think that we can all learn so much from everything that has happened in history. This week, I was out of my comfort zone because I felt very vulnerable. There were some sad stories shared and that I experienced that I will always hold with me. I also heard some happy stories and learned so much about the Appalachia area and the people who live here. I have been impacted from this experience because it made me fall in love with nursing in a whole new way. I also was able to see other areas of nursing that I had not been exposed too yet and I am excited to have the experience soon of starting to apply for jobs and to see where I end up in my career. I was also reminded that everyone has a story and that it is important to always listen to those stories and that in order to be a strong team of co-workers, it is important to know how they work and what they do best at so that you can provide the best care possible. I think that sometimes in nursing it is very easy to become jaded. It is frustrating to watch someone continually drink or use drugs and put themselves in those bad situations. However, I know that addiction is very hard to overcome, and they have turned to these things because they have other problems, and this is a way that they are getting covered up. I need to remember that, and I also need to remember that I will never understand why or how someone could put a child in harm. I realized that is not my job to understand but what is my job is to take care of the children and make sure that resources and policies are available to prevent this from continuing to happen. This week, I was very touched by Kayla. I think that she is a very strong person and I was touched by her stories that she shared with us. I also plan to use her corrections to update my cover letter and am thankful that she took the time to help us edit those. I am very thankful for this opportunity that I had this week to travel and I will forever hold the memories close to my heart. I also made new friends and I am thankful for that as well.