Missy Reflection

Today, February 6, 2017, I was able to have another fairly typical day with Missy on the medical/surgical unit. Except for today, I began to gain even more independence with activities/play sessions and would call Missy for assistance for any education/preparation or distraction. I began the morning by checking the census/bed status list, checking the surgery list, and then creating my plan for the day, pending anyone calling the Cisco phone for assistance in procedures or for play sessions. The main patient interaction that I facilitated was with a 7-year-old female who is a long term patient on our unit. I planned and set up the activities prior to entering the playroom and decided on an art activity and a “Frozen” puzzle. The art activity involved painting with atypical materials, such as yarn, a fork, a spoon, a knife, and a toothette. The patient engaged in this activity for approximately 15-20 minutes, which is longer than average for her to engage in an activity. Reflecting back, the patient’s mother wasn’t present during this part of the play session and hadn’t been in on the unit since the previous afternoon for a meeting outside of the hospital regarding her CPS case. I wonder now if the patient needed attention and to be stimulated since she had only had contact with the CPS sitter and the medical staff for roughly 12-15 hours. Another insight that just occurred to …show more content…
I was surprised to see that half of the group were already familiar with child life. I thoroughly enjoyed Jessie’s presentation and thought that she gave a great explanation of what our role entails and when it is appropriate to consult her or any child life therapist. I thought that it was so successful and the new nursing staff appeared receptive. I wish we could give more presentations like this to new staff members to help illustrate our role and appropriate