Personal Narrative: HELP Elder Life Program

I remember the question from my kindergarten class like it was yesterday, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Of course at the time, I wanted to be a princess, vet, rock star, teacher, or doctor. I’d stand up, proud with a smile on my face, and rattle off the list. Looking back on that moment in time, I would’ve never guessed what my dream was going to be. I was always the kid looking to help others, go the extra mile, make adjustments, and put a smile on your face. I fell in love with biology and how the body worked, but I never made any sense of what direction I would be heading, until my sophomore year of college. I was an intern at UMPC Hospital’s, HELP Elder Life Program. I went around during meal times and helped patients open food containers, orient them, get them anything they needed, and then after their meal, if they were feeling up to it, we’d chat for a few minutes. I’d get to take away a lot of wisdom by the end of day. HELP has an Active Range Of Motion Program, I get certified to go around and do simple exercises with my patients. I didn’t realize at the time how much of an impact I was making on the patients or the impact they were having on me. I found myself modifying exercises, setting goals for the patients to achieve the next time I saw them, figuring out ways to get them engaged and more into the simple exercises, I found myself being their biggest fan and cheerleader. It wasn’t until one of my patients was taking their exit exam, to get discharged, did I realize how much my one on one interaction helped them achieve …show more content…
To be apart of their growth, celebrate the achievements and motivate them throughout the obstacles. I choose occupational therapy because I can see first hand results within my efforts to make a beneficial impact on the