Visit 1 Journal Entry
Description of work
I arrived at Randi’s house on February 1 at 1:15 pm. Upon arriving she was busy with laundry and cleaning her house. After discussing the assignment I felt strange sitting at her table while she was doing her dishes so I helped her load her dishwasher while we talked. I think that this helped to break the ice and allowed us to bond.
I found it hard to remember all of the questions from the Mini Mental Assessment and Geriatric depression scale, so as we worked we talked about her children, family and her new boyfriend. She was married for over 30 years and divorced her husband. During this time she was depressed and often wondered why she was moving on every day. Her son stepped in and made her go online to a dating website specifically designed for older adults. That is where she met her new boyfriend. They have very similar stories and they have been dating for over a year at this point.
After the dishes we done and the kitchen was clean we sat on the couch to do the assessment. Randi answered the questions with ease and appeared happy, laughing often and taking time to ponder the questions so that I could have the most accurate assessment of her.
There were no challenges during this visit, Randi was easy to talk to, laughed and was open with events in her life and openly shared stories of her children, marriage, divorce and her life as she is aging.
Synthesis of visit
From t his visit I learned that talking with her about her day and life was easier than I thought. I tried to start out with the assessment questions but I felt like I was intruding on her and her cleaning.
When I started to help her and stopped worrying about the assignment she was very open to talk to me and when I did start to ask the questions she was honest and forthcoming. I don’t know if I would have gotten the same information if I would have gone in and just followed my agenda and not helped or talked about her interests.
Concepts in this class tie with this visit because I was able to assess her situation, I could see that she is high functioning, she does not require help around her house, although she is happy now she did say that she has been depressed in the past. In the future I plan to talk to her about ways to avoid and deal with depression in the future. The readings that we have done allowed me to view her situation from a provider’s point of view rather than a friend. I think I was able to understand her situation and feelings better than I would have if I had not taken the class or completed the readings.
I need to work on my time management. I only allowed myself a set amount of time for the visit and I felt rushed trying to get all the information needed. In the future I will plan the visit so that I do not have to leave the conversation feeling like it wasn’t finished. I also need to practice my communication skills. There were times in the conversation that I didn’t know what to say or how to lead into another subject and it felt like I was forcing the conversation.
I would like to know more about her divorce, how long it has been since she was divorced and how she handled her depression. What steps she took, if she saw a health care provider or tried to deal with it on her own.
Plan of Action
Visit #1
Visit with Randi on February 1, 2012 from 1:15-3:00pm
Randi is a Caucasian female who completed her formal high school education but did not go to college as she stayed home to raise her six children. She did open her own daycare after her children were grown and took childcare related classes that were offered in the community.
When performing the Mini Mental Status exam Randi was able to answer all questions correctly and without hesitation.
The Geriatric Depression Scale:
Are you basically satisfied with your life? Yes
Have you dropped many of your activities and interests? No
Do you feel your life is empty? No
Do you often get bored? No
Are you in good spirits most of the time? Yes
Are you afraid that something bad is going to happen to you? No
Do you feel happy most of the time? Yes
Do you often feel helpless? No
Do you prefer to stay home and night, rather than go out and do new things? No
Do you feel that you have more problems with memory than most? No
Do you think it is wonderful to be alive now? Yes
Do you feel pretty worthless the way you are now? No
Do you feel full of energy? Yes
Do you feel your situation is hopeless? No
Do you think that most people are better off than you are? No
Randi has maintained high level of activity and regularly attends community activities. The plan that we decided on together to maintain her cognitive function, maintain her happy disposition and avoid depression is as follows:
Continue to be physically active by walking daily with her social group, riding her bike and hiking with her significant other and to continue to attend social events and outings with friends, family and grandchildren.
Engage in mind stimulating games such as scrabble, cross word puzzles, trivia and other word games. Randi also likes to learn new information and concluded that she will read about a new subject or watch an educational show at least once weekly.
Randi has never ridden the train or utilized it as a means of transportation. She has decided that she wants to gather all the needed information to take a short train ride to Salt Lake with her significant other and spend the day exploring the area.
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