I have recently been on work experience placement at Ampthill Life Long Learning Centre for four weeks. I was very excited about starting my placement, however I was very anxious about the people you support not accepting me and allowing me to support them with their life learning skills.
On my first day at placement, I spent a lot of time observing the activities that were taking place and the attitudes of people towards the activity they were participating in. I then realised there wasn’t anything happening that I would struggle to assist with so I decided to take the plunge and get stuck in.
I chose to interact with one particular man who appeared calm and collected, focused on the activity he had chosen to do: he was in a quiet room. I started to play with the item he was playing with, but my interactions with the man didn’t quite go to plan as my hand was taken by him and he led away from his space.
This was his way of making me understand my presence wasn’t appreciated!
My reflection upon this situation made me understand that there was a communication issue on my behalf. My approach may have made the man feel quite vulnerable, although at the time I deemed it to be appropriate. I took a step back and approached the staff and my mentor about the situation and asked how I could improve on my communication skills to move forward.
I was presented with a policy to read called ‘Great Interactions’. This document was my answer and provided me with valuable knowledge on how people prefer to be interacted with and various skills to use to help assist the outcomes of the interaction.
In my second week of practice, I was implementing some of these skills into my approach and from that day on I have been successful in having great interactions with the same man and many of the other people supported within the centre. This for me was a fantastic achievement and I felt trusted by each person.
I have had a fantastic time at MacIntyre Life Long Learning Centre. The skills and knowledge I have gained are phenomenal within such a short period. To start with I couldn’t interact effectively with people who use the centre at all, but now I have built really good professional relationships.
I feel MacIntyre has given me strong foundations to strive towards a successful career as a Learning Disability Nurse.
Thank you for supporting me.
Sarah Monk
Student Nurse on placement at Ampthill