The day I took my hat off to the deep emotions assessed by a nursing student from a Tanabata wish strip

34 years of nursing experience
Less than 3 months working at a facility for the elderly

Nursing students are currently here for their clinical training

■ Sparkling greetings✨

The trainees are energetic and polite!

"Good morning! I look forward to working with you again today!"

Just seeing them trying their best while nervous cleanses my heart

I reply with a smile, louder than anyone else,
"I look forward to working with you too!"

I have a past where my greetings were met with a click of the tongue, so I will absolutely never become that kind of person😮‍💨

■ Giving a small assist to a student in trouble

The instructor was away, and a trainee was standing there all alone

Being "at a loose end" during training is truly awkward and makes you anxious, doesn't it?

I said, "The residents are writing Tanabata wish strips right now, so why don't you help them think of some?"

I judged it to be a good opportunity for them to talk with the residents

■ "It would be a curse to wish for anything more"

What the trainee told me later:

A resident said,
"I'm always being taken care of, so it would be a curse to wish for anything more."

Instead of letting those words slide, the trainee took the emotions behind them to heart,
And furthermore...

They brilliantly assessed that "the resident might be harboring a sense of reserve or guilt about always being taken care of."

■ The "...Wow" perspective of nursing students

I was overwhelmed by their serious gaze and their straightforward way of being close to the residents

"W...Wow!!"

When you are on the front lines, you focus on "getting the work done safely" and tend to overlook the emotion of "reserve" that the elderly carry

But they had a "passion to understand the subject"

Using the Tanabata wish strips to draw out the residents' honest feelings and finding hints for nursing from that—a flexible way of thinking

They are truly excellent!

■ Trainees give us so much to learn

Trainees are the best "teachers," reminding us of important perspectives we had forgotten

I want to welcome them with a big smile again tomorrow

Good luck with your training, everyone!!✨

■ Finally (lol)

Even though I am a veteran, I am not a student instructor😅

Because... I don't have the capacity to be an instructor yet💧
I have been deemed "lacking in ability" at my current workplace🤣

But that's okay
I am enjoying the best position of being "just a kind lady" watching from afar✨

Thank you for reading until the end