My volunteer days at Atria was mainly Monday and Tuesday, but there were a few times were I went during other days mainly in spring break where I got to volunteer multiple times. When I volunteered at Atria my job was to help a few of the residents achieve there goals such as gaining the strength to get up out of there wheelchair and start walking. Most of the residents I walked shared the same goal, to start walking again so they could go home.The regular resident that I walked every time I volunteered was Katherine King. Katherine's primary goal was to be able to start walking again. Her determination and focus taught me that, with hard work and determination you can achieve your goals. Another job I had was to lead an exercise class in the afternoon. In these exercise classes we focused on stamina. We did many arms and leg exercises that made us break a sweat. For example we did shadow boxing with a combination of a few exercises like arm circles and holding our arms up for 1 hour. The residents in my classes made the whole experience fun with all the jokes they told while we were exercising. The vibe in the class was always good. After the exercise class I would walk any residents that would want to walk which was mainly Katherine. It is a surprise that she still wants to exercise after the workout, however I still love and appreciate her determination, and that goes to all the other residents too.
During my volunteering I was faced with a few tough obstacles. For instance, on Mondays, all I did was walk a few of the residents. But, some of the residents aren't as mentally or physically tough as other residents so encouraging them and being patient was key. Another challenge that I encountered was adjustments, whether it was walking residents or teaching the exercise class. Sometimes residents who walk with go through a setback and be much more weak than the last time you walk them. Or everybody's speed in the exercise class is at different paces, so finding a balance for both is difficult. Another challenge I encountered was learning how to keep everybody on the same page. In my exercise classes a few people could hear better than others which could lead residents to get confused. There are also residents who have trouble with certain exercises so having them do it properly while teaching the class is also difficult. Although many of these challenges were very difficult, I made it all work out for everybody. I overcame a few of the challenges by being patient and encouraging them to reach there goals. I overcame the rest of the challenges by having me and all the residents slow down and to compromise with each other to get everybody positive results as work out. My communication skills and my equal positive thinking helped made these challenges easy to overcome.
Atria provided me with positive gains with communication and experience. As I taught the exercise classes and walked a few of the residents the challenges that I encountered helped me gain knowledge that could help me with physical therapy and life. For instance being patient and encouragement plays a huge role in the physical therapy field. Another example is hard work and determination can get anywhere you want and help you achieve your goals. I learned this from all the residents especially Katherine King.The jobs I had to do wasn't the only thing that gave me lessons, but also the residents who I walked helped me and gave me advice for the present and the future. So as the residents were gaining strength and encouragement to start walking again, I gained knowledge not just in physical therapy, but also knowledge that I could apply to other future careers that I could be interested in and life. So with all the time I spent in Atria I gained knowledge and advice that will definitely help me succeed in the future.
