Jessica Giblin is a senior in nursing school at the University of Arkansas. She joined Dr. Weymiller’s service learning course in spring 2018. Please read below here reflections for the […]
Jessica Giblin is a senior in nursing school at the University of Arkansas. She joined Dr. Weymiller’s service learning course in spring 2018. Please read below here reflections for the class.
Music and memory was such a rewarding experience for me. I was with a dementia resident that is on hospice. He wasn’t eating much and was losing sleep. I think he has been depressed. He really enjoyed the music playlist that I made for him. He especially enjoyed Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline. He loves the old western music. He would dance and move around to the music. It would put a smile on his face and he would tell me all kinds of stories about his life. I was about to leave after performing the intervention and told him to “have a great day” and he responded with “I already just did. You made my day. Thank you.”
It was so nice to hear that just my 30-minute music visits were making such a big impact on him! I loved doing music and memory with him. It seemed to lift hi spirits and that was the goal! I added a resident week 5 or 6 and he would sing along to Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline and was always happy to listen to the music with me. He had a big smile on his face and offered to listen to music with me every day. He was such a fun resident to be able to implement this intervention on. It brightened his day!
Overall, I am so glad that I got to participate in this amazing music and memory program. It taught me so much about the power of music and how important it is to bring light and happiness to people living in the VA Home.