My placement was slightly different this week. I went with the community fitness instructor to help with three classes done in the community. I was nervous as this was different to previous weeks as I was working with a new staff member I didn’t know but upon arrival she was welcoming which calmed me down. We went to head office and took a company car then proceeded to the venues. I was firstly surprised at how far away they were, the first one was around 45 minutes away into the rural parts of Stirling. I now understood the need to go to these communities as they were small villages and the travel may be hard for those without cars.
The class members were so nice and extremely grateful we had come to them to help and in particular were interested in me and what I wanted to do. They made me feel welcome. As the classes went on, I helped those who needed assistance and participated where appropriate. In the second class there was a lady who suffered from MS and her whole lower body had become so weak she couldn’t walk without sticks… I found this hard to manage as I hadn’t worked with someone like this before. I was worried about offering too much help and patronising her but also didn’t want her to think I wasn’t offering my help. She managed well and knew her own limits which helped but I still found that a challenging part of my day. I found that although she suffered the worst out of the class she also tried the hardest and kept going when others didn’t which was lovely to see. We helped her to her car after class and I found it fascinating she even drove. She had a hand control for her pedals, without this I imagine the lady would have been very isolated. The third class were more able and the class was bigger so I helped lead this one as I had shadowed the previous two. I found this easy and surprised myself at how I just jumped into it.
On our way back to Stirling I managed to chat to the staff member about her work, she gave me good advice as I had an interview on Friday for a similar post which helped me prepare.
Glad to hear that you’ve learned a lot and that you help has been appreciated- Sara
That’s good you have done stuff that has put you out of your comfort zone cause you will feel more confident in the future. Hope your interview went well. – Kim