Update on Progress and photos!

Hey guys. I'm now in the middle of my fourth week on placement and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Here is an update on my progress and some pictures of my placement area, plus one from my recent visit to Copenhagen.

 After quickly finding my feet at the sheltered residence with the help of my mentor, I made up action plans to clearly identify how to meet my objectives. I'm working closely with two residents with whom I have developed really good relationships with. Usually I meet daily with these residents and along informal discussions, I help provide support with their problems, help in the management of their medication and encourage them with recovery focused activities. I have also been spending time with a few of the residents who cannot speak much English, one of which has had recent periods of being quite unwell. On discussions with my mentor this provides me with interesting reflections on my therapeutic use of non-verbal communication. I feel I get a lot out of my reflection sessions with my mentor, whereby she is helping me look into specific situations in detail with the aim to argue an evidence base for my actions. I've also been having structured Danish lessons from a resident whose actual first language isn't even Danish. Although my progress is quite slow, this provides the resident with a strong focus on one of their many resources and is lots of fun.

One thing I've found interesting here is that although there is only one nurse working in the sheltered residence (my mentor) there is actually much of what would be traditionally coined "nursing work" to be done. This is shared out between other professionals working at the residence, which blurs the line between different disciplines somewhat. For example, whereas usually in Scotland only registered nurses can dispense and administer medications, here at the residence this is done by mostly everyone, including social workers and nursing assistants. There are also a different group of professionals working at the residence, entitled 'Paedagogs'. These are professionals who primarily focus on behavioral development and although most work with children and adolescents, many also apply this knowledge and work with adults experiencing mental health problems.

Another interesting difference Ive found, is that here at the residence, and from what Ive seen and heard in Denmark so far, there is a lot less emphasis on structured tools for the use of assessment. Although written care plans are made and evaluated on average every three months, there is little or no use of tools which formally assess the needs of residents or focus on issues such as risk for example. All this information is still collected, however this is done on an informal basis through discussions with residents and other staff members. On discussion with my mentor, this is something which is set to change in the coming years so that more formal paperwork is used. Although the current situation does increase the chance of some information being missed, or interpreted less objectively, there is a lot less paperwork to be done which provides more time for other activities, including a lot more patient contact.

On the whole there is a great feeling to the place and I feel my mentor and other staff provide an invaluable service in supporting the rehabilitation of residents. All the residents seem to thoroughly enjoy living here and are provided with a safe and supportive enviroment which helps to faciliate their recovery.

 Here are some photos.

The residence. View from the garden.

Kitchen and dining are at the residence.

Lounge area at the residence, with rooms above.

Copenhagen Harbour- from my recent visit.