Pre-Med Junior Fieldwork Reflection Writing:  

 
Name​: 
Paxton Boyce 
 
A/B Day:  
B day 
 
Advisory Teacher:  
Mrs. Rohan 
 
Fieldwork Location:  
Healdsburg Senior living 
 
 
PREPARING FOR YOUR VISIT:  
Complete this section ​before​ you go on your fieldwork trip. If you do not know about the 
organization, please research and include your research findings below. 
 
 
1. What do you know of the location you will be visiting? What services does the 
organization provide?  
It is a nursing home with a specialty of dementia patients and those who struggle with 
memory. The organization provides real life involvement for patients, 24/7 care, full 
healthy meals, activities throughout the day, and dementia treatment free of expensive 
meds. 
 
2. If you are visiting a specific department within the agency, what is that department's 
primary focus?  
 
The department’s primary focus is dementia and memory loss treatment and 
rehabilitation. 
 
3. What is the public health function the organization/agency addresses?  
(Assessment, Policy Development, Assurance) 
Serve and care for the elderly when their family can’t/won’t. 
 
 4. What preconceived ideas (personal bias) do you have about the location you will be 
visiting? 
 
That all residents will be very scornful of youth culture and dress. 
  
 
 
 
​ URING YOUR VISIT - OBSERVATION: 
D
Review the prompts i​ n advance​ and take a small notebook on your fieldwork visit. You should 
be taking notes on each of these topics so you will be able to add your observations ​after you 
return.  
Close Read your Surroundings:  
Observe the physical space and "read" them as if close reading a text. Pay attention to: 
● sensory details 
● signs posted 
● languages you hear 
● colors of the offices and uniforms.  
● does the location have a certain smell? 
● what sounds do you hear?  
Observations: Smelled like a hospital, everyone spoke english and were very polite, lots 
of room numbers, scrubs on all nurses (mostly hues of blue), and no floors were carpet. 
 
 
Observe your Emotional Response: ​Take notice of your reactions (emotional and physical) 
to different things and reflect on why you might be reacting this way.  
 
Observations:My reaction was very unnerving, as I felt like I was talking to a stranger who 
talked about very personal matters, alongside a heartwarming feeling as they seemed so 
happy to see us. 
 
Ask questions of the person you’re shadowing and/or the industry people you encounter:  
- general questions of interest 
- relating to your potential career choices 
- public health-related issues and challenges they see as important to consider.  
 
Record your questions and answers here. 
 
Observations: I wanted to know more about his taste in music and his wife and his past. 
Also what his job was and how he liked it. Lastly, how it feels to have to put up with 
 demetia. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Summary Reflection   
After your return from your fieldwork experience address each prompt below to capture your 
thoughts on your experience.  
 
Reflect on specific highlights or observations from the day. What was a lesson (big or small) 
you took away from your experience? Consider lessons that presented themselves in both 
positive and negative ways.  
Reflection: The big lesson was to listen to what the elderly have to say, as you’d be 
surprised how helpful and wise some of their advice is. Another lesson was that it's 
important to live your life to the fullest, as it’s the only one you’ll ever live. 
 
How did the experience meet, exceed, or fall short of your expectations? Explain and 
include specific details from your fieldwork notes to help support your answer 
Reflection: The experience exceeded my expectations, as I expected the elders to not 
want to talk to us, yet they were extremely interested in everything we had to talk 
about. For example, usually the elderly scorn youth culture, but our patient loved to 
ask questions about the brands we wore and what dances and dating is like nowadays. 
 
What connection can be made between what you ​saw​ on your fieldwork experience and 
the functions of Public Health?  
Some suggestions 
- the role of public health within this career path 
- public health needs or challenges within the field you observed 
- thoughts on how to address these needs 
 
Reflection: This visit thoroughly illustrated how helpful and nice places that are 
privately owned can be while also putting into perspective the lower cost of 
government owned companies. At the end of the day, it seems to be a choice 
between efficiency or affordability.