Department of Nursing

Pilar Rd, Almanza Uno, Las Piñas, 1750 Metro Manila

Shawn Matthew Manuel NGPRO 117
BSN – 3
Reflection: First day in Elsie Gaches Village
Last April 8, 2024, was our first day in Elsie Gaches Village for our clinical exposure

focusing on patients with maladaptive patterns. At first, all of us are very nervous because we

would be handling different kinds of patients, not the usual patients we handle in the hospital,

but a patient with mental illnesses or neurological problems. We met Dr. Neil and Nurse

Dom, who oriented us about the village and toured us around. Personally, I felt happy that my

clinical skill will broaden regarding patients with neurological problems as we get exposed in

this facility, and for me to understand more the nature of their illnesses. This reflection paper

will include all the experiences that we had during the first day of our exposure in Elsie

Gaches Village.

The first day of our clinical exposure was very tiring because we went from

swimming class, attended an online class, prepared for our duty, then proceeded to Elsie

Gaches Village. Even though we are stressed with our new schedule, our nervousness is on

top because it’s our first-time handling patients with mental illnesses, or neurological

impairments, and we don’t know what we should do. Despite these challenges, all of us are

still eager to attain new knowledge and skills in this exposure in which will benefit us when

we became a nurse.

As we enter our pre-orientation phase, Dr. Neil and Nurse Dom oriented us about

Elsie Gaches Village and the patients they have. Dr. Neil also asked each one of us about our

expectations in this clinical exposure. Overall, we expect an enhancement in our skills,

specifically our therapeutic communication, and to understand more of our theoretical

knowledge regarding the illnesses of the patients in Elsie Gaches Village. Dr. Neil and nurse
 Department of Nursing
Pilar Rd, Almanza Uno, Las Piñas, 1750 Metro Manila
Dom toured us around and introduce us to the patients in different cottages. The feeling of

nervousness was set aside because of their pleasing personality when they welcomed new

people in their place. They tend to shake hands, make happy interactions, and they are taught

to do “mano” as a sign of respect to someone. Each cottage is different based on their IQ and

severity of their mental illness, as stated by nurse Dom. There are also cottages where

ambulatory patients are separated and those who are artistic or can understand easily. While

touring around the village, I learned a lot too, where I asked my questions out of curiosity and

Mr. Thiam and Mr. Christian gave us wisdom regarding psychiatric patients and how we will

be able to retain it in our minds by using acronyms.

As we ended our first day in Elsie Gaches Village, our nervousness changed, however

we still feel that it is a big adjustment for us, and it will take us a long time to adapt to this

new environment. A lot of reading should be done to be equipped with knowledge about

patients with mental illness or neurological impairments. It’s tiring but fulfilling indeed. I

hope in the upcoming days, we will enjoy more, build rapports with our patients, and attain a

lot of information about them.