Pre-Med Junior Fieldwork Reflection Writing:  

 
Name: 
Aubrey Duke 
 
A/B Day:  
A Day 
 
Advisory Teacher:  
Vinson 
 
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?  
I know that it is a senior residency home that makes sure that the residents are cared for 
and happy, with all of their needs taken care of.  
 
2. If you are visiting a specific department within the agency, what is that department's 
primary focus?  
 
We, as Windsor High School Students in the Pre-Med core, are focusing on a program 
offered by this senior residency home. The program is where we are working with 
residents, letting them listen to music of their time, and it helps bring back their memories 
and they can verbally tell us the memories and thoughts the music creates in their minds.  
 
3. What is the public health function the organization/agency addresses?  
(Assessment, Policy Development, Assurance) 
They care for these senior residents who cannot care for themselves because of health 
problems relating to age.  
 
 4. What preconceived ideas (personal bias) do you have about the location you will be 
visiting? 
 
I don’t really have any considering I don’t know too much about the organization before 
attending.  
  
 
 
 
DURING YOUR VISIT - OBSERVATION: 
Review the prompts in 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: 
- Not in my resident, but another’s, has a patient who is non-verbal, enjoys music, 
and also carries and sensory blanket and loves feeling everything around her.  
- My resident is semi verbal. She has the ability to really only answer simple 
questions. When our questions get the slightest bit of complexity, she cannot 
answer. It’s as if it’s too much for her brain to have to think about, almost as if going 
into overload or not comprehending what we are saying.  
 
 
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: I have noticed I am so happy and I smile so much more, when I am around 
the resident. It definitely boosts my happiness for the week when I go. I know that humans 
react this way when volunteering. I’m not too sure of the research behind it, but I know it 
boosts a human beings happiness interacting with other human beings and helping them.  
 
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: N/A (We work with the senior residents 99% of the time we are there, we 
don’t really associate too much with those who are working because we are getting to 
know the resident we were assigned.) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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: One big thing I ended up having to learn, was that you have to be more 
patient with the residents than with children. Some hard of hearing, others speak softly, 
some have both, which makes patience essential in all situations when interacting with 
the residents.  
 
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: This experience has been spread out over months of monthly one hour 
visits. Almost every time we have gone, me and my partner end up getting assigned a 
new resident, which in the beginning we saw as a downside, but by the end, enjoyed 
getting to know some of the different residents, instead of just one. I was super excited 
to attend and enjoyed attending every single time. This experience has definitely 
exceeded my expectations on many levels. It is so sweet having the opportunity to 
work with the dementia residents at Healdsburg Senior Living. It was truly so, so 
enjoyable.  
 
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 music program, while we do not use the music every time because of 
different personalities in residents, whether they are verbal or not, amongst other 
circumstances, it was still amazing to see the effect on the resident’s happiness, when 
it came to working with us. I saw multiple times how much the residents rely on their 
caretakers to help remind them of things.