Kathryn Zell January 24, 2021 Journal #1 1/19-1/22

During my first week as a virtual intern for the Middle Georgia Chapter of the

Alzheimer’s Association, I started my volunteer orientation. On day 1 (January 19th), I was not

allowed to start interning yet because the internship contract between the organization and the

school had to be redone. Mrs. Hollie Smith is aware of this, so I have 8 hours to make up over

the internship period. The next two days (January 20th and 21st), I was able to enter the volunteer

portal and begin watching the volunteer training videos in their resource library. I covered topics

that will be needed by both community educator roles and support group leader roles as well. My

site supervisor asked me to watch these videos and reflect on them because the weight of the

content can be hard to take in all in one day. She told me my first week would consist of

watching these training videos. These topics include learning 10 warning signs of dementia, how

to have dementia conversations with someone who may have it, and also how to effectively

communicate with someone with dementia. In addition to the basics I also covered Healthy

living tips for caregivers and those without dementia to possibly prevent developing Alzheimer’s

themselves. After I watched basic informative videos I started on the videos about caregivers and

families learning to handle dementia patients through early, middle, and late stage Alzheimer’s

disease. While in the beginning it may not be as challenging to take on a caregiving role for

someone with Alzheimer’s disease, the degenerative nature of the disease guarantees the future

hardships that are faced by those who are responsible for care. These videos offer refreshers on

basics of caregiving and what to expect, but also how to keep yourself as a caregiver going

without potential for burnout. While watching these films it was amazing to see and hear

experiences of real people and authority figures in my organization offering advice and info

because it made it all feel so much more real. One thing I knew before coming into this

internship was that Alzheimer’s is a disease that is not commonly discussed among younger
Kathryn Zell January 24, 2021 Journal #1 1/19-1/22

people. Diseases outside of cancer or ones not related to children aren’t as commonly funded or

sought of to be worth investing in. The statistics for the rate of increases in people with

Alzheimer’s go from 5.8 million people in the United States now, to around 14 million by 2040.

This disease isn’t guaranteed to affect everyone, but it eventually kills you. The type of changes

seen in patients can be so hard on families. The cost of homecare alone and then considering

medical bills are high figures. Knowing all this information encourages me to work harder for

my organization to advocate for furthering knowledge and funding if possible. I think this first

week was a good way for me to realize the importance of what the Alzheimer’s Association does

for patients and their families, and how they are trying to make the world a better place.

Monday 1/18: Holiday

Tuesday 1/19: Unable to work due to contract issues

Wednesday 1/20: 8:30-12:00, 12:30-4:00 (7 hours)

Thursday 1/21: 8:30-12:00, 12:30-4:00 (7 hours)

Friday 1/22: Off

Weekly Hours: 14 Hours

Total Hours to date: 14 Hours