2023 Transdisciplinary Toddler Playgroup Reflection

Throughout my experience with the LEND playgroup I have developed a better sense of toddler growth and development, as well as what a nurses role looks like in comparison to an interprofessional team. I got to experience how other areas of toddler development play such a large role in how a toddler grows and as a nurse we only see them when they are sick and need care. Working with PT, OT, and speech students and staff, I got to see the areas that children struggle within outside the walls of a hospital or care facility. Working with speech I got to see the various levels of words and how important it is to be meeting the child where their speech level is. As well as with OT and PT and seeing where a 12-24 month should be with their fine motor skills and movement abilities. Throughout my time at UNE, I have been, I feel, limited experience with newborns, toddlers, and young children, we generally have our clinicals with the older population and then have one semester where we experience maternity and pediatrics. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to Barbara Bush and work closely with children within the hospital. It was the first time I got to work with children in a hospital setting. Prior my experience with children was babysitting, camp counselor, school setting, and within the school setting more therapeutic areas, but a hospital is a very different aspect. I think there is only so much as a student we can learn from inside of a book and skills labs, in comparison to in-person and hands-on learning. So, taking the knowledge I have developed in my various classes and applying it within playgroup was amazing to see and be a part of something that incorporated so many different areas of a child’s development. I personally don’t know where my nursing career will take me but through my learning and experiences at UNE and through the LEND program, I know I will be with children somewhere a long my career. Children challenge us as healthcare workers and have so much growth and development to reach, it is our job to be aid them through this time where it is needed and help them reach their potential. LEND has been an amazing program and has helped me, a future nurse, discover not only my love for childcare but the importance of the interprofessional team that goes into the care for your patients.