Lessons learned from classmates and patients

I am enjoying my class this week with Teaching Strategies.  Usually I am a very creative person but my classmates have come up with a couple that I never even thought of.  One was using a snowflake analogy in which students are different but the same.  The other that I like is using fabric to bring back memories and what that piece of fabric reminds them of something from their past.  Sometimes I teach the senior class the last term of the program and I like to make it personal and reflective.  The biggest thing I came up with is having the students do a "Thank-you" T-shirt or hat for the patient they are caring for that last term.  I have them decorate it with ribbon, applique, fabric paint and buttons.  They also have to write a thankyou note saying thankyou to the patient for letting them (the student) for learning about nursing and caring for them.  I have had many students come back to me and say how much the patients truly loved their shirt or hat.  One student told me that her patient was one that never smiled the whole time she took care of him.  He was always short and seemed unappreciative.  The day she gave him a hat decorated with his favorite hobby, fishing, he grabbed her hand and had tears in his eyes as he thanked her for being there for him.  Every person, whether healthcare provider or visitor, he proudly showed off his hat and smiled frequently that day.  The student told me this, and as she did, she had tears in her eyes and said that for the first time in the 14 months of the program, she now understood the meaning of caring for someone.  I think we forget to thank our patients because we are too busy learning from them.  It is nice to thank them for teaching us.