Jenna Spotts 1

I Am the Fire
It was the beginning of my summer semester and we were taking mental health clinical at
a local hospital. I was excited and nervous all at the same time. My professor assigned me to a
male patient in his mid-thirties who was depressed, paranoid, and anxious. After pre-conference I
met with the patients nurse to get report. I took my belongings and went to find Parker (name has
been changed to protect patients identity) sitting in his room. I introduced myself and asked if
we could talk. Parker told me how he lost his job and felt that his boss set him up and was
tapping his phone lines. When Parker spoke to me his voice was very monotone and his facial
expressions were minimal. Parker was married, had a child, was unhappy with his job and was
thinking about switching careers.
I noticed that Parker kept looking at my med book and he asked if I could help him
understand his medications, I smiled and said of course. He walked to his room and came back
with his care plan that listed his medications. Over the next hour I helped Parker learn about his
medications including why he was taking them to side effects. Parker then asked me how I knew
I wanted to be a nurse, and so I told him my story about the very moment I knew I wanted to be a
nurse. He smiled a little and said he would like to help people. Parker then asked different ways
to help people and how to go about finding out the information necessary. I told Parker there are
many careers that allow people to help others. He was inferring to the medical field so I told him
different jobs and how to obtain the information necessary. Parker and I attended a yoga stretch
therapy and then we broke for lunch.
After lunch Parker asked if I could walk with him; it helped to calm him down. He stated
that he did this when he was at home as well. So we walked and I gave him other pointers on
ways to relieve stress and anxiety. I noticed Parker was smiling a little more than when we met in

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the morning. Parker attended art therapy that was full and I was unable to attend, so we met up
afterwards. He came out with a dinosaur that he painted for his son; he had a twinkle in his eye
and an even bigger smile on his face. While walking Parker told me that he was glad to have met
me and he was going to take my advice and try to go back to school. He also wanted to be less
stressed so he was also planning to exercise more.
By the end of the day Parker had a different bounce in his step; he was smiling and
speaking with emotion. It was a completely different person from the one I met in the morning.
Parker removed the weight from his shoulders and he was changing his life a little at a time. It
was made known to me by another student that Parker was working on being discharged and
came in talking about a student who greatly helped him find his way back into school.
This situation is memorable to me because it made me realize that I loved mental health
nursing and that not all diseases are able to be visually recognized. It made me realize again why
I wanted to be a nurse. Parker made me realize that life isnt simple; there will always be grey
areas. Life isnt about how little grey areas you have, it is how you overcome those grey areas
and move on in everyday situations. I met Parker at a difficult time in my life. He showed me
that it will be okay and that you just have to get through it in order to move on.
The liberal arts piece that reminds me of the day that I met Parker is I Am the Fire by
Halestorm. This song is about pushing yourself to be better (Hale, 2015). Its about realizing that
most times it is you yourself that is stopping you from becoming the person you want to be
(Hale, 2015). I saw that Parker had a fire in him that needed to shine bright. He was able to
overcome his fears and push forward, he was able to show the world who he really was. That is a
scary thing to overcome but he did it, he wanted to show the world he wanted to be better and
would be better. He did this for himself which is what is important. Its hard with family and

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children to continue to do things for yourself because feelings of selfishness overcome you;
however Parker persevered and overcame those feelings. He realized he needed to be better for
himself first before he could be better for his family and child. Overcoming these obstacles takes
courage and takes the realization that you are worth it and you deserve to be better (Hale, 2015).
Parker showed this by starting to smile at the end of our day, thanking me continuously for
helping him, and showing up to transitional with a smile, his hair done, dressing nicely for
himself, and setting up meetings with advisors to talk about going back to college.
According to Benner (2001) there are seven domains of nursing, the ones I will be
talking about and tying to the clinical day I spent with Parker are, the helping role: presencing,
and the teaching-coaching function. Benner (2001) states that there are many important things to
do for a patient; however it is also highly beneficial to the patient to just be with them. Patients
are scared and alone and it helps to show them that they have someone to talk to (Benner, 2001).
I spent the majority of the day with Parker being there for him and listening to all that he needed
to get off of his chest. As a nurse, it can be difficult to find the time to just be with the patient and
sometimes that can be pushed off, but the beauty of clinical is that we have minimal patients so
we have the time to build those relationships with our patients. The next domain is the teachingcoaching function; Benner (2001) states that it is of upmost importance to teach the patient and
recognize their need to learn, to teach them when they are ready to learn. Parker started to ask me
questions about medications; I was able to recognize that he was ready to learn. I sat with him
and went through all of his medications, I taught him about all of his medications from the
reasons he was taking them to side effects of the medications.

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References
Benner, P. (2001). From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing practice.
Upper Sadle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Hale, L. (2015, September 1). I am the fire, I am the one Ive been waiting for. Retrieved
November 16, 2015, from http://lzzyhaleofficial.tumblr.com/
Hale, E., Stevens, S., & Hottinger, J. (2015, September 1). Halestorm Lyrics I Am the Fire.
Retrieved November 16, 2015, from http://www.metrolyrics.com/i-am-the-fire-lyricshalestorm.html

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Appendix A
I am the Fire by Halestorm
Am I brave enough?
Am I strong enough?
To follow the desire
That burns from within
To push away my fear
To stand where Im afraid
I am through with this
Cuz I am more than this
I promise to myself
Alone and no one else
My flame is rising higher
I am the fire
I am burning brighter
Roaring like a storm
And I am the one Ive been waiting for
Screaming like a siren
Alive and burning brighter
I am the fire
Ive been sacrificed
My Hearts been cauterized

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Hanging on to hope
Shackled by the ghost
Of what I once believed
That I could never be
Whats right in front of me?
I am the fire
I am burning brighter
Roaring like a storm
And I am the one Ive been waiting for
Screaming like a siren
Alive and burning brighter
I am the fire
I dont believe Ill fall from grace
Wont let the past decide my fate
Leave forgiveness in my wake
Take the love that Ive embraced
I promise to myself, me and no one else
I am more than this
I am the fire