For Those that think we don't do anything at work.
Here's a list of the typical day in a CNA's worklife. This isn't including emergencies and other things that may arise.
Nursing assistants work closely with patients and provide assistance with daily living tasks, such as:
* Dressing (according to patients' needs, ranging from minimal assistance to totally dependent)
* Bathing (bed baths, tub baths, showers)
* Feeding (serving meals, physically feeding patients who are unable to do so themselves)
* Toileting (assisting with bedpans & urinals, help to the bathroom, provide incontinent care for patients who need it)
* Vital signs (Blood pressure, pulse, etc)
* Catheter care (emptying, upkeep of Intake & Output sheets when neccessary)
* Answering call lights in a timely fashion
* Assist patients with ambulation, when needed
* Range of Motion Exercises, as prescribed by physical therapy
* Assist residents in wheelchairs (a lot of heavy lifting at times)
* Making beds and keeping the patients' rooms and belongings neat and organized
* Ensuring that bedridden patients are turned at least every two hours, to ensure comfort and to prevent bedsores
* Report all changes, physical and mental, of the patients to the nurse
* Post Mortem Care
* Safety awareness--keeping an eye on wanderers and watching for potentially dangerous situations
* Documentation--daily documentation on the care provided to each patient
* Anything else that needs to be done!
A nursing assistant's job does not end with the physical needs of the patients. This is a job which requires compassion and a desire to make people comfortable and happy. I have worked in nursing homes for almost six years, and although this job can be physically challenging at times, it can be just as difficult, mentally. Residents of nursing homes often suffer from depression and/or dementia, and the nursing assistant is often the closest human contact afforded to many of these people. A sense of humor helps in this field! (At work, we half jokingly say, "If we didn't laugh, we'd cry!")
I have met many interesting people and heard many interesting stories. I have laughed with my patients and I have cried. I have been there when a person took their last breath, and fought back the tears as I remembered them in happier, healthier days. I have seen souls make peace with God and past hurts, while others left this world determined to hold on to their anger and bitterness. This job has taught me a lot about myself and the world around me. However, I will be honest, although I love my job...at times it is not easy. Yet it is the most rewarding job that I have ever had.
Hidden Treasure
by Bobbette Bergen, RN, ADON
Why, in the spring of your life
Would you choose a work so unlikely?
Jobs less demanding--more pleasant by far
to the mind, the back and the senses
Are plentiful here in our urbane town
Where opportunities and choices surround.
To an onlooker--the grueling tasks, hectic pace, and abuses
Are unpleasant, defy logic. "Why would you do this?"
To an insider--the odors, struggles, seemingly thankless duties
Are a way of life, a job description.
But in caring for each resident, beyond the myriad little tasks,
Sickness and sorrows and losses confound.
I've seen you with bite marks and bruises from kicking,
Sent you for tetanus when skin was broken.
Observed your kindness to families wrought with guilt,
Watched and felt anguish and pride in repsonses
That kept on giving and caring, even in the backlash of
Cursing or crying or yelling or dying.
Like cream that rises to the top,
Your energy, youthful and strong, rebounds and excels all around.
When your laughter explodes at a humorous phrase,
Your eyes see and ears hear not what was said, but intended.
As though veiled, the real goal of your work is hidden.
Rewards not measured by monetary standards or others' esteem
Are realized in your recognition of the work you do.
Sharing yourselves in a caring way at the end of life's journey
With remarkable people whose lives are now obscured by infirmity.
Obvious? No, the treasure is hidden,
And you have discovered the treasure.
But to those of us who know the work that you do,
You are the treasure.
Nursing assistants work closely with patients and provide assistance with daily living tasks, such as:
* Dressing (according to patients' needs, ranging from minimal assistance to totally dependent)
* Bathing (bed baths, tub baths, showers)
* Feeding (serving meals, physically feeding patients who are unable to do so themselves)
* Toileting (assisting with bedpans & urinals, help to the bathroom, provide incontinent care for patients who need it)
* Vital signs (Blood pressure, pulse, etc)
* Catheter care (emptying, upkeep of Intake & Output sheets when neccessary)
* Answering call lights in a timely fashion
* Assist patients with ambulation, when needed
* Range of Motion Exercises, as prescribed by physical therapy
* Assist residents in wheelchairs (a lot of heavy lifting at times)
* Making beds and keeping the patients' rooms and belongings neat and organized
* Ensuring that bedridden patients are turned at least every two hours, to ensure comfort and to prevent bedsores
* Report all changes, physical and mental, of the patients to the nurse
* Post Mortem Care
* Safety awareness--keeping an eye on wanderers and watching for potentially dangerous situations
* Documentation--daily documentation on the care provided to each patient
* Anything else that needs to be done!
A nursing assistant's job does not end with the physical needs of the patients. This is a job which requires compassion and a desire to make people comfortable and happy. I have worked in nursing homes for almost six years, and although this job can be physically challenging at times, it can be just as difficult, mentally. Residents of nursing homes often suffer from depression and/or dementia, and the nursing assistant is often the closest human contact afforded to many of these people. A sense of humor helps in this field! (At work, we half jokingly say, "If we didn't laugh, we'd cry!")
I have met many interesting people and heard many interesting stories. I have laughed with my patients and I have cried. I have been there when a person took their last breath, and fought back the tears as I remembered them in happier, healthier days. I have seen souls make peace with God and past hurts, while others left this world determined to hold on to their anger and bitterness. This job has taught me a lot about myself and the world around me. However, I will be honest, although I love my job...at times it is not easy. Yet it is the most rewarding job that I have ever had.
Hidden Treasure
by Bobbette Bergen, RN, ADON
Why, in the spring of your life
Would you choose a work so unlikely?
Jobs less demanding--more pleasant by far
to the mind, the back and the senses
Are plentiful here in our urbane town
Where opportunities and choices surround.
To an onlooker--the grueling tasks, hectic pace, and abuses
Are unpleasant, defy logic. "Why would you do this?"
To an insider--the odors, struggles, seemingly thankless duties
Are a way of life, a job description.
But in caring for each resident, beyond the myriad little tasks,
Sickness and sorrows and losses confound.
I've seen you with bite marks and bruises from kicking,
Sent you for tetanus when skin was broken.
Observed your kindness to families wrought with guilt,
Watched and felt anguish and pride in repsonses
That kept on giving and caring, even in the backlash of
Cursing or crying or yelling or dying.
Like cream that rises to the top,
Your energy, youthful and strong, rebounds and excels all around.
When your laughter explodes at a humorous phrase,
Your eyes see and ears hear not what was said, but intended.
As though veiled, the real goal of your work is hidden.
Rewards not measured by monetary standards or others' esteem
Are realized in your recognition of the work you do.
Sharing yourselves in a caring way at the end of life's journey
With remarkable people whose lives are now obscured by infirmity.
Obvious? No, the treasure is hidden,
And you have discovered the treasure.
But to those of us who know the work that you do,
You are the treasure.