Hey are there any CNA (Certified Nurses Aides) on here?

[mypy]

Hey are there any CNA (Certified Nurses Aides) on here? If so do you have any tips for a newbie?

One of the nursing homes near my home is offering CNA training. The Home pays for it all. I've never done anything like this before but my mom use to and she told me stories about it. The home allows me to work there whenever I'm not in class. I worked my first shift last weekend. I like it alot. I didn't think I would but I did. I'm hoping I can stay on there after I get certified. So if any of you have any advice for me I would be truely greatful.

To be honest those poelpe scare me a little. They look so small and weak. I spent most of my shift scared I'd break one of them but I was the one with the bruises. We have rear end pinchers there.
Any way thank if you can help.

 

[smkie]

I can honestly say i am proud of you for trying to do this. I learned a great deal about life, myself, and the elderly in my one year that i worked this phsyically hard, mentally challanging and emotionally confusing job for little pay. Doing back pushups will help you with your lifting strength. STand with your back to the kithen counter..Step out a little until you are at a lean, lift your body weight, as in a reverse pushup. THat will help you develop strength where most women are shy of. Good Luck!

 

[mypy]

Thanks! My arms are still sore after one shift. If everything goes as planned My testing will be around the first of March

 

[bubbatd]

Dealing with people who are old , dirty , " crazy " etc is a calling . I could deal with it therapy visits , but could never full time time . Granted this was when I was an adult .... maybe at your age you can handle it ..... but your family comes first .

 

[smkie]

I never had a job that made me sad, mad, happy, or laugh so much. Pretty soon you don't see the illness, you see the people. THey become your friends, your "people". AT lesat that is what happened to me.

 

[Barb04]

Don't have experience in this field, but I wish you all the best.

 

[nancy2394]

Okay, I have done that work and let me be the first to say it's hard work and you have to have compassion for the elderly to be able to do it. And don't let their frail look fool you. I've had the crap beat out of me by a 108 year old woman before. They seem to muster up a wad of energy when they want to.

Some people that do that line of work don't care about the people and it shows in the care they give. If you decide to do it..... just treat them like you'd want your grandparents treated if they were in a nursing home. A lot of them don't have families that come see them and you become their family.

You do have to be careful of their skin... and watch out for potential dangers of them falling and breaking a hip or hurting themselves. They deserve to be clean and have clean bottoms. You'd be surprised how many places short staff their nursing homes and these poor patients sit in their excrement for hours and it tears their bottoms up.

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them. I did cna work for several years before I became a nurse. I wished all nurses were forced to do that because some nurses feel they are above that kind of work and would just assume let a patient sit in their mess and wait for the cna to clean it up rather than doing it themselves.

I could tell you so many stories when I worked in a nursing home... most of them funny, some aggrivating...etc... I will always remember that spunky little 108 year old named ethel. She was one of a kind...lol.

 

[joce]

I'm glad I'm not the only one beat up by one of the over 100 crowd:lol-sign:

First thing is learn how to lift! Save your back. So many people pull something bad once and it can haunt you the rest of your life. Usually lifting is part of your training but if not have someone show you how to bend etc.

A lot of people burn out quickly working with the elderly so if you feel yourself getting upset pull back a little and take a break. There will be some people you just wont want to deal with weather it be because they don't like you (and there often isn't a reason for this other than you remind them of someone they don't like) or because they are just that personality that gets to you. This isn't wrong-realize it and know when to ask for help.

A lot of nursing homes are great but I know people who have worked at some horrible ones. If you see something wrong report it. there often isn't family around to keep the elderly safe and it can be so sad. I have seen the worse bed sores on people coming into the hospital that the nursing home hadn't even noted

As a aide you will be run ragged and expected to do everything But learn to put that smile on because it isn't the person your assistings fault.

the one thing with nursing homes they are usually good about is if someone has Alzheimers and they ask about their dead husband please don't tell them he died and make them live through that again. We have had patients who were so far gone they were never going to be reoriented to the present and when they asked if there husband or child was coming over someone would tell them no they died and they really do relive the loss every time you tell them just to forget it again. Its not something they teach the techs at the hospital and I think being an aide at a home first should almost be a requirement!

And listen to the people you work with. Some of the older nurses are full of things they never teach you in school. there are great tricks for distracting them from a wound site or trying to keep them in bed etc. I'll never forget one old time lpn telling me she had had many families say if they were not embarrassed of there elderly male family member exposing himself they would visit more or longer- so she would throw on a depends if they said when they were coming or if it became a problem. its just little things like that familys are often embarrassed to tell you. It doesn't always speak well for the family but a spray of air freshener will even keep some in longer. Sometimes you even need to help start conversation just with something like so and so did this today, or you really enjoy talking about such right? Family's will feel bad for not coming and not know what to say,of be so shocked in their condition they are taken back. Let them know its ok to touch and talk even if they are past the point of really responding how the family would like.

And good luck!

 

[smkie]

lol i had one woman that was 103. WE were taking in a new patient and this woman said"i went to highschool with her and i am way better looking now then she is". When i put her to bed i would take off her wig, her jewerly, put her teeth away, her clothes, help her in a gown, she couldn't have weighed 60 lbs dripping wet. SHe would pat me on the back as i laid her gentle as an egg into her bed. One thing i know for a fact DO NOT EVER DISMISS a complaint by a resident or a patient. No matter how extreme until you have checked it out to the fullest extent. One man that had cp told me that he had to void his bladder. I said but you have a catheter in. He said i really have to go it hurts. I told the charge nurse and she told me to bug off (not in those words but the same meaning believe me)...i was so upset i ended up stomping my feet in front of the nurse's desk. BEgging them to take a look. ENded up he had bladder stones. SO do your best baby. Listen with your heart as well as your ears. THose wiill be your people now, just like your own family. AND do good mouth care. I swear mouth care gets blown off by so many of the aids i worked with. Do not lose your temper, there is a chain of command and that must be followed. Double check everything you do, it only takes a second before you leave the room. Double check your call lights too. DO NOT LIFT incorrectly.

 

[bubbatd]

Also , many may be old but sharp as a tack !! My Mom at 94 hated to be treated as a child !!

 

[mypy]

. One man that had cp.....QUOTE]

Whats that?

 

[mypy]

I worked my second shift there to day. The more I work there the more I find out that half of the stuff we learn in class isn't used on the floor. We were told that you use a gait belt when ever you move anyone. 2 shifts and haven't seen one belt. The people I work with do a good job for the most part
I already have some tircks to get some of these poeple to do whats needed. Take one of my ladies, The first night I was there it took four of us to get her up from Dinner. Well later, I started to hum to myself while i was walking down the hall and my lady followed As long as I hummed she would go anywhere with me or do anything for me. The rest of the staff found out so now I always have her no mater what hall I'm on. Apparntly she was a realbad fighter. Her favorite songs is Winnie the pooh and Delta Dawn. She doesn't like you to sing the words though.
Going to hate the hours though. Next weekend they have me leaving work at 11pm on Sat and back the next morning at 7.

 

[mypy]

I worked my second shift there to day. The more I work there the more I find out that half of the stuff we learn in class isn't used on the floor. We were told that you use a gait belt when ever you move anyone. 2 shifts and haven't seen one belt.I asked some of the staff about it they said no time just make sure you use one for your testing.
I already have some tircks to get some of these poeple to do whats needed. Take one of my ladies, The first night I was there it took four of us to get her up from Dinner. Well later, I started to hum to myself while i was walking down the hall and my lady followed As long as I hummed she would go anywhere with me or do anything for me. The rest of the staff found out so now I always have her no mater what hall I'm on. Apparntly she was a realbad fighter. Her favorite songs is Winnie the pooh and Delta Dawn. She doesn't like you to sing the words though.
Going to hate the hours though. Next weekend they have me leaving work at 11pm on Sat and back the next morning at 7.

 

[mypy]

Sorry not sure why it did that.

 

[nancy2394]

gait belts are the proper way to do a transfer... but most people are in a hurry and can't be bothered to take the time to use them. Just remember.. you only have one back, be careful when you lift and do transfers. I made a very bad mistake one time when I was reaching across one bed to pull a patient to another bed and I felt something pull and then burn really bad. It rendered me useless for days and I wound up with sciatica and still have flare ups to this day.. and it was my stupidity for not taking a moment to make sure I had proper body mechanics while I moved that patient.

And songs usually work really well with the elderly. I had one lady that would do just about anything I needed her to do if I sang "irish eyes". There will be lots of things you will figure out while taking care of them. What works for one person might not work for the next. You will quickly learn their dislikes and what makes them irritable.