I'll begin my new found blogging, which may or may not last, with the only thing interesting I really have to talk about... my work with people.
I have been a Certified Nursing Assistant for 3 years on January 23rd. I started out working at the Mennonite Home, a nursing home in Albany. This is where I fell in love with the elderly. I became attached to each and every one of the residents there. There is such reward in anticipating the needs of others and in turn seeing the change in their quality of life. In a world where you have lost control over almost every aspect your life, the little things truly make a difference. Mable always needed a drink of ice water right before she'd lie down, her roommate liked her feet wrapped in a blanket before being covered up, Beth like a thick layer of lotion rubbed on her legs and feet before she'd go to bed... everyone had their own routine, their own preferences, their own quirks, etc.
It's also amazing how just little things going unnoticed can have such an impact on quality of life. Take this story for example...
In clinicals for school, I was following a nurse taking care of an 88 year old bed-bound patient. I had been in previously with the patient when her son was in the room visiting. Nothing popped out to me as extraordinary or important to pay special attention to. I then listened as one nurse passed of the patient to the night shift nurse and accompanied her into the patients room where the nurse would perform her assessment. The nurse started asking simply questions, "How are you feeling, are you in pain, etc." All the patient would do was hold up two fingers and mumble something unrecognizable. I was perplexed as I was just in the room and the patient was carrying on full conversations with her son. The nurse finished with her assessment and we were about to leave the patient to sleep for the night. The nurse tried one more question, "Why don't you want to talk to me tonight?" Once again... the two finger and the mumble.
Just then it dawned on me, when I was in the room previously, the son told me she was getting ready to taking a nap; he knew that because she took out her hearing aides. DING DING DING. I looked on the bedside table, saw her hearing aides in a cup, popped 'em in, and like magic the woman came alive.
"My knee hurts, it's been hurting all night and I need two pain pills," she was speaking in clear full sentences! It's amazing how that all could have been missed. The previous nurse never reported that she was hard of hearing - and the night nurse passed it off for confusion. It may not sound profound to you, but it was like a switch was flipped (well, besides the literal switch on the hearing aide) and a new person appeared. I'm sure the morning nurse would have eventually noticed or maybe the CNA, but that patient would have been in pain all night just because she couldn't hear.
The little things...
I have been a Certified Nursing Assistant for 3 years on January 23rd. I started out working at the Mennonite Home, a nursing home in Albany. This is where I fell in love with the elderly. I became attached to each and every one of the residents there. There is such reward in anticipating the needs of others and in turn seeing the change in their quality of life. In a world where you have lost control over almost every aspect your life, the little things truly make a difference. Mable always needed a drink of ice water right before she'd lie down, her roommate liked her feet wrapped in a blanket before being covered up, Beth like a thick layer of lotion rubbed on her legs and feet before she'd go to bed... everyone had their own routine, their own preferences, their own quirks, etc.
It's also amazing how just little things going unnoticed can have such an impact on quality of life. Take this story for example...
In clinicals for school, I was following a nurse taking care of an 88 year old bed-bound patient. I had been in previously with the patient when her son was in the room visiting. Nothing popped out to me as extraordinary or important to pay special attention to. I then listened as one nurse passed of the patient to the night shift nurse and accompanied her into the patients room where the nurse would perform her assessment. The nurse started asking simply questions, "How are you feeling, are you in pain, etc." All the patient would do was hold up two fingers and mumble something unrecognizable. I was perplexed as I was just in the room and the patient was carrying on full conversations with her son. The nurse finished with her assessment and we were about to leave the patient to sleep for the night. The nurse tried one more question, "Why don't you want to talk to me tonight?" Once again... the two finger and the mumble.
Just then it dawned on me, when I was in the room previously, the son told me she was getting ready to taking a nap; he knew that because she took out her hearing aides. DING DING DING. I looked on the bedside table, saw her hearing aides in a cup, popped 'em in, and like magic the woman came alive.
"My knee hurts, it's been hurting all night and I need two pain pills," she was speaking in clear full sentences! It's amazing how that all could have been missed. The previous nurse never reported that she was hard of hearing - and the night nurse passed it off for confusion. It may not sound profound to you, but it was like a switch was flipped (well, besides the literal switch on the hearing aide) and a new person appeared. I'm sure the morning nurse would have eventually noticed or maybe the CNA, but that patient would have been in pain all night just because she couldn't hear.
The little things...
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