First position as a CNA!!!

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Hey everyone!!!

I started a new position as a CNA at a local rehab center for the weekends. I must say, it is quite challenging indeed. Although I was dead tired by the end, I got to help a lot of people and it was a GREAT feeling. I can now understand why they say nurse aides make the best nurses.

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The first time working in the new atmosphere is always hard, especially on your body. You'll probably be sore for a couple of days or weeks. When I got my first CNA job, my body was covered in salonpas and I was taking pain pills a lot.

Now, it's a pain but I got used to it. Your body is just adjusting to the different demands of your work.

Try to invest in good shoes and clothing. I try to wear thick socks or compression socks, and those compression shorts/boxer briefs so I feel a bit better in mobility. We're always on our feet so our lower limbs are a big deal.

Good luck to whatever you'll be doing next.

I do have a question though. What kind of job do you do in the rehab? Also, what kind of rehab is this?

Is there a lot of ADLs, toileting, transfers, etc.?

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Iam glad you found a challenging yet rewarding job. Hope the best for you in all you do. Just remember above all be the cheer for the day for your patients. I feel especially rehab can be such a difficult road for people to travel down when they are recovering. Be a little sunbeam to their day and good things wiil come your way. :)

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I will totally take those tips! Thank you so much! I'm pretty much answering call lights, transferring, toileting, and dressing patients. It's a 120 bed family owned business, that has a rehab section for patients who are recovering from sugary regain their mobility. Others there have traumatic injuries in which they are basically bed ridden and cared for. I've gotten to use a hoyer lift which wasn't as hard to operate as I thought!

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Congratulations! Sounds like you have The Right Stuff. It will get easier, in my experience, though I don't think it ever gets easy. Watch your body mechanics! Do you know health care workers have over THREE TIMES the musculoskeletal injuries of construction workers? And that (in my state at least) there's a "no lift" law which basically says if you lift something that's over the weight limits of the job you are disqualified from L&I compensation. The max I've seen for CNAs here is 50 pounds. So watch yourself. You get only one body.

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