[misslo]

Today was my first CNA clinical and I was assigned a resident to feed (in a LTC). She couldn't speak, couldn't move her hands, all she could do was watch me and well, eat. I tried to talk to her but couldn't think of what to say to her. As I fed her, I told her what was on the spoon, or I would ask her if she wanted a drink, another bite of this or another bite of that. What should I have talked to her about? How was I to know if she was truley finished eating or was ready for a drink? I had such a hard time reading her body language. I am not sure what was wrong with her (health wise), but every now and then, she would move her eyes on me and her eyes would get so big. Toward the end of her feeding, she just closed her eyes and tightened her lips. I didn't know what she wanted and it was frustrating. I didn't want to stop feeding her, as she really didn't eat much at all and I hated the thought of her signaling one thing and me understanding another. Was my lack of personal conversation super bad?

Who would have thought that a feeding would be so confusing and heartbreaking?

MissLo

[carebearRN08]

Its tough Usually when a person closes their eyes and purses their mouth, I take that as a signal to stop, but I usually try one last bite. Not having a conversation is okay; in fact, if the person has swallowing problems or cognitive problems, it may be best to limit conversation as that might be too distracting for them. I limit the conversation to what's on the plate (like you did, what's on the spoon, etc.) and look for cues if they like it or not. I give them a taste of everything, try to get them to eat as much protein as possible but if all they want is the nutrition shake, that's okay too, something is better than nothing, as long as you try, that's all you can do.

Good luck in your studies

[Blee O'Myacin]

Originally Posted by misslo

Today was my first CNA clinical and I was assigned a resident to feed (in a LTC). She couldn't speak, couldn't move her hands, all she could do was watch me and well, eat. I tried to talk to her but couldn't think of what to say to her. As I fed her, I told her what was on the spoon, or I would ask her if she wanted a drink, another bite of this or another bite of that. What should I have talked to her about? How was I to know if she was truley finished eating or was ready for a drink? I had such a hard time reading her body language. I am not sure what was wrong with her (health wise), but every now and then, she would move her eyes on me and her eyes would get so big. Toward the end of her feeding, she just closed her eyes and tightened her lips. I didn't know what she wanted and it was frustrating. I didn't want to stop feeding her, as she really didn't eat much at all and I hated the thought of her signaling one thing and me understanding another. Was my lack of personal conversation super bad?

Who would have thought that a feeding would be so confusing and heartbreaking?

MissLo

You did a good job. In time, you will learn how to read the body language - and especially if you are working with the same group of people for a while, like in a long term care setting.

Just keeping conversation simple and your body language relaxed will help even the more cognitively impaired people feel at ease.

Keep up the good work. We couldn't do right by our patients without CNAs.

Blee

[Duckyaryj]

You did a great job for your first time feeding. I had a very similar experience with my first feeding. As said before when a person closes their eyes and purses their lips it is usually the "I'm Done" signal, but try one more bite. I usually talk about what it will be like outside, and try to orientate to place and time. I always say what they are about to eat and I alternate bites of food with sips of whatever they have to drink. Hope this helps. Good luck with your classes, sounds like your on the right track!

[L&Dnurse2Be]

Try 3 bites of food then a drink. It always worked for me.

[misslo]

Thank you for your replies. It has been bothering me, wondering if I did ok. The majority of the talking to her was about her food, letting her know what I was going to feed her next.

This experience has worked my heart over today. I had never been to a nursing home prior to today. A sad experience indeed.

MissLo

[angelwingsamy]

i agree with the above posts. and in regards to the communication it always works to start with whats going on outsied (sunny, snowy, windy, whatever) and go from there. eating is such a social thing so why not talk to them? of course you want to watch them to make sure they dont aspirate but you would do that wether you were talking to them or not.

[sharlynn]

I think you did just fine!
I often would throw in a comment like "I bet you ( or your wife for a man) canned a lot of beans in your time. You must have had a favorite recipe for whatever, just to keep talking. It's hard until you get used to doing it!