Alzheimer's unit at assisted living facility

heathert_kc · Jun 26, 2010

Honestly, it depends on the place where I work the assisted living has a memory support that has individuals with memory impairment, but they don't tend to be very medically needy, for instance they have to be ambulatory. They mostly just need reminders and ques for when to go to meal, the bathroom, bed, ect. But medically their needs are very little, staff obviously has to do their medication, but that's about it. Working with dementia patients presents unique challenges and require more patience but can be fairly rewarding as well. Real skilled Alzheimer's units have people at all stages of the disease process and may require full assistance with ADLs and can be pretty heavy; the good thing is that lock down units tend to be better staffed due to the increased difficulty of the residents. I would just talk to them, when they ask if you have any questions ask away- just don't make it sound as though you think you are incapable of doing it, just that it is new to you and you want to know what to expect. Good luck!

Davey Do · Jun 26, 2010

lauraashley:

Just be ready to answer the same question 42 times. From your clients, not your interviewers.

Just joking.

Working with Alzheimer's clients can be taxing. Generally speaking, they no longer have the ability to make new memories. I believe it's called "Long Term Memory Deficit" or something like that. I've forgotten.

Please allow me to recommend a book to you. It's called Committed to Memory by Rebecca Rupp. It can get techy, using words like "acetylcholinase inhibitors" or something like that, but it's really a good read. The authoress is extremely knowledgeable. And the best part of all, she's truly funny!

heathert gave some good, solid advice. I'd listen to her.

Good luck with your job interview, lauraashley.

Tina, RN · Jun 26, 2010

I worked briefly in a LTC facility, on an Alzheimers/dementia unit. It was definitely challenging. I remember that it was extremely noisy. Whenever you told someone there which floor you worked on, they'd give you a look of pity. LOL But, I didn't hate it. I only ended up leaving because I wanted to go back to acute care.

Saysfaa · Jun 26, 2010

Have you seen the specialty tab at the top of this page? You might look through the long term care section there, under "nursing specialities."

DPRN · Jun 26, 2010

The nursing assistants that work in the Dementia Unit really enjoy it. The dementia unit only has 14 beds in it. Their normal routine is to assist the residents with showers and dressing/ undressing depending on the time of day, serve meals, provide activities, and accompany on outings. This unit is staffed by 2 nursing assistants during the days and afternoons and 1 nursing assistant at night. We have a laundry/housekeeper that works in this unit 4-5 days per week. The food is brought to the unit and served from a steam table. Sample plates are created of each meal offering (ex: hot dogs and fixings or hamburger and fixings) and then each resident is able to look at each plate and choose which they want to eat. Our secured dementia unit has an enclosed courtyard so the residents and staff spend a lot of time out there. Our residents are treated as if this is their home so if they want to eat outside then they do! We tend to spoil our residents where I am the Director of Nursing. Good luck to you.

lauraashley · Jun 26, 2010

Thanks everyone! Very helpful advice. This place is beautiful and I get to job shadow for 3 days before I make a commitment as well. They have special memory places where residents can recall memories of childhood, or when they had children, etc. I am a very compassionate, comforting person and I believe these traits will help me. Another good thing is that the nursing assistant to resident ratio is very low at this place. I believe for every 1 NA there is 5 residents.

Ddestiny, BSN, RN · Jun 27, 2010

I work in an AL unit. Our sister "house" is an Alzheimer's/Memory Support unit. A lot of us will work most of our hours in one house but occasionally fill in shifts in the other house if necessary. The Memory Support unit is actually considered to be easier than the other because they have less residents and they staff it in such a way where they have more time to spend with the residents, whereas it's really hard to even fit in time for your 30 minute break in the "regular" house. This is my first AL job I've ever had, I've always ever done home health or LTC, so I don't know if this is a common theme. Memory Support can require more patience but usually I feel that makes it more rewarding. My favorite residents in LTC were usually the ones with Alzheimer's. :)

lauraashley · Jun 27, 2010

I work in an AL unit. Our sister "house" is an Alzheimer's/Memory Support unit. A lot of us will work most of our hours in one house but occasionally fill in shifts in the other house if necessary. The Memory Support unit is actually considered to be easier than the other because they have less residents and they staff it in such a way where they have more time to spend with the residents, whereas it's really hard to even fit in time for your 30 minute break in the "regular" house. This is my first AL job I've ever had, I've always ever done home health or LTC, so I don't know if this is a common theme. Memory Support can require more patience but usually I feel that makes it more rewarding. My favorite residents in LTC were usually the ones with Alzheimer's. :)

I was relieved when I saw the CNA-resident ratio. Thanks for your reply!

IowaKaren · Jun 28, 2010

Thanks everyone! Very helpful advice. This place is beautiful and I get to job shadow for 3 days before I make a commitment as well. They have special memory places where residents can recall memories of childhood, or when they had children, etc. I am a very compassionate, comforting person and I believe these traits will help me. Another good thing is that the nursing assistant to resident ratio is very low at this place. I believe for every 1 NA there is 5 residents.

Wow, that would be wonderful for a closed unit so as an assisted living, 1:5 is unheard of in my area.

lauraashley · Jun 28, 2010

Wow, that would be wonderful for a closed unit so as an assisted living, 1:5 is unheard of in my area.

i'm pretty sure they were lying. i've read some horrible things about the company today. i'm worried. especially because they have called me 3 times about a 2nd interview and each time I have to tell them that I've already scheduled one....do they not keep track of who they call? they must have a very high turnover rate even though they stated that it's low.

Kellyma · Jul 19, 2010

lauraashley:
Just be ready to answer the same question 42 times. From your clients, not your interviewers.
Just joking.
Working with Alzheimer's clients can be taxing. Generally speaking, they no longer have the ability to make new memories. I believe it's called "Long Term Memory Deficit" or something like that. I've forgotten.
Please allow me to recommend a book to you. It's called Committed to Memory by Rebecca Rupp. It can get techy, using words like "acetylcholinase inhibitors" or something like that, but it's really a good read. The authoress is extremely knowledgeable. And the best part of all, she's truly funny!
heathert gave some good, solid advice. I'd listen to her.
Good luck with your job interview, lauraashley.

.

what's funny is once and a while they surprise you once after caring for a lady I'd known for yrs I was thinking "I've known her for like 3 yrs now and she has no idea who i am." then later that day she called me by my name! I couldn't believe it.