First day blues

[daniellemarie]

Hi everyone!

Yesterday was my first day in my CNA career with my own section, & it was so-so. The patients were extremely sweet & I enjoyed my interaction with them. Also, most of the staff working PM were really nice and willing to teach me and lend a helping hand. But, I couldn't help but be hard on myself about not thinking & being fast enough. I was given an 'easy' section, but since I didn't work with those patients during my orientation period I felt like that was a factor that slowed me down. I know that within time, I will be familiar with the patients & their routines but I'm feeling really down about my work performance. How long did it take you guys to get comfortable working as a CNA?

[dicecream]

It took me about two weeks before I lost that "oh no, how can I get everything done?" feeling. Something that helped was getting several different experienced CNAs to work with me and show me their tricks. Every CNA has little tricks that help speed things up and go more smoothly. Like putting the pull-up through the pant leg and over the shoe rather than take off the shoes and pants and then put them back on. Every resident has their own little things that require adjustment too.

Getting the routine down is a big thing. Knowing who to get up or put to bed first, how long each one generally takes, and how much extra time to leave for potential emergencies or "unexpected messes", makes a huge difference in how stressed out you get. Something I did after a few days was make a detailed schedule, and experiment with it each shift to see what worked the best. Now, after 3 years, I am able to work on any group and easily streamline my workload so I have more time for personal touches, which makes my job worthwhile.

[CoffeemateCNA]

It was 3 or 4 months before I felt like I didn't need to pull out my hair every shift (by then the residents were pulling it ).

After about a year I was confident and experienced enough I could be transferred to different units and assignments I had never worked but still manage to get everything done well.

Hang in there!

[ijh6890]

I started out working double weekends, so it took me 2 weekends to get the hang of it. I wasn't familiar with my residents yet either. Don't worry about being slow, it's expected. My first day, my partner came in a room while I was doing patient care to brag about how many people she had already got up and saying that I was too slow... I turned to her and told her that I am new and to never speak to me like that again, especially not in front of a resident. She has yet to make another comment, in fact she avoids me... Just try to stay calm... make sure that your not in such a hurry that you forget to do things such hook a resident up to their chair alarm or put down a floor mat. As long as everything is efficient, your speed will become quicker over time. Good luck

[eveningsky339, LPN]

For some people it takes two days, for others it takes months. I'm still picking up speed and learning new things, and I've been working for over four months!

[julopy]

I have been a CNA for many years and can tell you that as with most things patience is very important here. Just work at your own pace that you are comfortable with. Many times accidents happen when trying to be fast. And know that you are only human. Things take time.