Just quit and feeling down

[doglover87]

Hi, i have been following this forum for a few weeks and i just wanted to tell you guys i appreciate the hard work you guys do. I was working in a nursing home and taking care of 18 residents from 2-6pm and putting 10 to bed after supper. Many of the nursing aids also got trained as a med aide. After 2 weeks of training, which was quite an experience in itself since my trainer was younger than me and rolling her eyes every time i asked a question. My first day alone was yesterday and it went fine but i clocked out an hour late because i couldn't finish putting the residents in on time and was yelled at. My 2nd day was today and i was in such a hurry that a resident fell when i was with them. It made me so angry at myself and i made sure the nurse knew and while she was taking care of it. I went to go cry in the bathroom for a bit. I been up all night and realized i cant do this. It made me realize that i was afraid i might of killed the resident. I have always wanted to be a nurse when i was younger and to have hurt someone makes me feel like im not cut out for this career path. It seems to me that a lot of cna's are overworked and underpaid. I was getting 9 dollars an hour for this and they were so set on not giving overtime that if you were half an hour later clocking out, they would call and be angry. Its just overwhelming and a lot to take in. A lot of the cna's will only answer their residents call lights and noone elses even if they walked by one. I just appreciate you guys for all the hard work you do and to keep it up.

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

I became a CNA at the age of 16 (many many years ago) and I'm currently an LPN doing the LPN to RN bridge. But may I respond...

Did you learn from this? I bet you did and you will never do whatever it is that precipated the resident's fall. I'm sure you never meant for it to happen. Accidents happen. I've had several resident's fall when I was with them (some falls I had no control over, some I might have been able to avoid if I had done something different). And you always do the "I should have/have not" etc. Learn from it and move on. This one terrible experience should not dash your hopes of being a good CNA or nurse. If we all felt we should throw in the towel after one mistake, there would be NO CNA's or nurses around. You're human, you make mistakes.

Now, pick yourself up and dust yourself off, you are NOT a bad person.

[caliotter3]

If there was something you should have done to prevent the fall, then learn from the incident, otherwise, please realize that if you quit your job every time something unpleasant happens, you will never succeed. There are times that a resident falls, it is not always your fault. You can't learn how to best do your job if you are never at your job long enough to learn. Thanks for caring. Even though you quit, you are yards beyond those CNAs that walk by rooms leaving call lights blinking. At least you care.

[doglover87]

Its not the whole story. its a lot more but i just dont wanna give too much of the story away cause i live in a small town. I just appreciate the cnas alot more now.

[Hygiene Queen]

When I was new, I had the misfortune of being treated rather poorly.

I was accused of things I did not do and bashed for not being as fast as the others.

I have no idea why I did not quit.

Something always made me come back.

I came back and I came back...

Until it clicked.

Pretty soon people realized I wasn't going away.

Not only that, but they realized that I was pretty darn good at it.

Later, I was even excellent.

I was a role model and very well respected.

Now...

Had I quit, that never ever would have happened.

If you want this, shove that steel down your spine and go back again and again.

By the way, I too had a patient fall on me when I was brand new.

The resident was brushing her teeth and, as she turned toward me, she just dropped faster than the blink of an eye.

Of course, she cracked her head on the sink on the way down.

Trust me, I was much much alert and cautious after that.

Yes, I felt awful, but sometimes we have to learn the hard way.

Also, do not ever rush your residents or any hands-on care with them.

Learn how to do everything else super-fast:

You can race from room to room...

You can whiz through making a bed or emptying the trash...

You pass ice water like the hounds of hell are upon you...

But once you are ready to put your hands on a resident...

SLOW DOWN!!

Don't worry about anyone griping about overtime.

You literally have lives in your hands.

Cheers.