nurturer

I'm a licensed massage therapist and I'm currently working as a CNA as well. I think the whole embolus/massage worries are largely unfounded. I don't see how a gentle massage could dislodge anything. For the elderly in particular, I don't hear anyone saying "go deeper, go deeper!" They are thanking God simply to be touched. I would think that those support stockings that cut into their legs an inch or two would more likely cause an embolus than a gentley massaging lotion onto thier legs.

I need help. Food is my primary coping mechanism. It seems that every free moment I have I am diving into something delicious. As I become more and more stressed with work, school and everything....I am getting fatter and fatter. I obviously need to find a new coping mechanism if I want to stay alive. I have survived for 42 years, but I'm sure at this rate I won't make it to my 50th birthday. What do NORMAL people do to cope with constant, everyday stress?

Perhaps hospice is calling my name. I'd much rather help people die comfortabley and with dignity than to badger tired old folks into doing things they don't want to. Some of these people just don't have the "fight" in them. My guess is they never did. Why, then at the age of 90, when they are placed in an ALF, should they start working on thier fitness and nutrition? So the people around them don't have watch them die? There are other folks that refuse to let me help them. They are bound and determined to do EVERYTHING themselves, even if it takes 10 minutes for them to get from their wheelchair to thier bed, I try to stand back and allow them the time to do this. This is unrealistic of course....but I do try like heck to allow people the dignity to do as they choose. I believe that preserving thier right to choose naturally compels the elderly to "live." When we take thier choices away... personal choices such as diet and exercise, we take away all they have. I think that if they use a wheelchair, they are much less likely to suffer from falls than those who are made to walk beyond what thier aging bodies will allow. There comes a time to rest and to allow death to happen....from pnuemonia, from a fall, from whatever. Why prolong the inevitable? Assisted LIVING includes helping with the challenge of facing the end of life. Insisting that people walk when they don't want to, or to eat when they don't want to puts the focus of living on the physical and does not consider the PEOPLE within those aging tired bodies. If it were in my hands I would say assisted living means sitting with them, taking the time to listening to all their stories, going to get them an apple juice in the middle of the night because that's what they want. Wheeling them out into the sunshine and helping them to smell the flowers....holding thier hands, bathing them with love and attention. This is the way I want to go out of this world....not having some irritable overworked nurse or CNA rushing me onto the toilet and making me eat that nasty eggplant parmesean because I ordered it, and making me walk a very painful walk to another boring social where I can't hear or understand anything anyone is saying. I hope to God I never end up in an ALF, where my last years, months, days and minutes are determined by people who have no idea about what living means to ME. I've got a lot to learn as a CNA and eventually a nurse, I suppose. However, I hope that what I value about life and people doesn't change. I hope I don't someday come think that a clean bottom and full tummy trumps the value of the precious souls inside those aged bodies. What I love most about my job is saying goodnight to my residents. It feels very much like what it felt like to tuck my own kids in at the end of the day. All the hard work...all the running around, all the stress...all the frustration is so worth the satisfaction of knowing my "people" are safe, nurtured and cared for. :redbeathe And just like with my kids....I feel like if I don't advocate for them...who will?

I'm a new CNA working in an ALF. I am surprised to be told that I need to INSIST that residents walk and eat, even if they refuse to. This doesn't feel right to me. What about the residents' rights? Given the fact that many of the residents are very old...late 80s and 90s, and are often tired and/or in pain or just plain not hungry anymore...shouldn't they be allowed to use a wheelchair if they prefer and skip meals if they are not hungry. If they die, they die! Many of them are not interested in anything other than resting in bed all day anyway. Why insist that they prolong their lives with exercise and nutrition if they are ready and wanting to "rest easy"? I would be very angry if I were in thier shoes and someone was making me do things I not longer wanted to do! I am concerned because I feel like these orders come from the lead CNA...and not the RN in charge. And if the RN in charge insists on this....is this standard? Are we as CNAs and RNs required by some law to insist that residents walk and eat when they don't want to? It's not like they're 60 recovering from surgery....that would be a different story. I feel like my residents are just plain old tired of living....and I don't blame them!!!

My teacher was looking for the formula D/H x Q.

Thanks for understanding my frustration!! I can't read her mind. Perhaps she should have specifically asked for us to use 2 formulas other than ratio and proportion.

I just recieved a 54 on a Dosage quiz, where all my answers were correct!!! I was marked wrong for using "ratio and proportion" as a formula. Technically...isn't ratio and proportion a formula? The first 5 questions of the quiz we were supposed to solve the problems using ratio and proportion. The directions for the last 8 questions read exactly as: "Solve each problem using both formulas. Round answers to the nearest tenth." So I used ratio and proportion as formula #1 and DW/DS= DV/SV for formula #2. I got ALL my answers correct. Who's crazy...ME or my teacher?

I am in school to become an RN. I have been working as a CNA in an ALF for 3 months now. Am I just not experienced enough or is it true that it is impossible to be responsible for 12-13 residents in an 8 hour shift and give them adequate, quality care? Some of these residents require showers, almost all wear incontinence products, and I'd say 25% don't even know what I mean when I say it's time to brush their teeth!!! When I have 12 to 13 people to care for my job becomes nothing more than an "ass-wiping marathon"! I didn't sign up for this! The extraordinary principles and values of the facility....plastered all over their sales literature, are a total farce. Is this common? I'm afraid to hear the answer..... On the days I have 8 residents everying is okay. Just by adding that additional 4 or 5 residents lowers the quality of care significantly.

No LPN route. I'm going for RN and perhaps BSN after that. And as far as the quote "If you want something done, give it to the busiest person".......I don't know about that. My family would beg to differ. Ask them how long it's been since I've done ANY laundry! I refuse to do it, knowing that a husband and 3 teenagers ought to be able to swing it! If they ASKED me to it, I would only laugh! :chuckle

I'm both. I'm still working on prerequisites like A&P and Dosage Calc. These are my last 2 prerequisites before I can apply to the nursing program. And once in, the waiting list is 3 semesters. So I won't even begin clinicals for another 2 years. But while I am waiting I am taking 1 or 2 classes at a time while working 2 part time jobs. Its confusing and slow, but it's all I can do. Some people can take on way more that that, but being 41 and having 3 teenage daughters.....I know what I can handle.

i've been working as a cna for 2 months now, while attending nursing school. i am discovering that cna work is a very stressful job, espcially with the irratic fluctuation in staff to patient ratio. will my stress increase as an rn or decrease?

Bluebug, Thank you for your thoughtful advice. That is what I needed to hear I think. It is far too easy to only see the negative. Of course you are right...we can fit in the interactions the best we can. I know that many CNAs do that. It's the ones who couldn't care less that make me shudder. The CNAs that make the extra effort to interact and CARE are the ones that I should look to as my role models. Thank You.

I think you are both right. I should only apply for a plain old CNA job. But it is a darn shame that the elderly can only recieve butt wiping and spoon feedings. It is a sad reality for sure. This is exactly why many people would rather die than go into a nursing home. Perhaps if we pay more attention to bag rubs and such, growing old and living in nursing homes wouldn't be such a repulsive idea. It's repulsive because I am learning that the elderly are "bodies" and nothing more. Keep 'em clean and fed. What kind of life is that? It is the most depressing situation I can think of. Some people live YEARS like this. It doesn't have to be so hellish. Back rubs, meaningful interaction....even if it appears ONE SIDED, I believe it makes their lives more bearable. There has to be a way to change things....

Is it possible? I've been a self-employed massage therapist for 6 years and I'm currently going for my AN. I've just completed a CNA course. I sent out 10 resumes, offering to work as a massage therpaist/CNA for just CNA pay in exchange for good health insurnace for myself and my family. Is it possible the medical system doesn't work "outside the box"? You would think most nursing homes or assisted living facilities would scoop up a massage therpist for CNA wages in a heartbeat! Maybe I'd have better luck putting an ad out there as a private duty massage therapist CNA..in hopes of scraping up enough money to pay for health insurance on my own?? Can anyone think of a better way to market myself, or how else I may approach people with my unique qualifications? Or is my massage experience not a valuable asset? Thanks in advance for any responses!

thank you very much for your thoughtful response! yes, spirituality is also one of my loves. However, i'm a unitarian universalist. I don't think the population of my spiritual community could support anything like that. I do love theology and would love to take classes. I just don't know how I could justify a focus in that direction just for the fun of it. i'm thinking ethics and theory may be more practical in my case. thank you again for your valuable input. all the best to you