Becky718

Thank you all so much. I always feel so much better after I read your encouraging responses. I really needed to hear something good. I experienced my first patient death on Tuesday. That was very hard! She was only in her late 40s or early 50s, I think, and had a 20-year-old son...she was the sweetest lady. She was so lively, too....I didn't even realize she was that close to dying so it came as quite a shock to me. I am still kind of in shock. Her eyes were open when she died and she was alone. She was dead for 20 minutes before anyone even knew.. She wasn't on my hall so I didn't see her at all until about 40 minutes after she was dead. I'll never forget how she looked, either. I've never seen a dead body before....it's so creepy. I kept expecting her to just wake up, you know. It really made me start pondering about death and what it's like during the moment you are leaving your body. Well, anyway, I just wanted to share that. Thanks again for all your advice. It's really helping. I look forward to hearing from you all again.

Thanks for asking. Everything is going better in some ways and worse in others. I know how to do more things now, but I am getting more anxious instead of less as time goes by. It's mainly because I feel like since I've been there for a month now I should be as fast as the other workers, but I'm still not feeling very confident in my work. One of the reasons is because I cannot lift most of the patients on my hall and constantly have to ask for help lifting them. Everyone else can lift them without any help from anyone. It makes me feel so useless. I'm only 5'3" and about 110 pounds with really thin arms, and I feel very uncomfortable even when I am just helping to lift someone. Also, I work the 3-11 shift, and I always do bed checks with the other CNA about 45 minutes before the next shift comes in. The 11-7 person always expects everything to be perfect when they come on duty. I do the best I can getting everyone changed and making sure their sheets are clean, but most of the time a few of them will wet the bed again right when I am done with bed checks and just as the next shift is coming in. It makes it look like I did a half-ass job when I didn't. I know that since I am new, they are all scrutinzing me and are making their judgments of me and it makes me so anxious. I always leave feeling like a failure even when I have done nothing wrong. I know I can't help it that I am not physically strong, but it's embarrassing being the only one who needs help lifting people. I like to be independent and to be able to do my work without help, and in this job, that is not an option. I always have to get help. Sometimes I can't even turn the person or roll them over to change their diaper without getting help. Is that unusual for a CNA to be that weak? If it weren't for that problem along with the anxiety it causes me at work, I would say things are better. I enjoy taking care of the residents, and they are the only ones who appreciate my hard work anyway. Without their feedback, I would not know I was doing a good job. It's easy to focus on only what you're doing wrong in a job like this b/c there is more to do than there is time to do it. I am going to focus on managing my time more efficiently since that is something that I can control. I cannot control my physical strength (unless I start working out) so I'll just have to get help in that area. Well, thanks so much for listening and for the advice. If you have some to give about lifting patients, I would love to hear it. Thanks again and have a Happy New Year!

I just want to say thank you to all of you who have responded for the great advice you are giving me. The more I work this job, the more I see what you are talking about. Most of these CNAs I work with really don't seem to care if they do the job right. Their goal for the day seems to be to try to get by with doing as little as possible and get paid for it. There are some good ones who I enjoy working with, of course. But the others are lazy and just plain rude. I am not letting their habits rub off on me, though, and the residents really appreciate it. They are the only reason I still enjoy the job and are the only reason I can imagine wanting to continue doing this. I'm about to leave for work right now actually. I am keeping in mind all of the things you all are telling me, too. I look forward to reading more posts. Thank you all!

Thanks so much, to both of you! I feel so much better just knowing that you understand what I am saying and that it's normal for it to take months to get comfortable with the job. I was starting to feel really stupid because it was taking me so long to get the hang of it. I am definitely going to take your advice and give myself more time to learn all of this and try not to put too much pressure on myself. I tend to expect myself to learn everything all at once when I start something new, and it always stresses me out like this. I appreciate your responses and welcome anyone else to put in their two cents! Thank you so much for the good advice!

Hi. I am 24 and I just got out of a 10-day CNA program and passed the state exams...skills and written. I was hired at an LTC facility and started working there on Dec. 2nd. This is my first job working in the healthcare field. So obviously, I am very nervous about what to expect. I've worked there for 4 days now and am slowly getting the hang of it. I want to know if someone could give me some advice. What are the most important things for me to be aware of while I'm working as a CNA? I am so worried about doing the slightest thing wrong because there are so many things I am still learning, and I don't know what I should focus on the most. I hope I am making myself clear. For example, I seem to take longer than most of the CNAs when I change a patient or put them to bed because I always try to make sure before I leave a patient's room that I have done everything perfectly, to the last detail. I feel like I am missing the big picture b/c I'm too focused on details. I know it's good to focus on details, but when I compare my work to the others around me, I can see that I get a little TOO obsessive. In fact, the CNA who trained me told me I need to be in the "get her done" mentality to do this job. Just do it and don't worry too much about little things. That really goes against my nature, but hopefully, with time I will stop worrying so much about minor things and be able to get things done more quickly. Can you tell me what you would look for in a CNA to decide if they were giving the best patient care possible? Thanks a lot. I appreciate any advice I can get.

Hi Magnus and thanks. Well, first I would like to know if you can tell me if there are any classes other than the foundation courses that I am required to take before applying to the nursing program. So far, I still have to take Algebra, A&P, Chemistry, and Academic Seminar. I have taken the others (Psychology,Comp I & II) and several more that are not required, as far as I know. I think that is all it said was required. Am I right about that or are there more requirements that I overlooked? Thank you so much for your willingness to help. Do you like it so far?

Hi. I just joined this site last night and would like to know if anyone reading this is attending the OLOL RN program in Baton Rouge? I am 23 and will be applying to finish my prerequisites there as of this summer or fall. I would very much appreciate any info or advice you could give me concerning the school. Thank you.