Cat De

I worked with a resident who was delusional about snakes in his room at night. I had to go snake hunting many a nights. These darn snakes love to crawl under his bed of course, so I had to crawl on the floor with my snake zapper( barbeque size fork) getting them out from under the bed. Needless to say I have an extensive snake collection.

The facility I work in has a guardian who is over about half the residents. He values our (CNA's) input greatly. I remember one weekend it took repeated attempts to convince a RN that a resident needed immediate medical attention. Finally he was transported to the hospital and admitted. His guardian told me in the future that for any of his residents just call 911 if I feel something is wrong. He values our observations etc. since we are with them more. I have great respect and admiration for the work of LPN'S/RN'S. The decisions that they have to make has to be stressful on them.

I worked as an aide in a group home setting for 15 years. Our training to be med certified was done on the job. Vitals are so important to med passes as many require daily vitals before meds can be given. Knowing the abbreviations for communication usage was also helpful when reading orders from the RN's.It was not a requirement to be a CNA where I worked but I had the advantage with what I was taught in CNA class.