After being on the floor for 16 hours straight your body starts to feel the repercussions. Your feet are sore, your back aches and your clothes are soaked with your sweat and other bodily fluids that are not yours. You are exhausted and feel weak to your core. The only good feeling about going home after being at your job literally all day, from sun up to sun down, is that you feel accomplished.
Being a Certified Nurse Assistant or how others like to tease me as the ass-wiper, does come with high rewards. Yes, we deal with fluids and also feces that are not ours but you develop a strong stomach after about a week on the job. For me I could go to lunch and go right back to work without a twitch from my nose or my stomach feeling nauseous. Along with having a high job stability and also being well paid for a college student, it is tough work. I wish that I could have some people work a double shift for me just so they can see what I really have to go through. It is not the most glorious of jobs and definitely there is very little to no routine when you work. Your day can either be hectic or calm, it all depends on the mood of the residents and what needs to get done for the shift.
The truth is we are over-worked and it is simple as that. We wear bodily fluids that are not ours on our clothes like they are badges of honor. We feel like we are not very appreciated when we are just helping and the residents sometimes think of us as the bad guy or curse at us like we are the reason for their condition. What we do is hard work and it is not simply just cleaning the bums of residents. We help in all aspects of their daily living.
Our work day consists of taking care of people overall. As a nurse assistant you clean, dress, feed and do everything people take for granted being able to do themselves. Sometimes I feel like I take better care of my residents than I do myself and I end up leaving work feeling dehydrated, leaving with bruises and scratches because a resident refuses to have me change them and smell like I need a shower from all the sweat that has been flowing off my skin.
We have residents that love us and we have some that will curse and hit us. Some are easier to take care of than others. Some will call us more frequently than others and some we need to keep an extra eye on. We know our residents and we tend to learn their "normal". Each individual is different and that goes with the way we care for each one.
Those that you take care of need you and it always is a good feeling that you are doing something for someone that might otherwise not have been fulfilled if you were not there. You are the one that knows your residents the best and some also have their own routines that you are aware of. You are taking care of these people and you tend to grow an emotional attachment and a bond with your residents. They are your family and you care for them in the same manner.
We are the ones that hold their hands and tell them everything is ok. We are the ones that are their family when they do not have any to visit them. We are the ones that listen when they do not have anyone else to talk to. We are more than those that just ass-wipers.
What you do is appreciated by those you care for, their families and your staff. It is truly a rewarding job that is emotionally and physically draining but I would not have it any other way.
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