My Daily Life in a Nutshell

Good evening my fellow CNAs, let me tell you about my Friday even though today is Monday.

There are many unpredictable things about working as a CNA. You never know how a resident is going to talk to you, you never know whether or not you’ll have to do a bed change or if someone is going to fall while transferring them. You also never know when you’re going to get kicked in the neck.

Tonight during evening rounds I got kicked very hard in the neck. My coworker and I were doing the normal rounds and were changing people and BAM! it happened. This resident is very unpredictable and moods change all the time. They can go from being happy and cooperative and then they can want to aggressively beat you and swear at you. This one decided it was okay to start swinging at us and, believe me, we are use to it from them. I was not predicting that they were going to kick me in the neck and leave a nice bruise on it.

Remember, if you ever get injured as a CNA on the job, make sure you fill out an incident report. THAT WILL HELP YOU. Always make sure to chart is and make an alert in the system. THAT WILL HELP YOU. While you want to take care of the residents and make sure they get the care they need, protect your ass at work. Believe me, you will experience it, too, if you haven’t already.

Happy Friday!

Here is one thing they really don’t tell you when you take CNA classes: they will mentally and emotionally break you if you let it. This is such a hard job. You know the residents don’t necessarily mean what they say and you learn to not take it personal, but sometimes you can’t help it.

These last few shifts I have had people insult me, question whether or not I am capable of doing my job, bully me, and are just blatantly rude to me. Of course most of them apologize afterwards because we have to tell them that that kind of attitude is not wanted nor tolerated, but it still builds up throughout the shift. These residents can be very picky and even on their bad days the slightest things can trigger them and that is something you have to put up with. If they’re unhappy, it’s your fault. Management hears and comes to you. It always comes down to you because you have the most direct contact with them. It is a very difficult job and you have to be careful and treat your mental health right. This will definitely break you down if you aren’t careful and I know these last couple shifts have done just that to me.

Take care of your mental health when it comes to this job.

Whew guys I am SO sorry I have not written in a hot minute. It has been so crazy with work and I honestly just needed to take a mental break and NOT relive my work life.

This is going to be a very brief post.

These past weeks I have been so stressed out and working so much that whenever I get home I am beyond tired and just end up falling asleep. HOWEVER, I did finally get my lazy butt up and get a gym membership! It’s pretty cool actually and I am super excited. I still haven’t found too many people to hang out with or do cool stuff with so for now I spend my weekends either sleeping and watching TV or going grocery shopping. I do try and visit my parents a couple towns over here and there to meal prep and to say “hi, I still exist and haven’t died yet.” You know the usual. Just like this blog! Just checking to let you guys know how it’s been going and that is CRAZY. Hopefully things start to slow down here soon.

Oh goodness gracious you guys…this has been such a long week. I had yesterday and today off, but man I am exhausted. By the time I finished my shift on Friday, I had worked 100 hours from April 30 to May 10 with only one day off. Man, those are some long hours.

I can’t remember if I had mentioned it in my last post, but I volunteered to stay until 2 am on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 7 and 8, and I was convinced I was done doing that for a while. Well because I am a nice person, I also volunteered to stay until in 4 am on Friday, my Friday, and I was so exhausted. That made it 100 hours though, so I am PUMPED. Adding on hours to an already late schedule really does mess with how you sleep though. You sleep until the afternoon. At least I did. Luckily I live only 10 minutes away from my job, but I know some aren’t so lucky.

My residents know I am a hard worker and like to take on the long hours. My favorite reaction from all of them is when I walk in around midnight or 1 am to answer their call lights and they ask, “What the hell are you still doing here” as though they know I need to quit doing this to myself. I love each and every one of them, though, so taking care of them as long as I do doesn’t bother me because I know they are being treated well and efficiently.

I love what I do and do what I love. That’s how it’s suppose to be in your job, career, and even life.

Yesterday, I walked into work with no intention of picking up any extra shifts. I had the plan to just stick to my usual 8 hours these next four days and that was that. Well, that didn’t happen. I walked into work and I ran into one of my bosses and asked him if he needed part of the NOC shift covered and he said yes. I volunteered myself two 12 hour shifts back to back. But you know what, I am not entirely mad. The only job I have to do is watch the call lights and do resident checks in certain rooms every half an hour. That was my job for four hours and it wasn’t too bad. I actually enjoyed it a little bit.

Here’s why I am picking up so many shifts, it’s simple…I need the money. Currently, I am trying to save up so that when school starts up and my hours go down, I have enough money saved that I don’t need to entirely stress myself out trying to keep up on bills. Another reason is my spending habits. I really do enjoy some good retail therapy on my days off and I definitely spend what I make sometimes. But most importantly, I want another tattoo.

I have many tattoos, 9 actually. I have yet to go and get a consultation and a price, but the money will be for a tattoo and if it’s what I want…man oh man will that be EXPENSIVE. But, ladies and gentleman, tattoos are supposed to be expensive if you want QUALITY work. Remember that.

Anyway, I completely turned back on my word to sticking to my shifts and it definitely does change your sleeping schedule. I find myself going to bed super late and I definitely sleep in real late. So if you decide to pick up shifts, just be aware it changes how your body functions. And remember…get an alarm clock that will actually WAKE YOU UP.

I should apologize for not updating my blog everyday and giving you all the juicy gossip from my new work. This new place has me swamped and then so exhausted afterwards.

First, let me explain my hours that I have had lately. I have been working since Tuesday, May 1, and finally got my day off. I worked for 6 days straight, which, in the CNA life, is quite unusual. On Friday, May 3, I worked a 14 hour shift and had to be back 10 hours later for my next shift. Let me tell you that your girl is TIRED. I also was not supposed to work on Sunday, CINCO DE MAYO, however, they did ask me to work and I figured…more money! So I sacrificed a day off and worked yesterday. Finally though, I have my day off. Unfortunately, though, I have to return to work tomorrow. SO SOON right?

The nice part is I will have both Saturday and Sunday off. I know for a fact I will not be giving that up. It’s supposed to be in the 80s here and I plan on relaxing out by a lake and getting tan. Maybe.

Alright, let me tell you how my work is going.

I

LOVE

IT

As crazy and hectic as it is and as busy as we can get, it is so much fun. I love all of the residents and I like my company. The people I have had to work with have all been super great workers and together we all get the job done real quick. They are all so motivated and it is always such a good time with all of them. My residents really make the day though. Yesterday, one of the women gave me a drawing she colored as a nice little gift and it was such a sweet thing. These shifts have been so hectic though and it’s just been so incredibly busy that I can hardly remember what even went on. This is where I regret not blogging everyday because I had so much to say.

For those of you looking to go into the field and looking to have this job, just know that the classes do not even compare to what the job actually is. It does not prepare you. I mean, no amount of books and classes and tests can prepare you for any field you go into, but this is a very underrated job that many think are easy. This is a very taxing job. It is heavy on the body and can be heavy on the mind. But it is a great job and the interactions you get with each and every one of them is such an incredible feeling. I have made such great relationships with these residents. It really is a great job, but it is A LOT tougher than people think. Don’t let them tell you differently. If it’s easy, you’re not doing the job right. I’ll leave it at that.

I apologize again for not blogging daily and giving you the cool details of each day, but every night when I get home…man I am tired.

So there is my quick update of the last week that I have had and a quick preview of this upcoming week. Have a good day fellow CNA’s!

So this post will be fairly short because it is my weekend, but I kinda love this job? I mean, I’m still getting use to it and obviously things won’t be perfect, but so far it’s been really good. I am learning a lot about each resident and beginning to form close relationships with them. My co-workers AND management are all really kind and they all help out a lot. I feel like I’ll do well and my experience as a CNA will tremendously improve here.

I started my new job! Well, actually yesterday was my first day, but it was a new employee orientation so it really doesn’t count. Today was my first day on the floor and let me tell you…one day there was a lot more interesting than every shift I ever experienced at my old job. Some of these residents are definitely a lot more wild than I thought they’d be. There are quite a few younger males there, too, which makes it more interesting when they all begin to compliment you and hit on you.

There was this one resident who had just come into the facility today and he was the life of the party. Four CNAs had to sit in a room with him for a little while to make sure he calmed down and you guys…this man knew how to make our nights. I’ll leave it at that.

One new thing about this job is we bathe the residents ourselves, whereas my old job we had shower aides for that. I don’t mind that, if anything I feel like it brings me and the residents closer together.

I do love this job so far. All of my co-workers seem real nice and helpful. My management seems to care a lot about their employees and they all help out with the call lights and attending to the residents needs. This job seems a lot better than the other one and I don’t think this facility is short staffed either which makes it a lot less stressful.

All in all, I really feel as though I am going to enjoy working here. It seems like a good and well rounded facility and I can’t wait to be apart of this team.

Have you ever worked for a job where you were able to call in sick and they’d be alright? Have you ever asked to go home early because you were throwing up in the bathroom trying to make it by and they’d be okay with it? Have you ever had a job that didn’t guilt you for being sick? I have. Well, this isn’t that kind of job. At least not the facility.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have strep. As of April 19, 2019, I have strep throat and I told my work that. I didn’t get a “how are you feeling” type of deal, I got told that they can try and cover my shift but that they were going to still schedule me for the following day, Saturday. Most of you know that strep is VERY contagious and you should definitely not be working with it, especially in a facility where there are many residents who are susceptible to getting sick. That isn’t good for neither the resident nor employee. Most facilities would care that their CNA’s right? Even understaffed ones most times. You want that CNA to be able to provide the best care that they possibly can so that the residents get the best experience available. If it wasn’t entirely obvious, that can’t happen when that CNA is sick and can spread something like wildfire.

My facility as been nothing but passive against my illness. I was called multiple times to come into work and given very passive messages from my boss regarding my absence. I am fairly new to this company, mind you, so I don’t know many people and I don’t have anyone’s number to call. My boss does not seem to care about the fact that I have something that can so easily spread to others, she just cares about the shift being covered.

You know how they say you can have a really horrible job, but if your management is good then the job is great no matter what? This isn’t that situation. Though I find joy in interacting with every single one of my residents, I find it hard to interact with those I work with, especially management.

When you look for a job as a CNA, make sure your management has good communication within their facility and make sure that they are going to care about your well being as well. You want to be the best CNA you can be, and you need management that will help you.

Hi all, let me tell you about my work because it’s…special. I’m not talking about my job, I am talking about the company I work for. In about 4 days, I am going to be switching over to another job that is closer to where I live instead of driving 30 minutes to this one. The company I currently work for is understaffed and lacks CNA’s, especially when many become absent as they call in sick. My company has a very interesting approach to handling these situations. I came into work a few days ago, not feeling very well, and I wanted to go home because I didn’t think I was going to be able to handle the rest of the shift. I knew the nurse in charge was a bit stressed so I didn’t want to ask her to go. I was telling a coworker this and a few hours later, the nurse in charge came to talk to me. She told me she wouldn’t let me leave because she was stressed out and that sending me home would make her job a lot harder. Now, while I can understand that, I believe it was completely unfair to me and I felt as though it violated my rights as an employee. Today, April 18 2019, I was supposed to go in at 2, because I work evenings, but I decided to call in sick the night before because I was feeling incredibly ill. This morning, I woke up to many missed calls and voicemails from my work asking me to come in. I guess we just aren’t allowed to be sick.