Certified Nursing Assistant In Rehab Facility

I am a Certified Nursing Assistant at a nursing facility that specializes in rehabilitation services and long-term health care. I have worked there for 4 years and started with no experience at all.

Nursing assistants help provide care for residents of the facility by assisting them with everyday living activities. I'm responsible for getting them up in the morning, assisting them with their personal hygiene routine, getting out to breakfast, taking them outside to enjoy the fresh air and engage in social activities, and making sure they are safe at all times.

On a scale from 1 to 10, I would rate my job satisfaction an 8. I enjoy working with people and I get a lot of satisfaction from helping others. At times, I feel rushed and that is what holds me back from rating my job a 10.

This job moves my heart because I really enjoy providing care for others when they need it. I am a sympathetic and compassionate person so I feel like this is what I may be meant to do in life.

I came into health care with no experience at all. The characteristic I think is the most important is compassion. Success in the health care industry will come naturally to any compassionate and caring individual.

One day I was looking through the classifieds in the newspaper when I ran across a position for a nursing assistant. It specified that no experience was necessary and paid training was available. This intrigued me to call and I got an interview the following week. I began working within a week of being hired and the classes that were necessary for certification started a month after. I completed 90 hours of coursework and received my certification a month after completion.

This job has taught me that some people are not as compassionate as others. I have worked with many different nursing assistants in my 4 years and have observed the different levels and aspects of compassion with each one. At times, it seems hard to work as a team when you are working with others who do not share the same compassionate attitude as yourself.

The most important thing I have learned in the working world outside of school is that working as a team can make a company run efficiently and effectively. Being responsible for your own actions is crucial and working together to provide great service is a critical part of a company's success.

The strangest thing that has happened to me while working was when one of our residents claimed that she had seen a black figure in her room. Her eyes were wide open and a much darker color than her original eye color. A few hours later, my coworker and I had seen this dark figure run across the hall we were walking down while we were making our rounds to check on residents.

I enjoy getting up and going to work each day because I am anxious to see the residents that I have developed a relationship with. It really makes me proud when I get to work and they are happy to see me and greet me with smiles and hugs. Once I get to work, even on the days that I am tired, I instantly feel a sense of excitement and forget any negative feelings I felt beforehand.

The biggest challenge in this job would be dealing with the residents that are combative or uncooperative. There are times that I have to walk out of the room and take a few deep breaths before I come back in and attempt to perform my duties.

My job can be stressful as nursing assistants have many duties to perform in a single work shift. Similar to a snowflake, there are no 2 days that are exactly alike and while one day is peaceful and relaxed, the next may be chaotic. I'm able to balance work and life comfortably because I'm the same type of person on the job as I'm at home. I don't have to take my work home with me so I'm able to maintain a healthy life outside of work.

A nursing assistant can start around minimum wage and work their way up to a higher salary with more experience. I have had several raises in pay since I began and at the present time, I am making enough to support my family of 4 comfortably with the help of my husband's income.

I am entitled to a week of vacation each year with pay. I can take a few days off or the entire week and whatever time remains, adds up with the next year vacation time. For example, if I take 3 days off this year, I will get 4 additional vacation days added to next year's vacation, making it a total of 11 days off. It is a decent amount of time to recuperate and relax.

The skills necessary to succeed include the ability to follow directions, stay calm under pressure, and all nursing assistants must be CPR certified.

If a friend was considering my line of work, I would tell them that it can be emotionally challenging as well as extremely satisfying. The one rule I live by is to remain compassionate to all residents even in the most difficult situations.

In five years, I would like to be finished with nursing school and become a registered nurse.