I currently work full time at a nursing home as a state-tested nurse aide. My job is to assist people who cannot care for themselves to perform basic care that is required on a daily basis. A few of my job duties include helping residents of this facility with bathing, getting dressed each morning, brushing their teeth, assisting them in eating their meals, and taking them to the restroom,. That is just a small amount of tasks I complete in during an exhausting 12-hour shift. In the medical field, this care is called activities of daily living, or A.D.L.’s for short. I chose this job because I am studying to become a nurse, and I want to work in the field for which I am attending school in order to gain useful experience. I have had a full-time
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For example, a resident lying on their left side must be turned to the right side, or on their back at least every two hours throughout the day. Furthermore, since I was turning every resident, I also checked to make sure none of them needed clean bed sheets due to bowel and/or bladder incontinence. I also asked each resident that was able to answer if they needed to use a bed pan or urinal while I was in the room to prevent incontinence from happening in the first place. This is called two hour rounds, and must be done to prevent skin breakdown and assess the needs of each …show more content…
Then, it was right back to work. Amanda and I began our next two-hour round of checking the residents and ensuring that each of their needs were met to the best of our abilities. If we could not meet the needs, the nurse was notified. Also during this round, we began giving bed baths. Every day, each person on the vent unit is given the option of receiving a bed bath. We had ten people in our section so that meant ten bed baths, assuming all of them accepted the offer.
Of the ten of residents I was caring for, only three wanted a bed bath. Others refused for various reasons, including not feeling well enough, or visitors were present in the room. Each bed bath took Amanda and I twenty-five minutes to complete. Every aide has their own way of completing tasks such as a bed bath. Since I had Amanda to assist me, she washed hair while I washed the body. Therefore, this made the baths much quicker. Also, while giving a bed bath we look for any skin breakdowns that must be reported to the nurse. Multi-tasking is key in this line of
For example, a resident lying on their left side must be turned to the right side, or on their back at least every two hours throughout the day. Furthermore, since I was turning every resident, I also checked to make sure none of them needed clean bed sheets due to bowel and/or bladder incontinence. I also asked each resident that was able to answer if they needed to use a bed pan or urinal while I was in the room to prevent incontinence from happening in the first place. This is called two hour rounds, and must be done to prevent skin breakdown and assess the needs of each …show more content…
Then, it was right back to work. Amanda and I began our next two-hour round of checking the residents and ensuring that each of their needs were met to the best of our abilities. If we could not meet the needs, the nurse was notified. Also during this round, we began giving bed baths. Every day, each person on the vent unit is given the option of receiving a bed bath. We had ten people in our section so that meant ten bed baths, assuming all of them accepted the offer.
Of the ten of residents I was caring for, only three wanted a bed bath. Others refused for various reasons, including not feeling well enough, or visitors were present in the room. Each bed bath took Amanda and I twenty-five minutes to complete. Every aide has their own way of completing tasks such as a bed bath. Since I had Amanda to assist me, she washed hair while I washed the body. Therefore, this made the baths much quicker. Also, while giving a bed bath we look for any skin breakdowns that must be reported to the nurse. Multi-tasking is key in this line of