The Ultimate Measure Of a Man

Hey guys! Sorry I'm late again :) I just found a new feature for the blog though that will help me post on time in the future.

So today's post is a bit more solemn, as it talks about one of the more negative aspects of my job. As CNAs, we deliver a lot of messages, run errands, take phone calls, etc. When communication between coworkers or between an employee and a patient, there is a chance of error and/or miscommunication. Last night was one of those nights--we had a full house, all beds filled at the facility, which has been rare lately, so administration was very happy. Unfortunately, we were short an aide, which means each aide, instead of having 7 patients, each of us had 10. Just hearing the number doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but if you add in the factors that any new patients coming in are extensive, and it adds at least one shower to your night, (one shower for every 2-3 patients you have is the average) then it makes life miserable.

We also have one particular patient right now that makes all the aides want to rip their hair out: She calls about every five minutes, give or take. She uses a snotty tone, is demanding and impatient, and will hit her call light before you have even left the room, which will have any aide ready to hand in their resignation rather than deal with her for an eight hour shift. To give you an idea, if we left an aide in her room by her bedside, it would cut out half the call lights, at least, that we dealt with last night.

Anyways, in painting that general picture, I will proceed to tell you what happened last night. Being short an aide is miserable, and last night was one of the worst nights I've ever had at my job, hands down. In the shuffle of some new state regulations and trying to get everything done, a patient request fell through the cracks. This patient, when I came in to do her vitals requested pain medication. I wrote a note on the nurses desk and thought no more of it. In the backlog of requests, the craziness of the night, and in rotating breaks, the nurse forgot to give her the pills. Five hours into my eight hour shift was the first time I got to sit down, and even then I was charting, catching up on paperwork, and filling out the room roster for the next shift. This patient came walking past with her husband, and demanded to know why she had not received the medication, and asked if I had forgotten to pass the message on. With the high amount of requests I had already relayed,  I couldn't remember if I had or not, and told her so. She proceeded to chew me out for a few minutes, using harsh words as well as guilt trips to ensure her meaning came across really well.

I sent her to the nurse's desk to receive the medication, and as I tried to pass them to get to another patient's call light, she stopped me and I received another tongue lashing. I am the first to admit that I am such a crybaby, and if someone is angry at me and yells I can hold it in until they are gone and then I go cry. Such was the case last night. I understand where she was coming from. Even though it turned out to be a nurses error, she was in pain and felt ignored, and it's understandable. However, it was a harsh way to handle the situation, and I left work wishing that I had never become an aide. People tell me all the time that they couldn't handle my job because of the dirty aspects of ADLs, or activities of daily living, but that isn't the worst part to me. The worst part to me is how people in pain treat others, even those who are trying to help. It's a lesson, sad though it may be, but a good one to learn, that when we are hurting we need to be extra careful how we treat those around us. Martin Luther King Jr. puts it beautifully when he says “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Something to keep in mind. Have a great week everyone!