Satisfaction in a Job Well Done
At my job right now we are struggling with filling all the shifts, we've been a bit short-handed lately, and it's starting to show in our work unfortunately. You caregivers know that it's all you can do to complete your work if you have 8 patients in a rehabilitation setting, and when we are short-handed it's 11-12 patients, and patient care becomes patient maintenance as you can only ensure that patients are safe, fed, clean and in bed instead of being able to tend to their emotional needs or some extra cares that are so satisfying to us as caregivers. Even on nights that we have full staff, it can be frustrating to not have time to do everything I've wanted to. I'll come back to this thought, don't worry.
I have a patient right now who is a quadriplegic, and has been for about twenty years. She has recently had a neck surgery that has rendered her unable to sit up more than 15 degrees for weeks. This woman sits in bed, staring at the ceiling for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. She cannot scratch an itch, roll herself, or do anything really for herself. Despite this fact, she is the most pleasant patient I have in that building, and one of the most upbeat, positive people I've ever encountered, and she makes me ashamed of my mindset some days. She has EVERY reason to be bitter, every reason to complain, every reason to lash out, and yet she is the first to forgive if we do something wrong, the first to make a kind comment to someone, the first to look for the bright side of things. Everyone on staff adores her, and we flock to her room whenever we have a chance.
To combine my two trains of thought, she joked about us renting a gurney to take her outside so she could enjoy some sunshine again, and that had been sitting on the back burner in my mind ever since I heard her say that. The other day I was in the same room as both my boss and my boss' boss, and I suggested an idea on how to get her outside, and between two of us we were able to come up with an idea, which I ran with! You find that as you try to serve others, you will find a way and the strength and drive beyond your own to make it happen. We started to make it a reality when we discovered that she would need someone to sit outside with her in order to allow her to be out there, staff members started volunteering their dinner breaks, and we realized that if we lined up our dinner breaks just right, we could have her sitting outside for two hours!! We excitedly went in to tell her the happy news, and she was so happy, I swear she lit up the room. Taking her outside that night was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done as a CNA, watching her face ignite with happiness was like a soothing balm to my soul, healing all the frustration and irritation at my job. "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." It couldn't be more true, and how grateful I was that we could not only serve our God, but feel the joy of assisting her in a small way too.
I have a patient right now who is a quadriplegic, and has been for about twenty years. She has recently had a neck surgery that has rendered her unable to sit up more than 15 degrees for weeks. This woman sits in bed, staring at the ceiling for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. She cannot scratch an itch, roll herself, or do anything really for herself. Despite this fact, she is the most pleasant patient I have in that building, and one of the most upbeat, positive people I've ever encountered, and she makes me ashamed of my mindset some days. She has EVERY reason to be bitter, every reason to complain, every reason to lash out, and yet she is the first to forgive if we do something wrong, the first to make a kind comment to someone, the first to look for the bright side of things. Everyone on staff adores her, and we flock to her room whenever we have a chance.
To combine my two trains of thought, she joked about us renting a gurney to take her outside so she could enjoy some sunshine again, and that had been sitting on the back burner in my mind ever since I heard her say that. The other day I was in the same room as both my boss and my boss' boss, and I suggested an idea on how to get her outside, and between two of us we were able to come up with an idea, which I ran with! You find that as you try to serve others, you will find a way and the strength and drive beyond your own to make it happen. We started to make it a reality when we discovered that she would need someone to sit outside with her in order to allow her to be out there, staff members started volunteering their dinner breaks, and we realized that if we lined up our dinner breaks just right, we could have her sitting outside for two hours!! We excitedly went in to tell her the happy news, and she was so happy, I swear she lit up the room. Taking her outside that night was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done as a CNA, watching her face ignite with happiness was like a soothing balm to my soul, healing all the frustration and irritation at my job. "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." It couldn't be more true, and how grateful I was that we could not only serve our God, but feel the joy of assisting her in a small way too.
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