White Lies
As CNAs, we lie. A lot. All the time actually. I know what you are thinking, 'That's awful!' and that is kind of true, but it also is better for the patients sometimes. I work in geriatrics, where my patients are forgetting everything. My dementia and Alzheimer patients especially struggle, and life is often miserable being trapped in the memories they are. Sometimes reality isn't the best way to deal with a situation. I'll give an example--I have a patient that will hardly eat. It isn't uncommon for her to go a few days without eating anything besides a cracker or two, or maybe a cookie. When you lose your sense of taste and/or don't have much motivation to live, why eat? The only way we can get her to eat is to tell her that her mom is looking for her, and she is in the dining room waiting for her to come eat breakfast with her. My patient will jump up and hurry down to the dining room, and by the time she gets there and breakfast is in front of her, she h...