Dimple's Discoveries

I am no longer a Certified Nursing Assistant. Even as I type this post it hasn't quite sunk in. No more will I answer a call light, use a Hoyer, or assist with a straight catheter. I have officially resigned from one of my jobs, and I can honestly say that job has changed my life. The work I've done, the patients I've cared for, the coworkers I've loved, it has altered my life in a way that nothing else could, and I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the blessing of working there. There were ups and downs, tears and laughter, good days and bad, but it will never be forgotten. So many people there have touched my heart and taught me lessons that will never fade from memory. I want to name a few of them and the lessons they taught me, more for my sake than for anyone reading. Jared : who patiently taught me maintenance skills and was always kind to me, no matter how bad his day was. Susan and Barbara : who cheered me up countless days with their bright smiles,...

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...

I have been a CNA for years. I have cared for thousands of patients, and yet suddenly, this last couple weeks I have come across a challenge that I've never encountered before: A deaf patient. Talk about a reminder to be grateful for these wonderful bodies we have been given, because I've abruptly learned how much I rely on my hearing to get me through the day. This particular patient has come to us with the inability to speak more than an unclear word or two, she has barely enough motor skills to sign a little, and most the staff hasn't the slightest idea how to communicate with her. This brings up a HUGE problem in health care. We have frequently had patients who speak another language (generally Spanish) and we cannot interact with them, and it becomes a very frustrating thing for staff and patient alike. Thankfully because of an aunt that is deaf, I know a little, (a very little) sign language, and so I've been trying to communicate to her as much as possible in o...

I am working as a CNA for the last time (I know I've said that before, but I'm heading back to school to begin my new job as an admissions counselor on campus, so now it's official) and I had forgotten: forgotten how satisfying it is to help a patient, to provide for their needs, to leave them happier than when they called you; however, I had also forgotten how utterly frustrating it can be to be unable to provide the care you would personally love to give, how aggravating it can be to run for 9 hours and feel like you haven't even made a dent in the cares you should, how emotional it can be to stand by the bedside of someone in pain and realize you could have cared for better had you only had the time. Missing one of my friends named, but I'll post a picture once he and I take one together! :) But most importantly I found that I had forgotten what treasured friendships I have at my job. I have a coworker who I love dearly who is like family to me, and she is ...

Time for a medical post again! Sorry to those of you who follow me for the medical posts, I will do more once I’m back at my jobs again. I’m actually headed back to work soon and getting a short break from school (very excited!) and it’s got me thinking back to some special moments I’ve had with my patients. I realized that one patient in particular has affected the decision I made to choose my career of counseling instead of nursing, and I wish I knew where he was so I could tell him that. I remember it like it was yesterday. It had been a long day. I worked four hours at one of my jobs, had three hours off, then went to my other job and worked 16 hours there. Working twenty hours in a twenty four hour period is exhausting, and I was pretty slap happy by the end of it. I was on auto-pilot trying to make it through the shift, starting it off by ‘rounding’ on my patients and doing vitals, and I went in his room. He was a very fun patient, he has a dry sense of humor that I hadn'...

Today's post is something I have strong feelings about, so this one might be a little more passionate, but I feel like it's an important thing to address, and I would like to make a stand to anyone who reads this blog, in the hopes that I can help diffuse some prejudices (and yes, I mean prejudice) about LDRs (long distance relationships). We learned in my Family Relations class a few weeks ago that communication is broken down as follows: Words=14% Tone=35% Non-verbal=51% We will be forced at times, no matter our relationship, to use alternative forms of communication, and they cut out 86% of our communication ability, but does that mean that we can't make this work? Does this mean that a military man or woman has no hope of ever finding and retaining love? Does it mean that we can never maintain a healthy relationship with someone who we don't see every day? Absolutely not! It just means that your communication skills have to be better than the average c...

Sometimes you just need a pick-me-up in life, and as I've been job hunting and having no success so far, I've needed to find little ways to cheer myself up and re-motivate myself to keep going, so here are some of Jade's favorite things in the world: (I made this cake!) Kid History Episodes: especially this one! Kid History: "Fact!" Episode 4 Smelling the car wash as I walk past Getting sprayed by sprinklers as I go somewhere Dr. Pepper  Babysitting my cousins  Quoting movies Anything Disney Chocolate Wearing sweatpants, T-shirts, or scrubs Taking a drive alone while jamming to my favorite songs  Gerbera daisies Thunderstorms Zebra print Writing to my best friend on his mission Wearing mis-matched socks One Direction songs: especially "What Makes You Beautiful" Zumba Talking to Kylin  Teaching women about domestic violence or self defense Pinterest  Quotes Harry Potter  McGriddle breakfasts at McDonalds 'Hey Girl' po...

Today's post is going to be unlike any that's ever been on this blog before-however, this is something that has been on my mind, and I would like to offer my thoughts on the subject, whatever those thoughts are worth. We had a lesson today in Relief Society which was on self-mastery, and the teacher wanted a section of it to cover modesty, but the discussion that stemmed from this topic ended up dominating the entire hour. There was definitely tension in the air as the topic was addressed and comments were made. Comments like: what they or others wear is their choice, that many were raised differently, that each girl can decide what she wants to wear and thinks is modest, that a bikini isn't immodest, that immodest girls aren't walking pornography, and we have no right to comment on what anyone wears. As I sat there and watched this dear teacher up at the front struggle to address the comments while still establishing the standard, I thought about what was being said....

I have moved back to school, and am currently working as a Victim's Advocate at a Crisis Center, and yesterday I was privileged to be able to have a few hours to go serve there. I was helping to decorate some windows, and then my boss called me over and handed me a stack of files and asked me to do follow-ups. Follow ups with clients means that you go through their file, read all the history, incident reports, protection orders, etc. and then call the victim and ask how things are going, and then offer the services that they might need from us (ie: diapers, food, counseling, court advocacy, etc). I sat down and started reading. Some files had just one report, others had inches of reports from years past til now. Some were young, some were old, some were married for years, some had been dating a couple weeks. Some successfully left, some have since returned to the predator. Some had several children, some had none. All of these women were very different in many ways, but they ha...

I haven't written on the blog for a while as some of you will have noticed. I've been trying to decide how I would write this particular post, as this is a hard thing for me. Almost a year ago I got hurt Indian leg wrestling my roommate (here's the link if you missed that post:  http://angelwithastethoscope.blogspot.com/search/label/E.R. ) and doctors thought I had pulled some tendons in my neck and upper back. A few weeks ago, unexpectedly, I was at work when I started hurting again like I did that night. I couldn't lift patients, and even had to use two gait belts to strap an ice pack on my back in order to keep working. I thought maybe I had just moved wrong and it would go away. A week later when the pain hadn't subsided I went in to see my doctor. The diagnosis: I've injured the muscles, and my continued strain on them at my job is worsening the symptoms. I have started physical therapy, but it has now become necessary for me to quit being a CNA. I spent...

What is the definition of a caregiver? Someone who toilets patients and changes them and answers call lights? Someone who deals with old people? Someone who wears scrubs and gets yelled at? Well that all is true, but to me the definition of a caregiver is a lot more than that. To me a caregiver is someone who lovingly cares for someone as if they were their own loved one, through tough times, through pain, through frustration and loss, to be a shoulder to cry on, a friendly hug when necessary, a listening ear when someone needs, and a cheerleader for good times. :) This week I noticed how I get to be a listening ear constantly. I have just barely added a new job title to my resume--administrative assistant. I have been doing paperwork, running little errands, etc. for the administrator to help her catch up on some work around the office. It means that I can wear high heels to work (what?!) have normal office hours, and not run for any call lights. It also means some much needed rest ...

I start a new rigorous work schedule this month: 7 days a week. Every week. Four days off this month. Can anyone say burnout? But I love what I'm doing :) It's worth it to keep the time flying by (and it keeps me from having to socialize like a normal human being too, which is always a bonus!) But I've been really tired lately, going to work has been a bit harder recently. I had lost sight of why I do what I do, but Heavenly Father always seems to find little ways to remind me, as He did this week. I was med tech for a Sunday graveyard, and I was tired. When I arrived I was told that one of our patients had refused food and water all day, and just been sleeping. Her time was coming. The patients always seem to know, and the decline usually happens rapidly. She wasn't expected to last more than a day or two, if she survived the night. The problem was that since her decline had happened so rapidly, we had no E-kit for her, (a kit of liquid Lorazepam and Morphine to...

We recently admitted a patient at the rehabilitation center I work at who has dementia. A few of the CNAs have started to be very impatient with him, as they haven't had a lot of experience with working with a patient who is losing their memory, especially one with such an advanced case as he has. He will start sentences and not be able to finish them. He panics when we try to transfer him because he doesn't understand or comprehend what we verbally tell him unless we repeat it several times. As a caregiver you have patients you can really get along with and patients you can't seem to click with at all, and this man has been one that I have really connected with. He reminds me a lot of another sweetheart I took care of years ago who died, and I miss her a lot, and so it's been a treat to be reminded of her when I'm working with him. Because of some work on his kidneys, he has had to frequently urinate, and it's not uncommon for him to need to go every 20...

This week has been busy with work at both jobs, and I have done something this week that I have never done before-stand up for myself. I have two patients, one at each facility, that have been extremely rude this week to our staff, screaming at the employees, refusing to let us do our job until they have things done in the order and at what particular time they want it, regardless of the other patients in the building or what time we are supposed to leave work. This can be exasperating for caregivers, and is unfair to us as we try to do our job to be treated in this manner. In all the years I've been working, I've never had the guts to stand up for myself, and I've stood in the room and allowed patients to yell at me and chew me out, to the point that I leave their rooms crying and can't go back in any more that shift as a result. I recognized this week as I heard one particular patient screaming at the nurse who was trying to give him insulin to manage his diabetes, ...

I have worked with dementia patients for several years now, so much that it has almost become routine. I never think anything of it anymore. Because of that, I sometimes forget what a hard trial it can be on the family members of those who suffer this degenerative disease. At one of my facilities I have been working with a patient who not only has dementia but has recently suffered a stroke, so her speech has been very impaired. She has, over the time she has spent at our facility, been improving in her communicating, and we can now understand a lot more of what she says, although she still doesn't finish sentences and we sometimes have to fill in the holes. I saw her daughter in her bedroom with her last night, and I slipped in to greet her and check on my patient. Her daughter has been so dedicated in coming to visit and caring for her mom, but as is often the case, her mom cannot remember that they are related, and as a result her daughter often leaves crying. I have talked ...

We have a patient right now who has severe special needs. In my almost four years of CNA work now, she is one of two patients I have taken care of that have had special needs, and they require a whole different kind of care. They don't understand what we are doing to them, and often push back on the busy caregivers who try to quickly come in and out to do their work, which causes frustration on both ends. For a busy caregiver, this can be a huge frustration! We only have so much time to complete so much work, and if we don't get it done, patients suffer. On the other hand, you have a patient who can't understand why these strangers rush into her room, pull down her pants and want to change her bottom or have her roll on the bed. As you can see, conflict can arise, as such has been the case. The other day during report the shift coming on was told by the previous shift that they couldn't get this patient to cooperate, she was fighting them, unpleasant, and should bas...

I went home and worked this weekend for the Thanksgiving break, and what a treat that was to be able to don my scrubs and get going again at something I love. Since finals week is coming soon, I have to keep it short today, but I had to share this story, as it changed my perspective. I was getting report from evening shift as I was coming on to work the grave, and heard a patient's name that sounded familiar. This is pretty common, most of our clients have been to us at least once, and we're honored that they enjoy the experience with us so much that they keep returning when they need that care. Anyway, I asked a couple questions to see if this was actually the patient I was thinking of, and it was, only she had gotten drastically worse since her last time with us, and it isn't looking great for her. After report I slipped quietly into her room to do her vitals. Vitals at night consist of taking pulse and O2, which can all be done with an oximeter, which can be slipp...

The Certified Nurse Assistant Our Prayer As I enter into my place of calling I ask for strength as I help those in needing Hide my tears for the sick and aging and let my smile be the hope they're seeking. Guide my hands as they do for them The things they cannot do, and we take for granted Allow my eyes to see those things that make my stay with them a blessing Provide the words I need to speak To let them know I love them so. As I do my work throughout the day It is for my residents that I stay, and for my residents that I pray

As caregivers, we tend to be loving people. This means that we frequently get hurt. You'll find that caregivers across the board will have the biggest hearts of anyone you could ever meet. Who else could care for patients who can be crude, harsh, cruel, and even abusive for hours on hours without mirroring the same? The weakness of the caregiver is that they feel too much, care for too many, they give of themselves to so many people that they are often getting hurt by those they care for. Why is that big of a heart a problem? Well, patients die. People change. Friends walk away. It's all a part of life. Caregivers have a hard time letting go, even when it is time. I was sent a forwarded email one time that this reminds me of, it's called "A reason, a season, a lifetime". It talks about how we are sent others in our life for a reason, such as to help us through a problem, a season, to guide us through a season or period of change, and finally, once or twice a lif...

Today's post is a long time coming, I've been up to a lot lately, namely campaigning for Mitt Romney and starting a new class, along with a few hard core anatomy exams. Today's post is also going to be very different from what I usually post about. Today's post is going to be about my class I started this week. In order to get into the nursing program I need to have a lot of service on my resume. Ironically, for a year now I have been trying to get into a volunteer position at the community crisis center as a victim advocate. This is wonderful because I can serve doing something I have been wanting to do for ages, and use it as a step into something else I love as well. Last night I attended and am enrolled through Dec. 11th. I will be working as a sort of counselor for domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault victims, working with local law enforcement as I arrive on scene to talk to and try to guide these victims and help them. I will even be meeting up with some...