Oh boy, I don’t even know where to begin here! The last 5 weeks of Health Care Assistant practicum has been so good – I’ve learned so much and have realized that this is what I was meant to do.
Working with Residents
I was pretty nervous at first, working in a Care Facility and actually being hands on with residents is so different than learning things through textbooks and in the lab at school. I got over my nerves after the first few days and then my confidence just kept growing and growing from the feedback I was getting from my instructor, the residents and the staff.
There were new things happening every day that were making me think on my feet and come up with solutions to problems quickly, I was constantly being challenged in a good way and I loved every bit of it.
Helping people that are so vulnerable and rely on you to care for them is one of the most rewarding feelings in the world. All the residents that I have worked with have been such amazing people – they all differ in what is medically wrong with them but they all share the same thing in that they live together and rely on us care aids to be there for them when they need us. I’ve had so many funny, amazing, interesting conversations with residents that have been in my care. Some of them were pilots in the war , some stayed home and raised children all their life , everyone has such different stories and to be a good care aide you need to know who your resident was before they came into your care.
I’ve learned so many little tricks of the trade from working with so many of the care aides , they’ve all be so helpful in teaching me how to do things , they know all the little secrets that help make your job easier and how to deal with all the residents , they know what they like and don’t like. Being able to work with different care aids helps so much because everyone does things differently and you learn so much.
Thankless Job?
A lot of people say that being a care aide is a “Thankless Job” but I find this to be very wrong- my residents thank me every day, they are so appreciative of everything you are doing. You must out yourself in their shoes and think about how it feels to reply on someone for the essential things in life like getting dressed, bathing, eating etc. Most of them will sit there and tell you how good you are and how helpful you are , there is one women I work with that tells me she loves me every time I help her lie down – it just warms my heart ! I am so happy that I made a decision to become a care aide, I really feel like I am making a difference every day I get up and go to my Health Care Assistant practicum!
