So I made it through my first week of work! I must say I am pleasantly surprised. I wasn't quite sure what I was about to be thrown into and could only imagine the worst. After the first 2 days, I pretty much knew most of the routine and had some of the residents names memorized. By the end of day 4, I was confident enough to be on my own with a little prompting with things I had never done before such as taking a blood pressure. My brain was full of all sorts of things from, so-and-so likes hot tea before dinner, to which cleaning agent to put in the mop bucket! The nursing field is quite different but I'm glad to have the experience should I ever need to use it.
Most of my residents live in "Cottage Care" which is a step below living in their own Apartments. Almost all of my 14 residence use walkers and a few in wheel chairs. They don't know me by name yet because for one, they change staff regularly and for 2, they cant remember half the time what was for lunch! They do however, recognize my face most of the time and seems genuinely happy to see me.
I am on my second work week and find that I still really enjoy it. I have my favorite residents already and they are all very sweet in their own ways. For instance, one of my residents will say "Thank You" even if you look at her. She is so sweet and was a P.O.W for 4 1/2 years when she was 14. Another one of my residents asks me every night before bed "is this where I'm suppose to be? Am I going to fall off the bed?" Half the time I know the answer to her question before its asked because I hear it EVERY night. They really are great. I'm enjoying myself and glad to be working again.
