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Thanks TerryL. Yes, the agency said they can let me do a "Meet and Greet" before making a commitment. That sounds ideal, but I have to be careful not to appear as though I am client shopping with the intention of cherry-picking my assignments. That gets really frowned upon. Next Friday I get some more orientation to this agency's home care division. I'll get through that and then decide what to do next.
shezbut, I am really grateful for your post. I was a nurse's aide from age 17 to age 25. There was no certification back then; you just learned on the job from the old hands. What means a lot to me is that you have the experience to really know what is involved. In a facility (nursing home) this client would usually have two CNA's working together for a lot of the care. Also, I only get to make a visit, not work a normal length shift. That basically means working frantically at hard labor to squeeze in - well, you know the routine. There is transferring with the Hoyer, showering, bowel and bladder care, oral hygiene, skin care, dressing changes, range-of-motion exercises. Plus feeding and administering meds. Plus cleaning the clients room, ordering supplies, cleaning the bathroom and doing the dishes. The last time I did a shift with a quad, I Hoyer lifted him 7 times within 12 hours. The next day, I felt like I got hit by a truck. As an aide, I used to get 15 patients on the evening shift. Then as a nurse, I would get 30 to 45 patients on the evening shift. So I won't even go near facilities anymore. I've done home care since 2006. I was able to get ambulatory clients for 4 and 1/2 years who were in a special program. Since I left that agency, I am finding that most agencies have Medicaid and Medicare clients. For them to get home care they have to have serious needs. For them to qualify for a licensed nurse, they have to be pretty fragile. I am seriously thinking about trying to work as a companion. The wages would be low, but I don't need much to survive. I just want something I can succeed at. So I am in the process of applying to another agency that would use me as a non-medical home assistant. No, you haven't depressed me. I am almost 59 years old. You understand how doing heavy custodial care on a quad, plus all the skilled stuff, is really too much at my age. I would have all that labor, then, because I am a nurse, I would have to write an involved assessment every time I went to the home. I kind of don't even need to go there to know what the job involves. Sounds like you have been where I am and had to make decisions I am faced with. Volunteering would be lovely, but I have to earn to live. I am not married and I live alone. Because I got a raw deal when I was let go from the other agency last year, the state approved me for Unemployment Benefits. They will not last indefinitely. I am scared of what would happen to me then.
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