Reflections of a CNA student

I just completed by CNA clinical rotations and the most important thing I learned from these past four weeks was communication. I was a new face caring for residents when they were in their most vulnerable state, which is not easy for anyone to be comfortable with. I quickly learned that communication was the best way to make them trust and be comfortable with me. I also learned how to communicate with residents with different conditions. For example, I worked with residents with dementia, hearing aids that weren’t working, residents who were not very talkative, residents that had had a stroke, residents that were aggressive, and some that kept falling asleep in the middle of eating. I adapted to each condition and found the best way to communicate with the residents. I had to adapt the way I talked to each resident, but one aspect of communication that was universal, no matter the circumstances, was safe touch. Safe touch allowed the residents to know that I was there for them. I noticed that with residents who were harder to get to open up, they would only look up, look me in the eyes, or answer my questions if I had my hand placed on their shoulder. – Tara Sabih