Assisted Living Nurse Essay
For as long as I can remember I have always loved being around elderly people, helping them, and showing them that not all of my generation is rude and inconsiderate. I remember meeting my grandmother for the first time this year, it was very saddening to see all of the elderly people wasting away in the hallways with no one to talk to, all those stories to be told but no one around to listen. As I was walking the halls trying to find my parents, multiple little old grey haired ladies stopped me just to talk. To them I was a friendly face, and someone they can talk to without any judgment. Being an assisted living nurse while at times may be difficult, it is rewarding as well. The most difficult part would be knowing that not just one of my
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patients, but one of my friends, will not be alive for much longer. I will have to push the emotions aside and bathe them, feed them, and make sure they are as comfortable as they can possibly be. I chose to be an assisted living nurse because I believe that I can make a difference in someone's life. I hope to learn what it is like to help others be happy while being away from their home and family they’ve had all their life. I want to know how hard they have worked to get where they are today. During my research I will see if this profession, being an assisted living nurse is something I want to do for the rest of my working life.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
In order to become an assisted living nurse I will have to obtain my Bachelor’s degree in nursing. I will be attending Centralia college to earn a Bachelor’s degree, the cost of this four year will be $9,410 for all four years(“Centralia”). After I have my bachelor’s degree I want to go to Saxion University in the Netherlands to work on my Masters degree for two years, to do so it would be $7,890.41 not including the moving expenses (“Warning”). For me this will take 7 to 8 years to complete my goals of becoming an assisted living nurse. Altogether my tuition would be $17,300.41. During my time at Saxion I plan on joining a program that lets students live in the dorms if I spend 30 hours or more a month with the elderly people in an assisted living home (“Dutch”). While I am in college to obtain my Bachelors I will need to take a NAC curse along with speech, Math, and other nursing courses offered at Centralia College. While at Saxion University I will be taking a course called Master Care & Technology. This is a two year course that counts as a Masters of Science degree. This course will teach the expertise to drive innovation in my place of work (“Warning”). I want to go to this program because I want to work with elderly people, I want to experience life in another culture. I want to be away from everything I’ve ever known and struggle. I want to be able to say I achieved what I aspired to be and made it happen. I want to look back on all the nights I spent eating crackers for dinner and say it was worth it. If I ever want to continue my career in the medical field I will go back to school to get my Medical Doctorate degree to become a surgeon. Tuition at the University of Washington is $30,186 per year for three years would be $90,558. All together my schooling will be $107,858, that’s if I choose to become a Medical Doctor. Even though it takes a lot of years of hard work and discipline I believe that at the end of my education it will be worth every cent.
JOB SKILLS, TALENTS, AND EXPERIENCE
In order for me to become a successful assisted living nurse there are several skills, and talents I will need through training and gain more experience. I will need to be able to be well organized, manage stress in an efficient way, good communication, and most importantly be kind and have compassion as well as many others (“Top”). I believe that I possess most of the skills needed to become an assisted living nurse. I have patience, I am kind and compassionate, I’m responsible, caring and loving towards those in need. I have the patience needed to help the elderly slowly go along their everyday activities. For the experience I will need to become an assisted living nurse I will need to go through a training course at Centralia College, and during that time volunteer at a nursing home and help out during the day and take classes at night. I believe I am suited to a career in assisted living because I have always been drawn to help those in need, even now I’m still drawn to help everyone. According to NursingLink nurses have to be great at multi-tasking, customer service, thinking critically/making decisions, they have to work well in a team, dedication, and last but not least have good people skills (“8 Amazing”). I believe I posses all of these traits that add up to be a successful assisted living nurse.
Almost every time I go to the store or anywhere I always get asked to help someone. Whether it’s a small fragile elderly lady in a wheelchair asking for me to get something on the top shelf or someone's boyfriend looking for a certain type of mascara (true stories). I sort of have past experience, when I was in seventh grade my mom had cancer. During her treatment I helped her through the painfully hard steps we took together on her rocky road to recovery. After her nine hour surgery the possibility she had of surviving was slim, but she became stronger with each passing day until she was able to come home. It was when she was home that I helped administer her pain medication through her feeding tube and help keep her clean and fed. The process was long, and seemed to take forever but I will forever be grateful for the experience that I received in a time that scared me to death, and helped me become the strong and capable person I am today.
EARNINGS
Being an assisted living nurse isn’t the most luxurious job there is but the annual salary will keep food on the table and a roof over my head. I most likely won’t live in a big fancy house or have an expensive car, but I’ll have a home and a car that takes me where I need to go. In Washington state the starting salary for a nurse is $44,340 annually and an registered nurse or RN has a salary of $76,420 (“State Washington”). While in California the annual salary for starting out was $71,000 and for an RN the salary is $96,980 annually (“State California”). The national average for an RN is $66,640. While there are promotional opportunities that will occur, it won’t make much of a difference when it comes to income. Some things that can affect the income is your education, if you have a higher education you will be paid more than someone who has the bare minimum of education. When going into this career I will have to purchase scrubs and shoes, altogether this will add up to $428.92 for three tops, three bottoms, and two pairs of slip resistant shoes (“Scrubs”). These fees will not be able to be deferred because the uniform is part of a well functioning nurse. Although a high income is important when choosing a career, choosing something I enjoy is more important than how much money is in my bank account.
BENEFITS AND RISK FACTORS In any career one has chosen, there will always be benefits and possible risk factors to that career. Some of the benefits include but not limited to; flexible work schedule, mental satisfaction, and lifelong learning. Health care is provided by the employer, as well as dental and vision (“by attending”). Being an assisted living nurse there is a risk of contracting certain virus’ when in contact with residents in the facility. Other risks include but definitely not limited to; slipping and injuring oneself, exposure to radiation, fatigue and lower back pain, and skin irritation (due to excessive hand washing). There may also be exposure to harmful chemicals and other hazardous substances (“OSH”). Being exposed to chemicals and other harmful substances isn’t something that should be taken with a light heart, one should always be careful during any point of handling or working around chemicals and wear protective clothing. One benefit I learned was that if one works at a place for a nearly twenty years, one can practically choose what days and what shifts to work. Being able to pick my own schedule is something I would love because in the future when I have a family I could actually see my kids and not have to worry about my children missing me while working several days in a row. The freedom would be amazing.
EMPLOYMENT
There are several factors that can influence the availability of jobs in my career field. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook the expected growth of nursing between 2014 and 2024 will be 17%. The availability of being a nurse is significant, there are always nursing positions and a need for people in this field. The amount of jobs available as a nurse in 2014 was 1,545,200, as it is expected to increase by 267,800, making it a total of 1,807,884 jobs available (“Summary”).. The likelihood of me getting hired in an assisted living home is high because there will always be a need to help the elder generations get through the aging process. One point of concern is that the shortage is occurring just as the massive Baby Boomer generation is aging into their senior years, when they will likely require more healthcare. Compounding the problem, a large number of Baby Boomer nurses are nearing retirement age (“Shortage”). This is, to me, a National problem because Baby Boomers are not just in Washington state, it's all over the United States. One thing that could potentially affect the nursing workforce is the rising incidence of chronic disease, an aging nursing workforce, and the limited capacity of nursing schools—this shortage is on the cusp of becoming a crisis, one with worrying implications for patients and health-care providers alike (“The Atlantic”). With the decreasing numbers in nursing and the need for nurses growing rapidly, there isn’t always enough room in every nursing class and the risk of there being a shortage with nurses makes me want to become a nurse even more to help those in need. Even though I will be in an assisted living home, I will still be able to help and assist the ones who need help while being one more nurse in the world to take the responsibility of someone else’s life into my hands.
TYPICAL DAY Before one chooses what career they want to pursue it is important to know what their day will entail on just the normal day.
On a normal day one would discuss patients with the nurse who was previously were on shift, to basically tie up loose ends on who needs to be watched extra carefully and who is doing perfectly well. After getting information on how the residents are doing it’s time to start the “Med” list, the Med list is a book full of what kind of medication, what dose of each medicine and how often, for each resident. After getting the residents medication ready, one should double check to see if they have the correct amount of medication and sign each medication in the book to ensure others looking through the book that all the residents have been well taken care of. After everyone is all taken care of then one can start charting and adding notes to the residents charts. No matter what time of day it is one has to prioritize what's most important, for example if a resident falls and breaks something, while in another part of the home a resident wants something to snack on, one has to tend to the most important issue. Towards the end of the shift one has to report to other nurses on what has happened during the shift, and then do a narcotic count, after that one can leave
(“Griffith”). The usual hours for a registered nurse working in an assisted living home is 8 hour shifts about 3-5 days a week. It really depends on how much one want to work and how flexible the place one works at is. If one gets sick and is not able to make it one has to call in at least two hours before the shift (“Griffith”). Some of the best parts of the day in my opinion is when you get to socialize with all of the elderly people, usually after dinner and before medications are due to most of the residents. While being able to socialize with the caretakers, and nurses as well. One of the most difficult parts of the day is if someone passes away and watching their families mourn the loss of a loved one (“Griffith”). The typical day of being a nurse is manageable and seems like a great career to have.
APTITUDE
Throughout this research process I have discovered that I have a remarkable aptitude for this career field. In an earlier section, I stated the job skills needed in this career, I need to be well organized, have good communication, handle stress in a manageable way, have fast problem solving skills, and have compassion for others. I believe I have most to all of the skills I would need to be successful nurse. I believe I am suited for this career because I have past experience with helping tend to my mother when she went through Esophageal cancer that nearly killed her. I learned how to administer her medication through her feeding tube, and how to clean her feeding tube, I learned a lot about how to care for someone who isn’t capable to care for themselves. I have tremendous compassion for those who are sick and can’t live one their own, even those who can live on their own and choose not to. I believe I have compassion for everyone, even when they don’t need or deserve it. When my mother did go through chemotherapy and radiation, she got so sick to the point of her not being able to be touched, her illness is a major factor in what made me want to become a nurse or some type of employee in the medical field. Watching my mother suffer from pain and knowing there was little to nothing that I could do but tell her how well she was doing taught me that having someone who does show compassion be there every step of the way does make a difference. I have always been one to try and patch others up. When I was younger I accidentally ran my favorite stuffed animal over with a vacuum. I was devastated to say the least, but until I thought in my little four year old brain to just put a Band-Aid on it. So after nearly 13 years Lucy still has a Band-Aid on her left ear. I was quick to think of a solution, much like I am today. I love being in situations where I have to think fast of a way to fix something or mend an issue. Saying “I want to become a nurse” is something I’m terrified and ecstatic about, I want to be a nurse because I feel that I would be great at my job, I want to want to go to work everyday and being a nurse is something I believe I will wake up and want to do. CONCLUSION During my research on what becoming an assisted living nurse entails and what skills it takes to be the best I can be in this career. This research has shaped my identity to be someone to work hard in this field. Although sometimes on the job of being an assisted living nurse can get boring there is always something that needs to be done. I have learned that who I am as a person and what skills I already have is essential to this career as an assisted living nurse. I believe I will be able to go into this career field and succeed successfully. There was a point in my research that I thought I wouldn’t be able to be a nurse because this field of career is not only mentally demanding but physically demanding as well, but after further research I realized I can push through the challenges that come my way. I understand what this career has in store for me, and I want to be able to enjoy my future career while being able to face the challenges that come and helping those in need as well.
patients, but one of my friends, will not be alive for much longer. I will have to push the emotions aside and bathe them, feed them, and make sure they are as comfortable as they can possibly be. I chose to be an assisted living nurse because I believe that I can make a difference in someone's life. I hope to learn what it is like to help others be happy while being away from their home and family they’ve had all their life. I want to know how hard they have worked to get where they are today. During my research I will see if this profession, being an assisted living nurse is something I want to do for the rest of my working life.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
In order to become an assisted living nurse I will have to obtain my Bachelor’s degree in nursing. I will be attending Centralia college to earn a Bachelor’s degree, the cost of this four year will be $9,410 for all four years(“Centralia”). After I have my bachelor’s degree I want to go to Saxion University in the Netherlands to work on my Masters degree for two years, to do so it would be $7,890.41 not including the moving expenses (“Warning”). For me this will take 7 to 8 years to complete my goals of becoming an assisted living nurse. Altogether my tuition would be $17,300.41. During my time at Saxion I plan on joining a program that lets students live in the dorms if I spend 30 hours or more a month with the elderly people in an assisted living home (“Dutch”). While I am in college to obtain my Bachelors I will need to take a NAC curse along with speech, Math, and other nursing courses offered at Centralia College. While at Saxion University I will be taking a course called Master Care & Technology. This is a two year course that counts as a Masters of Science degree. This course will teach the expertise to drive innovation in my place of work (“Warning”). I want to go to this program because I want to work with elderly people, I want to experience life in another culture. I want to be away from everything I’ve ever known and struggle. I want to be able to say I achieved what I aspired to be and made it happen. I want to look back on all the nights I spent eating crackers for dinner and say it was worth it. If I ever want to continue my career in the medical field I will go back to school to get my Medical Doctorate degree to become a surgeon. Tuition at the University of Washington is $30,186 per year for three years would be $90,558. All together my schooling will be $107,858, that’s if I choose to become a Medical Doctor. Even though it takes a lot of years of hard work and discipline I believe that at the end of my education it will be worth every cent.
JOB SKILLS, TALENTS, AND EXPERIENCE
In order for me to become a successful assisted living nurse there are several skills, and talents I will need through training and gain more experience. I will need to be able to be well organized, manage stress in an efficient way, good communication, and most importantly be kind and have compassion as well as many others (“Top”). I believe that I possess most of the skills needed to become an assisted living nurse. I have patience, I am kind and compassionate, I’m responsible, caring and loving towards those in need. I have the patience needed to help the elderly slowly go along their everyday activities. For the experience I will need to become an assisted living nurse I will need to go through a training course at Centralia College, and during that time volunteer at a nursing home and help out during the day and take classes at night. I believe I am suited to a career in assisted living because I have always been drawn to help those in need, even now I’m still drawn to help everyone. According to NursingLink nurses have to be great at multi-tasking, customer service, thinking critically/making decisions, they have to work well in a team, dedication, and last but not least have good people skills (“8 Amazing”). I believe I posses all of these traits that add up to be a successful assisted living nurse.
Almost every time I go to the store or anywhere I always get asked to help someone. Whether it’s a small fragile elderly lady in a wheelchair asking for me to get something on the top shelf or someone's boyfriend looking for a certain type of mascara (true stories). I sort of have past experience, when I was in seventh grade my mom had cancer. During her treatment I helped her through the painfully hard steps we took together on her rocky road to recovery. After her nine hour surgery the possibility she had of surviving was slim, but she became stronger with each passing day until she was able to come home. It was when she was home that I helped administer her pain medication through her feeding tube and help keep her clean and fed. The process was long, and seemed to take forever but I will forever be grateful for the experience that I received in a time that scared me to death, and helped me become the strong and capable person I am today.
EARNINGS
Being an assisted living nurse isn’t the most luxurious job there is but the annual salary will keep food on the table and a roof over my head. I most likely won’t live in a big fancy house or have an expensive car, but I’ll have a home and a car that takes me where I need to go. In Washington state the starting salary for a nurse is $44,340 annually and an registered nurse or RN has a salary of $76,420 (“State Washington”). While in California the annual salary for starting out was $71,000 and for an RN the salary is $96,980 annually (“State California”). The national average for an RN is $66,640. While there are promotional opportunities that will occur, it won’t make much of a difference when it comes to income. Some things that can affect the income is your education, if you have a higher education you will be paid more than someone who has the bare minimum of education. When going into this career I will have to purchase scrubs and shoes, altogether this will add up to $428.92 for three tops, three bottoms, and two pairs of slip resistant shoes (“Scrubs”). These fees will not be able to be deferred because the uniform is part of a well functioning nurse. Although a high income is important when choosing a career, choosing something I enjoy is more important than how much money is in my bank account.
BENEFITS AND RISK FACTORS In any career one has chosen, there will always be benefits and possible risk factors to that career. Some of the benefits include but not limited to; flexible work schedule, mental satisfaction, and lifelong learning. Health care is provided by the employer, as well as dental and vision (“by attending”). Being an assisted living nurse there is a risk of contracting certain virus’ when in contact with residents in the facility. Other risks include but definitely not limited to; slipping and injuring oneself, exposure to radiation, fatigue and lower back pain, and skin irritation (due to excessive hand washing). There may also be exposure to harmful chemicals and other hazardous substances (“OSH”). Being exposed to chemicals and other harmful substances isn’t something that should be taken with a light heart, one should always be careful during any point of handling or working around chemicals and wear protective clothing. One benefit I learned was that if one works at a place for a nearly twenty years, one can practically choose what days and what shifts to work. Being able to pick my own schedule is something I would love because in the future when I have a family I could actually see my kids and not have to worry about my children missing me while working several days in a row. The freedom would be amazing.
EMPLOYMENT
There are several factors that can influence the availability of jobs in my career field. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook the expected growth of nursing between 2014 and 2024 will be 17%. The availability of being a nurse is significant, there are always nursing positions and a need for people in this field. The amount of jobs available as a nurse in 2014 was 1,545,200, as it is expected to increase by 267,800, making it a total of 1,807,884 jobs available (“Summary”).. The likelihood of me getting hired in an assisted living home is high because there will always be a need to help the elder generations get through the aging process. One point of concern is that the shortage is occurring just as the massive Baby Boomer generation is aging into their senior years, when they will likely require more healthcare. Compounding the problem, a large number of Baby Boomer nurses are nearing retirement age (“Shortage”). This is, to me, a National problem because Baby Boomers are not just in Washington state, it's all over the United States. One thing that could potentially affect the nursing workforce is the rising incidence of chronic disease, an aging nursing workforce, and the limited capacity of nursing schools—this shortage is on the cusp of becoming a crisis, one with worrying implications for patients and health-care providers alike (“The Atlantic”). With the decreasing numbers in nursing and the need for nurses growing rapidly, there isn’t always enough room in every nursing class and the risk of there being a shortage with nurses makes me want to become a nurse even more to help those in need. Even though I will be in an assisted living home, I will still be able to help and assist the ones who need help while being one more nurse in the world to take the responsibility of someone else’s life into my hands.
TYPICAL DAY Before one chooses what career they want to pursue it is important to know what their day will entail on just the normal day.
On a normal day one would discuss patients with the nurse who was previously were on shift, to basically tie up loose ends on who needs to be watched extra carefully and who is doing perfectly well. After getting information on how the residents are doing it’s time to start the “Med” list, the Med list is a book full of what kind of medication, what dose of each medicine and how often, for each resident. After getting the residents medication ready, one should double check to see if they have the correct amount of medication and sign each medication in the book to ensure others looking through the book that all the residents have been well taken care of. After everyone is all taken care of then one can start charting and adding notes to the residents charts. No matter what time of day it is one has to prioritize what's most important, for example if a resident falls and breaks something, while in another part of the home a resident wants something to snack on, one has to tend to the most important issue. Towards the end of the shift one has to report to other nurses on what has happened during the shift, and then do a narcotic count, after that one can leave
(“Griffith”). The usual hours for a registered nurse working in an assisted living home is 8 hour shifts about 3-5 days a week. It really depends on how much one want to work and how flexible the place one works at is. If one gets sick and is not able to make it one has to call in at least two hours before the shift (“Griffith”). Some of the best parts of the day in my opinion is when you get to socialize with all of the elderly people, usually after dinner and before medications are due to most of the residents. While being able to socialize with the caretakers, and nurses as well. One of the most difficult parts of the day is if someone passes away and watching their families mourn the loss of a loved one (“Griffith”). The typical day of being a nurse is manageable and seems like a great career to have.
APTITUDE
Throughout this research process I have discovered that I have a remarkable aptitude for this career field. In an earlier section, I stated the job skills needed in this career, I need to be well organized, have good communication, handle stress in a manageable way, have fast problem solving skills, and have compassion for others. I believe I have most to all of the skills I would need to be successful nurse. I believe I am suited for this career because I have past experience with helping tend to my mother when she went through Esophageal cancer that nearly killed her. I learned how to administer her medication through her feeding tube, and how to clean her feeding tube, I learned a lot about how to care for someone who isn’t capable to care for themselves. I have tremendous compassion for those who are sick and can’t live one their own, even those who can live on their own and choose not to. I believe I have compassion for everyone, even when they don’t need or deserve it. When my mother did go through chemotherapy and radiation, she got so sick to the point of her not being able to be touched, her illness is a major factor in what made me want to become a nurse or some type of employee in the medical field. Watching my mother suffer from pain and knowing there was little to nothing that I could do but tell her how well she was doing taught me that having someone who does show compassion be there every step of the way does make a difference. I have always been one to try and patch others up. When I was younger I accidentally ran my favorite stuffed animal over with a vacuum. I was devastated to say the least, but until I thought in my little four year old brain to just put a Band-Aid on it. So after nearly 13 years Lucy still has a Band-Aid on her left ear. I was quick to think of a solution, much like I am today. I love being in situations where I have to think fast of a way to fix something or mend an issue. Saying “I want to become a nurse” is something I’m terrified and ecstatic about, I want to be a nurse because I feel that I would be great at my job, I want to want to go to work everyday and being a nurse is something I believe I will wake up and want to do. CONCLUSION During my research on what becoming an assisted living nurse entails and what skills it takes to be the best I can be in this career. This research has shaped my identity to be someone to work hard in this field. Although sometimes on the job of being an assisted living nurse can get boring there is always something that needs to be done. I have learned that who I am as a person and what skills I already have is essential to this career as an assisted living nurse. I believe I will be able to go into this career field and succeed successfully. There was a point in my research that I thought I wouldn’t be able to be a nurse because this field of career is not only mentally demanding but physically demanding as well, but after further research I realized I can push through the challenges that come my way. I understand what this career has in store for me, and I want to be able to enjoy my future career while being able to face the challenges that come and helping those in need as well.