So i worked my first ever shift in aged care last night. What can i say..when people told me how full on and crazy it could be i really underestimated them!
It was a 10pm til 7am shift through an agency, so i had never seen this facility before. I thought it would be tough but i would manage. But i have come home feeling like a failure.
The work load was full on..40 beds on my floor for me and my buddy. The physical side was expected..but the documentation demands were crazy..i stayed back until almost 9 trying to complete mine!
I dont know how to document fluid balance charts.. and alot of the halfhourly fall/sight checks for 90% of the residents went uncompleted as i was busy answering call buttons all night.
I have forgotten alot of basic abbreviations i should have known so was asking alot to many questions.
I was supposed to shower 4 residents but didnt as they slept through my shift and buddy told me not to wake them up. Day shift were very unhappy with me. I did manage to shower 1 on buddies side while she was busy.
Will i get better? How long did it take any other pca's to get used to documention? .
I just feel like i jumped in the deep end when im not ready.
Im sure getting to know my residents and facility would be a great help but as agency work is the only job i could get at the moment thats not possible.
Have i made the right choice in careers?
I want to care for people but felt so out of place!!
2 Replies
It was a first shift. You will get better and emotionally more resistant
Don’t be so hard on yourself, it was only your first shift. It will get easier with time. Don’t worry about the morning shift being unhappy with you, they should know and understand that sometimes things can get crazy busy and you can’t always get all the work done. You wouldn’t be the first and definitely won’t be the last to not have all your work done. Don’t think you’re asking too many questions, if you don’t ask then how will you learn? You will get a hang of the paperwork and the different terms and abbreviations. Working in an agency, you don’t get the time to settle into a place because you’re forever moving from one facility to another. If you want to get to know the residents a bit better maybe you could arrive a little bit earlier and have a read of their charts? Sometimes they have little ‘about me’ stories written in there. Again, don’t beat yourself up over it. You got this.