If you're working in an assisted living facility, you see a lot. And there will always be work that you can do, so you do not get bored. There are a lot of awesome things that you get to experience when you work in an assisted living facility, besides the food that is left over that you sometimes get to munch on if you're hungry. Here are just a few of those things that you experience.
1. Learning more in the nursing field. Most of the time, the resident aids or the direct care workers that get hired and work there are in a nursing field or a different medical field, and they give you the opportunity to work hands-on with residents and gain the experience most do not gain before they get to clinicals. Some assisted living facilities also give you the opportunity to be CPR and first aid certified without cost to you.
2. Your coworkers are all awesome. They understand all the pains of the job and sometimes balancing it with your school work. They know what it's like to have a stubborn resident that will always want things their way no matter what or just flat out will deny to allow you to help them with something you helped them with 15 minutes ago. Sometimes they are good to listen to and to blow off steam with when that happens, or even to share cute little stories about what one of the residents did earlier in the shift. They will also be your biggest support system at work. They will always help you to get the job done and do it right.
3. Being able to assist them now like they would do for us when we were little. Being able to care for the older generation and repay them for all of the work that they did for us when we were little and needed help is a very rewarding feeling. They have also lived and have gained so much knowledge from living for so long, and although some residents are still able to function and get themselves ready and feed themselves, you will always have those people that aren't as independent and helping them is very rewarding.
4. Connecting with the residents. Getting to help them get ready for one thing or another and being allowed in their apartments to do so, you get to learn so much about the residents and see their lives before they were in the facility and learn about their families and their favorite things that they used to do. Learning about them helps you connect and also will allow you to hear some incredible stories. As much as you want to learn about them, they are always eager to talk to you and hear about the things that you enjoy.
5. Getting to hear all of the residents stories. All of the residents that live in those apartments in the facilities have all lived much longer than us and will always have another story to share with you when you bring something up that is currently going on in your life. They will connect it to when they were little. They have all had careers and families and their hobbies that most of them cannot do anymore; however, you will always have something to talk about and connect with.
6. Making the residents smile and laugh. It doesn't matter if you make funny faces at them and ask if they can do it too and you're sitting there mocking each other; almost anything can make them laugh. You can always tell them jokes that they think are funny and they will almost always laugh. They love to converse with you and if they're having a bad day, you can always do your best to make them laugh. That will surely brighten their day. So will seeing a smile on your face. The residents love to see you smiling. Plus, it will put everyone in a better mood.
