As a CNA, I always get asked what I do during work. The short answer: take people to the bathroom, feed, help get people dressed. It's a short answer, and enough to fill people's curiosity, but definitely not all I do. You see, my job is really important.

I do in fact take people to the bathroom, feed, and get people dressed. On a regular day, when I work in the mornings, I help people get dressed and out of bed. That means, getting physically out of bed, going to the bathroom, getting dressed, and brushing teeth and doing hair. During this I greet my residents, ask them about their plans for the day, or simply strike up a random conversation.

After this it's breakfast. Residents sit in the dining room and wait to be served. Some people require more assistance than others so I help them eat their food and drink. When breakfast is over, resident's have activities that they can attend or they can get in the shower if it's their shower day. My job in this case would be to get their things ready and help them get into the shower room.

Essentially, my job is to assist people in doing the things that they can't necessarily do for themselves. But that doesn't mean that's all I do throughout the day. I have easy days and hard days. I work on a memory care unit, which means I work with people who have dementia or Alzheimer's. I have days where everyone is sweet and chipper and helps me get things done, and days where I get hit or yelled at.

There are days where I have to take people to get haircuts or I have to help people shave their faces, which is harder than it sounds. There are times when people refuse to go out of their rooms and refuse to be changed or showered. There are also days where I am sick or feel ill and I choose to take care of everyone else instead.

Being a CNA is much harder than everyone thinks. Whenever I tell people about my job it always seems like people mostly see CNA's as people who change diapers. I mean, yes, we do that, but it's not all we do. CNAs are there when no one else is. We are family to residents who don't get visited often, and we are there at the end of people's lives.

We take the hits and then come back the next day ready to help the person who hurt us. We aren't bias. We care for each and every single one of our residents because over time, they become our family too.

I love my job and what I do. Yes, my job is messy and it leaves me tired and sore every day, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I get to see people at their best and their lows, and get to be there for them when they need it the most. It's more than people may think.