Creating the Workplaces We Deserve

This is a guest post from Voices Institute graduate Angel Saylor.

Angel Saylor (right)

Over 200 Certified Nursing Assistants and their allies came together in Charlottesville, Virginia, on February 16 to share ideas on improving the workplace. The conference was hosted by the Community Partnership for Improved Long-term Care, an initiative of the Legal Aid Justice Center. It brought together direct care workers, elders, advocates, employers, doctors, nurses and others to:

• Exchange information and best practices;
• Recognize the challenges and celebrate the accomplishments of long-term care workers and caregivers from all settings;
• Learn how to enhance professionalism, leadership and teamwork, and offer solutions to reduce turnover; and
• Participate in skills training for caregivers to better meet the needs of disabled persons and seniors living with the challenges of aging.

I’ve worked in the same nursing home for over 10 years and I am a graduate of the 2009 Direct Care Alliance Voices Institute. You can just imagine how thrilled I was to lead this “Proud to be a CNA” workshop along with my colleague, Shea Davis. With over 200 CNAs in attendance at the conference, this was both a huge challenge and an excellent experience.

At first I was intimidated and a little terrified – I had never led a workshop, much less act as a leader among so many peers that I admire. But I’m so proud of myself for doing it – I set out to test my leadership skills honed at DCA’s Voices Institute, and that’s exactly what I did. We had some great sessions during the two-day conference, and I was able to speak up and encourage my colleagues to do the same. This conference showed me what being a leader really means: empowering others.

By bringing other CNAs together to collaborate, we hope to make progress in creating a more supporting and satisfying workplace. My next goal is to get Shea Davis and other CNAs I met there to attend the next DCA Voices Institute training!