This post was submitted by an anonymous direct care worker.
After completing STNA training, I was sure of a few things I would not put up with on a job: lack of human concern, a rushed working environment, and the smell from bodily fluids inadequately cleaned. A friend of mine suggested home health care since it would allow me to avoid those things, be more focused and take care of people in their own homes. Well, here I am.
Currently, I provide care for a man who requires 24-hour assistance. At first when I visited him in the morning, I would often find him laying in a large puddle of urine. Of course, I would clean him, change the bedding and wash the laundry – but since I am not the kind to keep quiet for long, I soon began suggesting improvements for my consumer’s way of life by working with his other caregivers.
Now, he gets up 2 to 4 times a night to use the bathroom and has not had a pad on his bed for 2 weeks. Without working with the other caregivers and speaking out on his behalf, who knows how long he would have continued suffering? To me, direct care is all about quality of service, but it was frustrating trying to provide the best quality care when I was working anywhere from 50 to 80 hours a week, raising a family and running another business. Not only did I discover that I wasn’t getting paid overtime, but I also wasn’t receiving the extra dollar-per-hour reimbursement for travel I was promised.
I knew I had to put myself first, for sanity’s sake and in order to provide the best quality care. I’ve reduced my hours to about 36 per week, although that can change if the other caregivers are unable to work their shifts. Long hours mean that I don’t have extra time to spend with my son, who is on short leave from Kuwait. I’ve quit jobs for less that interfere with my son, but in this economy I’m doing my best to make it work. My advice: one day at a time. And don’t forget to put yourself first, and speak up if you are not being treated fairly.
