More CNAs to provide better long term care

I remember when I first started working as a CNA, I had 10 patients with 7 of them needing complete total care. We start working at 7 am and half of the resident should be up by 8am for breakfast. The work was neverending. I left work that day after 5 when I was suppose to leave at 3 and did not get one break to sit or eat the whole day. To me it is nearly impossible to wash a resident in bed ( or shower), dress them, do oral care, do their hair, transfer to chair, and clean room all in the span of 15minutes! Although it is possible to do all these things, but as a result the resident will not get the proper care. Something will be left out in trying to rush things. All the daily tasks that are missed can potentially affect the resident's health in a negative way. For example not doing proper perineal care can lead to a urinary track infections or bad oders.
I use to think that the shortage of cnas available had to do with the high turnover rate and a lack of people working as cnas, but being on the other side I see that almost everyday cnas are being reduced and the minimum amount of workers are kept even when there are no empty beds. At the end of the day you end up with tired, overworked, cranky cnas and the next shift comes disorganized rooms and wet patients. There needs to be a change made to improve the working conditions of cnas which will enable them to provide better quality care to the residents.
Administrators and staff must work together to improve the quality of care given in nursing homes. It is very easy to blame the cnas and accuse them of neglect for not answering call lights in a timely manner or not changing residents on time. Many people fail to understand that most of the cnas want to do a great job but you can only do so much when you're one of a few cnas working to take care of 60 people needing help to do everything. Residents need more quality time with their cnas and cnas in return need more support and time to do their jobs well. The solution to this problem can only start with healthcare administrators along with staff workers fighting to make some improvements to the situation.

Increase Physical Activity for Elders in Nursing Facilities

Everyday I go to work, I walk in to find all residents in bed or in wheelchairs, including the ones that can walk. It is also a common sight in many homes that I visited, not just the one I work at. It bothers me a lot to see people that can walk be treated like people who need total care. Although therapy is offered for the ones who are slightly independent, it is very common for them to complain of pain and fatigue and eventually choose not to exercise. There needs to be more effort to motivate elders in nursing homes to stay active.
Working in a nursing home, I see a lot of residents who become lazy, with no motivation to do anything. I understand a nursing home is there to provide long term care for those who need it, but it's also there to help them regain some level of independence by encouraging the residents to do certain themselves instead of just doing it for them. For example, I know some one who can walk, shower, dress herself, and do all the basics by herself but she insists on asking her aid to do everything for her...IN BED! Doing all care for this person is not helping them but contributing to their laziness and inactivity. Then, there are the ones who complain of fatigue all the time whenever they have physical therapy, and we're so quick to accept no and move on to the next person.
We, as healthcare workers need to do do more to encourage elders, especially the ones in nursing homes, to stay active. It is very easy to get bedridden in a nursing home. We can make exercise more fun by keeping it from being too boring. Music is a great way to lighting up the mood. Walking the ones who can walk regularly is a must. I see people who can walk perfectly be forced to stay in a chair all day everyday, and every time they try to get up at any moment there's always someone there to shove them back in the chair. I'm not suggesting that we should let everyone who can walk to just wonder around but there needs to be some kind of organized schedule to have someone walk those who can, on a regular basis.

Elderly Drivers

Every time I drive down the road and see an elderly driving, I always get nervous and will find myself observing how they drive. I start thinking about wether he/she can see or hear clearly and wonder about how easy it would be for such a person to get into an accident. However, as much as I am worried about elderly drivers, I don't think there should be a mandatory state test to evaluate their driving. Such a test I feel, would be demeaning and embarrassing.
Demanding for elders to get mandatory testing for driving would be the opposite of testing for your license for the first time. Instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment and proud of reaching a stage of maturity, you would feel as if you're not worthy or good enough to be allowed to drive. I think it would crush their spirits and make them feel like they are losing their independence.
On the other hand, I'm not saying that elders who are losing their senses and motor skills should be allowed to drive until something bad occurs, but instead to leave the testing and evaluation up to the doctors and families who know that the person the best. It should be up to the families and doctors to asses a senior's health and determine whether he/she is capable of driving. It also should not be a one time test done after the age of 65. Even if an elder is fine and healthy this year, things can change drastically by the next year. Elder driver evaluation should always be a concern and an ongoing task for their primary care providers.

Aging Stereotypes

Growing up, I've heard many stereotypes about old people. I didn't believe some of the stereotypes but I believed most and even thought of them as facts. For example, one of the most significant stereotype that I believed was that old people have no sexual drive. I believed it until I saw a news special about the rise of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV among the senior population. I remember thinking while watching, "old people have sex?". I didn't give those stereotypes too much thought untill I started working in a nursing home.
While working as a cna I realized that I didn't know much about old people. I've had some residents try to flirt with me, I've had a 80 year old lady try masturbating many times while I was giving her a shower, the ladies still like to get their hair and nails done and they are not as boring as I thought. There's even a singer there, who sings at breakfast every morning in the dining room and they like to curse when they don't get their way, so they are not as nice as some may think.
Although my job has allowed me to discard some stereotypes it also confirm others. For example I hear a lot that old people love bingo and I've found out that they really do. They will be very mad if they miss bingo, and they all have some kind of condition (but maybe that's because it's a nursing home). As far as stereotypes go, they may be true for some or most but there will always be the exception to the rule. We have to realize that everyone's different even if they might have similar experiences and we can't just put them in one all box.