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As a certified nursing assistant, you are going to work with all sorts of patients. While some facilities have you working with Alzheimer's patients, another facility offers home health care which will have you going to people's homes and caring for them. This is a great option for people who can get around but may need help or supervision. Some facilities may help with rehab patients such as patients who have had hop or knee surgeries, and even helping stroke patients recover. Working with a stroke patient can be hard both on you as well as the patient. Depending on the severity of the stroke, some patients are discouraged and often get upset with the fact that one side of their body is paralyzed. Some stroke patients can have some recovery while others may not. Regardless, there are certain things you need to do to care for a stroke patient.
To begin with, you need to learn as much as you can about the patient in regards to the severity of the stroke and what parts of the body it affected. In regards to communicating with the patient, you need to ensure you make eye contact and speak clearly. Make sure you are in front of the patient when you are talking. If the patient is having a hard time understanding what you are saying, you can use hand gestures or even write things down. Strokes can affect all patients differently.
When you are lifting your patient or transferring them, you need to support the affected limbs. Some strokes affect the right side or the left side of the body meaning they have no feeling on the entire left side or right side. When you stand them up, you should be on their weak side. Same goes for transferring. When you dress them, ensure that you dress the weak side first. Never let their arm or leg just hang as this can pull joints out of sockets.
Some patients may have a stroke that affects their face as well as this can be hard for eating. This is often times where patients get frustrated as they have a hard time eating things until they get in a rhythm and pattern on how to eat. You may or may not have to help them with that as well as showering.
Sometimes stroke patients feel helpless, and that is why many are sent to rehab facilities. There are some therapies that can help regain feeling back in limbs, and some patients may make a good recovery to the point where they can walk and function normally again. Others are not so fortunate and do not recover at all. There may be times when a mechanical lift is needed and therefore you will need to ensure that you lift properly as well.
Working with a stroke patient can be a demanding task for a certified nursing assistant and therefore you need to ensure that you are comfortable working with these types of patients.
