Just when I stepped into the clinic to learn from Janice, our Nursing Aide (NA) on what they do at the Home, she received a phone call from a Community Hospital. It notified that one of our residents was healthy enough to return to our Home after two weeks of rehab care following a bout of fever. Janice asked for several documents such as the Occupational and Physio Therapist’s Report to be sent over, so she could assess and be sure our resident was indeed fit and ready to come home. Following up on hospitalisation status of our residents is just one small part of our NAs’ responsibilities.

Much of our NAs’ role is to check on the health status and provide basic healthcare to our residents. Managing the daily medication of our residents and ensuring that medications are taken timely are built into the NAs’ routine, as are with blood pressure and weight taking.

In addition to administrating basic medical needs, like dressing of wounds, our NAs also attend to our seniors’ daily hygiene needs. Most of our seniors are fairly independent, but some would still need to have their diapers changed and showering supervised.

A resident uncle walked in the clinic in the middle of my chat with Janice. He complained of a swell in one of his upper eyelids. After asking a few questions, Janice advised him that they would monitor the situation for a day or two, and she would recommend a clinic visit if his condition didn’t improve.

I asked Janice on what makes this role fulfilling, and she replied that it is just to hear “Thank you, Nurse!” from our residents. It is also gratifying to know a resident’s condition improved after her attention. However, on the contrary, it is frustrating to have a stubborn resident risking his own health by not heeding the NAs advice.

Just then, a sponsor of a resident came in and asked about the senior’s skin condition. Bernadith (another NA on duty at the clinic) proceeded to communicate her observations to the sponsor and assured the sponsor that the clinic will monitor the senior’s condition.

Our Nursing Aides are an integral part of our big family in the Home, and the tasks they perform must not be undermined or taken for granted.