Local CNA finds profession rewarding

With the search for more CNAs (Certified Nursing Assistant) may still be a lingering problem, Jessica Sharp, a CNA at Deseret Health and Rehab, encourages people to go into the field.

Sharp, who has lived in Saratoga since 2006, has worked as a CNA for nearly three years. She got into the profession when her children became older, and she began looking for a rewarding type of work.

"I was a homemaker for a long time, but when the kids got old enough I decided to go back into the workforce," Sharp said. "I waited tables a little bit and just did 'odds and ends' jobs here and there, but I always had an interest in the medical field. I became a CNA, and I love it." 

During her tenure as a CNA, Sharp has always worked for Deseret Health Care in Saratoga.

"I have always worked at Deseret Health, and I will have been there three years in July," she said. "I have always been interested in the medical field, but it wasn't until after I became a CNA that I knew for sure, this is what I'm supposed to do. I thought I could make a difference in peoples' lives."

Sharp said she always thought about going into the medical field, even before she became serious about becoming a CNA.

"I think I've always known I wanted to do this," she said. "The first time I thought about nursing, I was 10 years old. I just never really knew that much about it or did anything about it until I became a CNA. I just really got interested in it. People were also encouraging me to go for my nursing degree."

In 2011, Sharp took her CNA course from Judy Dixon at the Carbon County Higher Education Center in Rawlins. She said Merlynn Hoopes' course at the Platte Valley Community Center was not available at the time.

Working toward nursing degree

On a part-time basis, Sharp is now taking online courses to be a nurse through Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs. She said her CNA course was a four-month course held during the fall and winter.

"We only met once a week, and it was from August to December with a couple weeks of breaks in-between," Sharp said. "In those two weeks you cram everything in."

Loves helping people

Sharp said she works with a variety of people, and enjoys helping them throughout their daily lives.

"What I love most about the job is helping people," she said. "I work with all the residents, and we have a large assortment of people. I don't really know a whole lot about the corporation side of it, but I would like to say we have a really good staff right now." 

One of the hardest parts job, she said, is getting close to the residents soon before they pass away.

"It's hard to get close to people after that, but it's also hard to not get close to them," Sharp said. "Some of them are just amazing people, and you want to hear all about them and their life stories. They have cool stories to tell, and sometimes it's really hard to keep a little distance."

Sharp said the people are there for a reason, and that working with them is just like getting to know someone in rest of the world. She said one of the perks is seeing patients learn to care for her while she is caring for them.

"You get to know somebody and then you care for that person, and they learn to care for you," she said. "You grow on each other, and it's just like everyone else, having to deal with death, only we deal with it a little more often than a lot of people."

Ups and downs of CNA

One of the problems with the job, Sharp said, is there are times when the center is short-staffed.

"We definitely have our ups and downs, just like everywhere else I've worked," she said. "There have been times when we've had a surplus and times where we don't have enough and all have to pull together and take extra shifts. We do what we've got to do to make it work. Occasionally there's a surplus, but we could probably use a couple more people right now."

Sharp said the shortage may come from people thinking the job would be too strenuous, or not thinking at all about it as a job possibility.

"I think it's partly from people thinking 'I don't know if I could do that', and I don't think a lot of people know about it," she said. "They don't know what it entails and the good parts about the job. It's definitely hard work, but not all the time. It's also very rewarding, and aside from raising kids, it's probably the most rewarding job I've ever had."

Being a busy mom, Sharp says her shift works well with her family life. She said there are three different shifts the CNAs can pick and choose from.

"We usually have set shifts, with the morning, afternoon and night shifts, ranging from 6 to 2, 2 to 10 and 10 to 6," Sharp said. "It's nice knowing that I'll be off in the afternoon, and I have time to do my schoolwork for my nursing degree before the kids get home. Once they get home I can focus on running them to their sports events, cooking dinner and helping them with their homework. It makes for a busy day and you have to get up kind of early, but it's good."

Sharp said it is fairly easy to get the shift desired at Deseret Health. She said the facility quickly hired her on once she finished her CNA course.

"For the most part, usually when you come in the DN (Director of Nursing) will ask which shift you're interested in, and if theres a spot available on that shift, then its yours," she said. "After I finished the CNA class, they were all over me and wanted to hire me right away. They said they already had me on the schedule before I even finished the class. They were just waiting to get me in."

Sharp said the range of CNAs at Deseret Health is mostly women in their late 20s and early 30s. She said there are around 13 CNAs, very few of which are men, currently working at the facility. 

"We seem to mostly be in the same age range, and I might even be the oldest at 33," Sharp said. "I think our youngest is probably 24 or 25. We have a younger one or two, but for the most part it's late 20s or early 30s. We have one male CNA who works there, and I think the most we've had since I've been there is two."

Because of the shortage and occasional sudden emergencies, Sharp said there is always a need for more CNAs to have on hand.

"I feel that our DON (Director of Nursing) would be pretty excited to get some new people on there as well," she said. "It would be nice to have a little wiggle room. If we do have someone who is sick or their kids are sick, and they can't make their shift, it can be difficult sometimes to fill that gap. Most of the time it turns out fine, but if you have another person of two to follow, it works out better."

Other opportunities for CNAs

Sharp spoke of the other opportunities that come with CNA experience. She said those in the field are not only confined to working in nursing homes.

"Once I realized what kind of opportunities there are, it just blew my mind and I was so excited about it," she said. "I just love traveling and helping all different kinds of different people, and working in all different kinds of fields. You can have so many different experiences."

The other CNA opportunities Sharp mentioned included work outside of geriatrics.

"I have a friend in Michigan who works in a maternity ward as a CNA," she said. "She gets to coddle the babies and help them with their feedings. You can do some really cool stuff. My brother does similar work in Evanston, where he works for an assisted living facility where he takes care of mentally disabled people who are younger but can't take care of themselves. He sits with them at night and makes sure their stove is turned off, and helps with random stuff. There are all kinds of different areas people can go into as a CNA, and there's definitely a possibility for advancement."

Sharp also encouraged anyone interested in the medical field to try out being a CNA.

"There are so many cool things about the job," she said. "It's hard work, but it's good work. You'll learn to think better and think on your feet better, and it's great exercise. I walk 10 miles a day sometimes. You work with some really cool people, and I get along with all my co-workers. Especially in this community, we have such an amazing community.

Regarding pay, Sharp said CNA work is also a good option for those right out of high school, or moms looking to go back to work.

"I would say it pays better than a lot of the jobs out there for kids right out of high school," she said. "The scheduling is great, and the DON really works around your schedule. Especially for people who are wanting to go to school, it's just a really cool experience." There's also the versatility. If you're married and have kids, it works with that too. There's usually three on day, two on evenings and two on nights. Of course, some people have to have days off, so there's other people to fill in the slots."

Sharp said all who are interested in the medical field can gain a valuable feel for it through being a CNA.

"If people want to get an idea of what's going on, they can be a CNA first," she said. "There are times when we have emergency situations, and this job tests you so you can find out how you're going to react in different situations. I've only worked with this facility, so there's a lot that I haven't experienced. Just my experiences here have definitely gotten me curious about other places and other things." 

Sharp said she felt fortunate to be in such a small setting for her CNA class. She said the classes taught cover everything one needs to know about being a CNA, and usually involve CPR training.

"There were about six or seven in my CNA class, so it was a small class that Judy Dixon taught," she said. "She's great too. If people can't take a class with Merlynn, I recommend they find out about Judy's classes. I know Merlynn's an amazing teacher, but Judy is too. We're pretty lucky to have a couple of good teachers around." 

Training

For her clinicals, which is the real-life job experience training for CNAs, Sharp worked at a nursing home in Rawlins. She said the clinicals are usually saved until the end of the course.

"I believe you have to have so many book hours before you can do any part of your clinical hours," Sharp said. "You have to do 24 hours, I think, and some classes vary. They'll say you have to have a total of say, 115 hours. I don't remember the exact number, but you have to do so many book hours, and make the rest up with clinical hours. I believe there's a little wiggle room, and some teachers like to do a little more clinical and a little less book, while others are vice versa. It just depends on your instructor."

Sharp said once a person finishes the CNA class, they are considered an NA, or nursing assistant.

"Then, you have 120 days to get your certification, and within that time you do your background check and fingerprints," she said. "You can put in applications, and you can choose where you want your testing to be."

Sharp said people may do their clinicals in Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie or other cities and towns across Wyoming before moving on the certification testing.

"You can choose where you want you're testing to be and where you want it to be," she said. "Then you go take your certification test, and once you pass that you're considered a CNA. You have to renew your license every couple of years."

Sharp said the current DON at Deseret Health has volunteered her time to help remodel the facility.

"We have some great people working, and we have an excellent DON," she said. "She's taking a lot of the remodeling upon herself. She's up there on her days off, painting, sanding and drywalling, just to make it more of a home. She's part of this community, and she knows a lot of the people and she really cares."

In addition to help from the DON, Sharp said several of the staff members also volunteer their time to Deseret Health Care to make it look nicer.

"Our facility is getting better, not to say it was bad before," she said. "We give very good care and get pretty close to our residents, but now we're working on making it look a little nicer. That shows how much these people care about this facility and community. People take time out of their schedules and are unpaid to go up and make it look like more of a home for the people that live there. I'd be too if I didn't have so much other stuff going on."

Editors note: Brenda Eaton is the Director of Nursing at Deseret Health and Rehab Center.