Welcome to Litsy!

A collection of over 80 essays written by three Certified Nurse Assistants (CNA). The essays were originally published in 2014 as posts on CNA Edge: A Voice from the trenches of long-term care, a blog devoted to telling the stories of CNAs and what the current long-term care system looks like from the perspective of the direct care worker. The essays deal with a variety of topics such as stress and burnout, preserving the dignity of residents, how heavy workloads negatively affect patient care and the impact that of all of this has on residents and caregivers. They describe what it feels like to be a caregiver, the unique blend of emotions that are widely felt, but rarely discussed. The book is divided into three loosely defined sections: Coping and Growth: the CNA and Stress, Advocate and Caregiver: the CNA and the Resident and Perception and Reality: the CNA and the work environment.