Support Groups for Nursing Assistants

Support Groups for Nursing AssistantsWorking as a Nursing Assistant can be veryfulfilling. It is a great feeling to know youspent your day helping others. However, with thisjob comes a great deal of stress and frustrationat times. This is due to short staffing so thereis too much to get done, issues with other medicalstaff, and dealing with terminally ill patientsor those who have died while in your care. All ofthis can start to take a toll on a Nursing

Assistant, both physically and mentally. As aresult, many Nursing Assistants suffer fromburnout. They no longer find joy in the professionthey were once passionate about.To help you manage the stress and other factorsthat your job as a Nursing Assistant brings,support groups are a great way to discuss how youare feeling, both the good and the bad. It is away to create relationships and receive supportfrom others in the same profession. You will alsohave the ability to provide support to others inthe group.There are many ways Nursing Assistants set upsupport groups. It is very easy to put up a flierat work and ask those who are interested to cometo a meeting. Make sure your flier addresses thegroup is only for Nursing Assistants. Manyemployers will support this effort, and offer youa meeting place. Make sure you discuss yourreasons for wanting to establish a support group

to administration prior to advertising. Some groups meet weekly while others meet everyother week. You can have established topics foreach meeting or just allow members to bring to thetable what ever they want. Make sure to set upground rules for respect as well as prevent themeetings from becoming nothing but complaintsessions. The purpose of the support group is tohelp you stay positive, not generate thenegative.If your group of co-workers is very small, youmight decide to set up a Nursing Assistant supportgroup in your community, inviting NursingAssistants from all medical facilities to meettogether. You can select a central location suchas the library. Often Churches will allow groupsto gather in their facilities when not in use. Youcan also choose to rotate the medical facilitythat will host each meeting.

Online support groups for Nursing Assistants havebecome very popular. They allow you a level onanimosity that face to face meetings do not. Also,your group will consist of people from all overthe Nation, not just in your area. This can leadto learning new ways that work well for othersthat you can apply to your work environment.Online support groups for Nursing Assistants arefree to join. They also don 抰 require an effortbeing put into reminders for meetings, orsecuring places to meet.One such online support group called NursingAssistant Central .com has thousands of members.They invite individuals thinking of entering theNursing Assistant program, those who are in theprogram, recent certificate holders, and thoseemployed as a Nursing Assistant. There aremessage boards and chat rooms to discuss hundredsof topics. There is even a section whereindividuals can post questions related to theirjob. This site offers support and relieve to

individuals in the Nursing Assistant fieldeveryday.It is important for Nursing Assistants to be awareof the dangers of stress and burnout in theirprofession. Having a reliable support system inplace is a great way to offset the effects ofstress and burnout. While our families andfriends are often supportive of our career choice,they don 抰 understand the depth of some of thechallenging issues that happen for NursingAssistants in their job. Having a support groupmade up of your peers allows you a resource thatis walking in the same shoes. If you are hesitant,give a meeting or two a try. You just might findit is exactly what you need to help you keep thatlevel of enthusiasm for your job at its best.PPPPPWord Count 683