Reading Skills for Healthcare Workers

Today is Samira’s first day of training at her new job. She is going to work as a nursing assistant at West End Nursing Home. To learn about her job, Samira will have one week of orientation. Samira will train with the lead nurse assistant, Amir. Amir has worked at the nursing home for 10 years.

On the first day of training, Amir gives Samira a tour of the nursing home. Next, Amir starts his morning shift. He tells Samira, “Just watch what I do with residents today. Then, I’ll answer all your questions.”

Samira has a lot of questions. For example, Samira observed that Amir didn’t always do all the activities on his residents’ care plans. Each resident has a care plan, which includes the tasks that every healthcare worker must do with the resident.

“If a resident doesn’t want to get dressed or take medicine, that’s a resident’s choice,” says Amir. “I cannot make residents do something they don’t want to do. They have the right to make decisions. But I have to tell the nurse if I don’t do something written on a resident’s care plan.”

Amir gives Samira the Residents’ Rights brochure. All residents receive the brochure. It gives residents information about their rights such as the right to make independent choices, the right to have visitors, and the right to make suggestions or to complain about care.

Samira also learns that the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) looks into complaints about the health, safety, welfare, and rights of residents who live in nursing homes. The DHS collects facts to find the truth and fix complaints in nursing homes.