Moments Matter: Tiny Interactions with Big Impact

 I know we’ve covered the importance of being empathetic to patients, especially during deep emotional conversations or during life-changing moments for them. But what about the day-to-day interactions that seem insignificant? When you walk into a patient’s room, what do you say to them? How do you introduce yourself? Patients see a different CNA every 12 hours, so how do you distinguish yourself from them in a way that makes the patient comfortable? 


If there’s one thing I learned from entering a patient’s room, it is to always knock. What we fail to recognize is that we are, essentially, in someone’s home. If you were in someone else’s house, would you not knock before you enter their room? Not knocking is an incredible invasion of privacy, if you think about it. Just because their bedroom is now at a long-term care facility rather than their own home doesn’t mean that they lose the right to feel human. After knocking, you should always address the patient using their last name, formally, like “Mr. Smith”. Addressing someone by their first name sounds somewhat informal, and no matter how close the interaction is, patients deserve as much respect from their CNA as they do from anyone else. 


Since I was only 16 years old when I started working as a CNA, patients would often start conversations with me and ask me how old I was. I would tell them I was 16, and in high school. I thought they would see me as more immature and less skilled at my job, but instead, the opposite happened. Patients would start requesting me as their CNA, and they respected me more for my age. They took interest in my school life, and that was very heartwarming, because it is my job to take interest in their lives, not the opposite. That is proof that you are never too young to do anything; as long as you work with care, respect, and maturity, your age is entirely irrelevant to the job. Being a CNA truly did change my life, and I hope more 16 year olds continue to take the step to become CNAs and make a real difference in the lives of patients. It is truly the most hands-on nursing experience you can get as a teenager.


Another important interaction between patients and CNAs is smiling. Smiling is the number one nonverbal indicator of emotion. Walking into a patient’s room with a smile on your face can dictate the outcome of the entire conversation. If a CNA walks into a patient’s room with no smile, the patient can interpret that as many things. The CNA could be irritated, tired, bored, or sad, all of which interfere with the quality of care delivered to the patient. On top of all the other things the patient may have to worry about, like their health, finances, and family, they should not have to worry about whether the CNA’s life is going to become a part of their worries as well. We keep work and life separated, so that we don’t place another mental burden onto the patient. When our emotions drift into patient care, we can very easily make the patient feel unsafe or uncomfortable. Smiles make the patient feel comfortable and at ease, and they reassure the patient that they are not a burden on us. 


As I have emphasized before, every little decision matters, and similarly, every small interaction with a patient matters. Every verbal cue and every aspect of body language can be interpreted or misinterpreted, and staying cognizant of that is what makes you a better CNA than ever. 

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