• My professional goal entails my ability to complete my medical documentation on time before my shift ends and preventing myself from having to stay later than my shift time. My goal, when it comes to 7am to 3pm or 3pm to 11pm shifts, is to decrease or diminish the need to stay after my shift in order to complete documentation.

Why this goal?

• Due to the occasional occurrence of short staffing, and times where there’s more to get done than usual, being on the floor of my workplace can get busy, interrupting some of my time to get my documentation done, resulting in me needing to stay longer than my scheduled time in order to get it done

How will I know I completed this goal?

• By keeping track of my time punches, I can note how often I stay after my shift to complete documenting, and keep it to a minimum of hopefully only once a week, or none is possible, but days can be unpredictable.

What will I do in order to accomplish this goal?

• In order to achieve this goal, during my shift I’ll find ways to work more efficiently and cut down on wasted time spent that would be better used for documenting.

Such as:

-Stocking the hallway linens carts as soon as I’m on the floor to avoid trips to the linen closet.

-Asking each of the residents on my assignment what they need in order to be situated.

-Keeping track of my to-do’s prior to being able to sit down and document

-Multitask during meal times, sit between two people who are dependent feeds and cut down on the time it takes to feed.

• My personal goal is to save an extra $2,500 by the end of the co-op senior project deadline! (December 13)

Why this goal?

• In the past since I’ve began working at Windsor, I’ve had a terrible habit of spending nearly all of each of my paychecks every week, and I need to begin saving my money whilst I don’t have to worry about any bills.

How will I achieve this goal?

• I usually take money from my only bank account, which is a joint savings with me and my grandmother. In order to save my money, I’m going to have only $100 of my weekly paycheck go into a checking account with a debit card, and the rest to be direct deposited into a savings which I don’t have access to.

      My overall experience on co-op was generally pleasant. I appreciated getting the experience as a CNA. But to go into further detail - although the working experience at Windsor Skilled Nursing was overall unpleasant, after working there since may 2024, I decided to resign in December. I afterwards got hired by a not only better paying place, but also more open and friendly. Working at Windsor I was subject to age, experience, and skill judgement from my co-workers who worked on the floor with me. Working my first job as a CNA at 17 years old had me susceptible to judgement from CNAs working alongside me. I experienced wrongful accusations made by my coworkers, with statements such as me leaving residents unclean in their perineal area, and simply “throwing on a brief.” I found this highly offensive, as I take pride in caring for the lovely residents I had connections with. My routine was to always clean a patient with warm soapy water, even if I had quick wet wipes accessible to me, I believe everyone deserves to be completely clean the proper way. This increasingly offended me, because I had helped my coworkers at any chance given. If I found myself done with documenting and had downtime, I’d often find myself saying “want me to help you change [Resident name]?” Or “Do you have somebody you still need to help feed? If you’re busy I can go do that for you.” My attempt to make connections with the adults I worked with was forsaken. Of course I did have a few awesome coworkers, newly graduated nurses closer to my age who were lovely to me and the older CNAs whom I got along with. I had two CNAs I still actively text and chat with, they were amazing and so friendly and my best friends. Although the negativity from a select amount of people, the people who were good to me absolutely changed me for the better, not only as a healthcare worker but as a person. Overall, Windsor felt overwhelmed with negativity and people who simply would do the work to get it over with, rather than being kind to others and making connections. The drama was too much for me.

Experience with co-op

      My first week I worked a total of 32 hours, with shifts spanning from early morning to late evening. I learned that working four consecutive shifts can be quite tiring, particularly if I do not prioritize rest and relaxation after work. This experience emphasized the importance of establishing a better sleep routine. Reflecting on the week as a whole, my time flew by as I began my co-op journey, which gave me a renewed sense of excitement. I managed to save $300 out of my $400 paycheck, making solid progress toward my savings goal. Additionally, I successfully adhered to my goal of better time management, ensuring I left work promptly without needing to stay late in order to document. I did this by ensuring I charted lesser changing categories, such as a resident's functional abilities, early before lunch time. I also would find myself with any single moment of down time either charting and documenting or getting tasks that could interrupt my charting out of the way. By asking residents if they could need anything else at all prior to leaving their room, I also eliminated tasks that could deter me from completing my documenting. The best moment of the week was starting my co-op on the 5th, as this milestone motivated me to focus on achieving my goals. Moving forward, my intentions for the next week were to continue saving money and managing my time effectively.

      Another week was challenging, as I clocked 32 hours of work despite calling out on a day due to car troubles. I made up for the missed shift by working on my day off, showing my commitment to maintaining my co-op schedule. Throughout the week, I learned how to communicate my feelings about workloads to my supervisors, which was an important personal milestone. Unfortunately, my coworkers seemed to take advantage of my co-op arrangement, assigning me the most difficult tasks across four consecutive days. I stayed late one day to give a coworker a ride home, which disrupted my time management goals slightly. Despite these setbacks, I managed to save $275 this week, bringing my total savings to $700 and pushing my savings account balance to $2,762. My best moment was demonstrating adaptability by picking up the extra shift on my day off. Moving forward, I aim to strike a better balance between accommodating others and maintaining my boundaries.

My final week working at Windsor, I culminated in a total of 32 hours of work. I decided to resign the previous week due to dissatisfaction with the work environment, and this week only reinforced my decision. I was assigned to an unfamiliar area, which felt punitive, given the high workload. Reflecting on this experience, I realized that settling for an undesirable work environment is unnecessary—I can and should always strive for better opportunities. Despite the challenges, my best moment of the week was celebrating my resignation with a break at Dunkin’. This small act marked the start of a new chapter, free from a toxic environment. Looking ahead, I plan to relax, reset, and avoid unnecessary spending to maintain the savings progress I’ve worked hard to achieve.

Personal goal: 

• My personal goal was to save an extra $2,500 by the end of the co-op senior project deadline, (my extended date of January 10th)

Why this goal?

• In the past since I began working at Windsor, I’ve had a terrible habit of spending nearly all of my paychecks every week, and I needed to begin saving my money for my future whilst I don’t have to worry about any bills.

How did I work toward this goal?

• I usually take money from my only bank account, which is a joint savings with me and my grandmother. In order to save my money, I had only $100 of my weekly paycheck go to my pocket and the rest to be direct deposited into the savings.

Did I achieve my personal goal? 

As much as I did work toward my goal, I was unable to meet the full expectation of it. I managed to save about $1,300, although I was hoping to save $2,500. This is because of my short time at Windsor, not allowing me enough time to save even more. 

I’m happy to say I saved that much though! Given this was over the course of a few weeks, I’m pleased with myself saving that amount of money even if I didn’t make it to the number I wished to reach.

Before: ~$2,062.              

After: ~$3,362.

Overall: I feel as if I completed this goal! I never once needed to stay after my shift in order to complete my documenting. I managed my time well, and only left late maybe twice when I waited on a coworker who I offered a ride home. Even then, I never left later than 15 minutes after my shift.

• My professional goal entailed my ability to complete my medical documentation on time before my shift ended and preventing myself from having to stay later than my shift time. My goal, when it came to 7am to 3pm or 3pm to 11pm shifts, was to decrease or diminish the need to stay after my shift in order to complete documentation.

Why this goal?

• Due to the occasional occurrence of short staffing, and times where there’s more to get done than usual, being on the floor of my workplace could get busy, interrupting some of my time to get my documentation done, resulting in me needing to stay longer than my scheduled time in order to get it done, and I want to prioritize my ability to relax after my shift. 

How did I know I completed this goal?

• By keeping track of my time punches, I noted how often I stayed after my shift to complete documentation. (Screenshooting time stamps was unable to work, contained personal information and work app wouldn’t allow it.)

What did I do to cut back on time in order to accomplish this goal?

-Stocked the hallway linens carts as soon as I’m on the floor to avoid trips to the linen closet.

-Asked each of the residents on my assignment what they need in order to be situated.

-Kept track of my to-do’s prior to being able to sit down and document

-Multitasked during meal times, sat between two people who are dependent feeds and cut down on the time it takes to feed.