Crystal Adams

I attribute my success to building strong rapport with my clients and maintaining a positive attitude, using humor to lighten the mood. I go into work singing and dancing, and I make jokes with my residents like 'I'm making your hiney white and shiny' to make them smile. I've learned that you have to leave everything at the door - when you walk through that door, you're a different person. My whole approach is about making the clients happy and showing them love. I spend time learning what each resident needs, like knowing one resident needs to listen to music while showering, or understanding when someone needs a gown even when they can't verbally communicate it. The residents really respond to my energy and personality, and that connection is what makes the difference.

The best career advice I've ever received is to keep your mouth shut. I learned this the hard way when I moved from night shift to day shift. I had worked as a 'vampire' for about 4 and a half years on nights, and when they brought me to days because they needed my energy, I kept getting in trouble. The workplace politics and drama on day shift taught me that sometimes you need to stay quiet and focus on what matters - taking care of the residents. That's the lesson that has stuck with me throughout my career.

My advice to young women entering this industry is to make sure you are thick-skinned and don't worry about what other people say, because you are only there for the residents and the paycheck. As long as your work's done and your residents feel loved and happy, you've done your job. Always make them smile. You have to leave everything at the door - when you walk through that door, you're a different person. Don't bring your personal problems to work. The residents are what matter, and if you can focus on making them happy, you'll succeed in this field.

The biggest challenges in my field right now are the quality of care issues, particularly regarding drug addiction problems with staff and poor infection control practices in the workplace. I've seen nursing homes that aren't really nursing homes anymore - they're bringing in people addicted to drugs who set alarms for their medications, and our elderly residents like Grandma and Grandpa are living alongside people who should be in drug rehab facilities instead. I've witnessed staff not ordering medications and people dying from it, and I've seen terrible infection control with peritoneal dialysis that has made patients sick. I actually got fired from my last position because I refused to work under an abusive nurse and reported her for patient abuse. The opportunity I see is to open my own in-home CNA business, or even buy one of the closed schools and turn it into an actual nursing home for people 70 and above - not for people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s on house arrest. I want to create a place with real quality care standards where residents are truly cared for with dignity.

The values most important to me in my work and personal life are making my clients happy and earning a decent living wage. Everything I do is focused on bringing joy to the residents I care for - I want to see them smile and feel loved. In my personal life, my motivation is and always will be my kids. I've spent my whole life trying to make sure they do better than I did. They've been to South Africa twice, spent summers in Florida, and I've always made sure they got better opportunities than I had. I've raised three amazing kids - one got into Alabama University, one is on her way to becoming an RN, and my youngest just graduated and is going into the military. Even though I've been through 12 years of an abusive relationship and another difficult marriage, I've stayed focused on being an independent mom and giving my children the best life possible. That drive to help my kids succeed and to make my patients happy is what keeps me going every day.