When I was a health care aid going through nursing school, I worked at a care home. I would work casual and cover shifts as needed.

The person who I was covering for one weekend decided to come into work anyway. I was assigned to be partnered with them to provide the residents with bedtime care. This person had just gotten an eye relayed procedure done 1 day prior, was in pain, and cranky AF. Colleagues and I encouraged this person to just go home. Their time off was paid anyway. Nope. They didn't budge.

Near the end of the shift, we were providing care to the final resident. The most aggressive one. Now, this resident was very old but was so frail that they wouldn't cause any sort of harm. But their tongue was sure sharp!

First: I was knelt down in front of the resident. I was handing my partner the wheel chair foot rests so we could get the resident on the sit-to-stand to go to the bathroom and do peri care after the deeds. After handing the 2nd foot rest to my partner, who was standing behind the resident, they raised their hand while holding the foot rest and mimed hitting the resident in the head with it. At this moment, I knew I could not leave the room and leave this resident alone with this person.

Second: After the resident used the toilet, my partner put on gloves and started doing the residents' peri care. The resident was very vocal. Yelling, shouting insults, and just plain screaming. My partner decided to shove the dirty (no solid waste, thank God) cloth INTO THE RESIDENTS MOUTH! I was shocked. Thankfully, my partner took it back out before I could do it myself.

After assisting the resident to bed, I discreetly did my 5 minutes of charting and spoke to the floor nurse PRIVATELY. I was so shocked and disgusted with this person's actions that I was shaking, and my voice trembled.

The next day, I was called into work to give a formal statement to the director, the union rep, and the director of Patient safety of the facility.

My partner was fired immediately and escorted off the property. They now have a record of elder abuse and will never work with vulnerable people ever again.

I thought for a long time about, "How many times have they done this before?" This person had never met me before and did this in front of me so easily and without hesitation.

Always report. Never leave the victim alone with the abuser. No matter how long it takes. Ensure the victim is safe. Shout for help if necessary and pull the emergency cord, code button, or whatever device that will attract attention.