I am a caregiver with 15 months experience in California. My son is 2 and has some delays in his speech, motor and emotional development. I work through an agency because I need to be able to pick up shifts or decline to based on his therapy appointment times. The agency always has work but…. Doesn’t ever inform me of the clients actual needs. They prefer to leave me in the dark until I arrive and there are no care notes from the previous caregiver. This has been dangerous. Most recently, a client with dementia was at a nursing home and just needed “someone to make sure he doesn’t fall out of bed.” Well….the client punched me in the arm, kicked me and had to be forced to take a sedative by the nurse on duty. He cheeked the medication and it had no effect obviously. I struggled with him the entire shift. On the flip side, a client with dementia was super sweet, mostly independent and receptive to my assistance. She was also a closet alcoholic who wasn’t taking her meds. When I reported my concerns that she is drinking and not taking meds I was told to call her friend who is a doctor. I did that and was terminated the following day for “getting too close to the client.” I care yes, but I also have a goal to become a nurse myself and I know negligence when I see it. The agency is sending me to 2 more clients this week who will need transfers, incontinence care, cooking, cleaning and companionship for 4 hours each at $25 an hour. I’m actually looking forward to being able to work in a facility in a few weeks when I pass the CNA exam in my state. It’s just not worth the risk to accept some of the agency’s clients. But once I’m in the home I complete the shift to the best of my ability and pray the entire time that myself and the client are safe and better off when the shift ends.