Abstract
Nurse's aides, primarily women, provide the majority of care to residents, primarily older women, in nursing homes. This pilot study deals with an understudied area: characteristics and perceptions of nurse's aides. The data in this exploratory study are drawn from extensive semi-structured interviews with 27 randomly selected nurse's aides in three skilled care nursing homes in central Arkansas. The study provides a glimpse into facets of life, work, and caregiving from the aide's perspective. The data address what is most and least satisfying about the aides' work and how they rate themselves as caregivers. Clearly the aides' attitudes, expectations, and behaviors are connected to the well-being of the residents they serve.