Do you leave work for the next shift?

Students CNA/MA

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  1. Do you leave work for the next shift?

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I have only been a CNA since 2013 I have had two CNA jobs both at LTC facilities

While the work is the same the way the facilities are run are totally different (in regards to my nursing supervisors) I work 3-11shift

At my first place of employment while the work was rough on the sub-acute rehad floor with 3cnas in total most nights

About 13-15 residents each

95% of patients were total care

4trachs

About 80%were two assist transfers (hoyer or manual)

MOST nights we worked through our breaks 30mins automatically deducted from our checks per shift (2.5hrs per week)

Even after that I sometimes wouldn't leave until 11:30-11:45 on an average night and 12:00-12:30 on a bad night at 11 there would sometimes be a few people up the night shift had no issue putting them in bed however most nights myself and my other 3-11 coworker would just do it to finish our work sometimes we didn't and to my knowledge there wasn't a problem with this as it is a 24hr facility and the floor was the hardest in the building 7-3 if not complete would hand work to us (a few changes that hadn't been done a weight that hadn't been taken a bed that hadn't been made a resident that hadn't been walked etc.)

At my new facility however I'm on the MS unit with the same issue no break same patient ratio 3cnas still not leaving until 11:30-12:00 most nights (and that's before my charting) however for some reason 11-7 has an issue with "leaving work" which I'm just fed up with this place I love my job I'm tired of being unappreciated I come in around 2:30-2:45 every day and I am lucky if I get to the bathroom once

Is it wrong of me to leave work for the 11-7 shift Could I get in trouble for doing so?

because tonight I was very upset with the 11-7 nurse as it was after 11 her aide was there a resident who always refuses to go to bed because her roommate keeps the room too hot she's on oxygen so she needs the cold air she is alert she made myself and another coworker put her to bed and change a two assist in bed resident because when offered she refused then we have several other people to change from 9:30 on who most have treatments for the nurse to do

It depends. If there is work from the previous shift left undone because they were busy or short staffed, it's one thing, but if they leave it because they aren't using their time efficiently or to be lazy, there's a problem.

If a resident refuses to go to bed before the end of shift, so be it. It is written in their resident rights to decide when they want to go to bed. If a patient is sleeping so soundly and is comfortable, I don't mind getting that daily weight for the previous shift. But, if the previous shift dawdles around and spends more time on their phone than doing the last bed checks, you can be sure that I will say something.

As far as working without a break and it not being paid to me? Absolutely, positively NO. That is illegal; if you don't get a meal break, you MUST be compensated for that. It is federal law. I wouldn't stand for it myself.

Its not like they "make me" miss my break its just that if I take that 30min break I will be so far behind and as mentioned I'm already leaving late

On the MS unit about 93% of the people are two assist transfers (hoyer or manual)

So if I'm on break there are only two aides on the unit and we have about 4-5 residents that take 30 mins minimum to complete care on not to mention this is a "younger population" so we constantly have bells that need to be answered for one resident for instance needs us to change her TV channel or find her something to watch on Netflix

Or the other resident who constantly calls for the temp. To be adjusted or the one who calls "accidentally" and out of the 42 residents about 5 go to bed before dinner 7 if we're having a good start dinner comes up around 5-5:15 and ends 6:30-6:45 (we have a lot of feeders also) so as soon as dinner is over its chaos I'm not the only one who doesn't get one the nurse is lucky if she can grab a bite to eat and so is one of the other permanent Cnas

Its not for lack of trying though I said last week

"I'm gonna start taking my break and also ending whatever I was doing at 11" (meaning just completing that resident

MendedHeart

663 Posts

Where to start.

It's hard to stop sometimes but you have to take a break for lunch, you have to no matter what. Took me along time to learn this. You have to take care of yourself to keep caring for others

Do you ever team up and try to get things done together. Sounds like you may need to talk to your DON about how your feeling. Maybe the night shift could help take some of the load off. What if they over lap some shifts to get help during the busiest times.

Also, you know these residents, you are learning their quirks and needs. Anticipate their needs and be creative to try to stop the bell before it rings😉

These residents every u think you have figured out a way to speed up the process they throw a monkey wrench in the plans

No I Dont want to get in bed now

No I Dont want to be cleaned up now

For instance there is a resident who was a hoyer now using the slide board unable to assist at all has zero control over her bottom half isn't strong enough to help with her top half and is about 180lbs refuses to get into bed any other way

When asking pt who's taking the weight/doing the work answer was you are...

Sometimes, with some patients, it is better to not ask but say, "It is time for your bath and then you can go back to what you were doing," or "Mr. Smith, you look tired. It is probably a good idea of you go to bed soon. I will be back at 'x' amount of time to help you get ready for bed." If they think it's their idea or you present it in a certain way, they are more likely to respond positively.

chare

4,232 Posts

Sometimes, with some patients, it is better to not ask but say, "It is time for your bath and then you can go back to what you were doing," or "Mr. Smith, you look tired. It is probably a good idea of you go to bed soon. I will be back at 'x' amount of time to help you get ready for bed." If they think it's their idea or you present it in a certain way, they are more likely to respond positively.

And if they still decline, what then?

And if you believe it acceptable to coerce them into bathing on your schedule, where do you draw the line?

MendedHeart

663 Posts

And if they still decline, what then?

And if you believe it acceptable to coerce them into bathing on your schedule, where do you draw the line?

Are the patients Alert and oriented?

If so you cannot make them take a bath. They have the right to refuse. Maybe stop playing that game, document that they refused, and maybe they'll get tired of being stinky 😊

And if they still decline, what then?

And if you believe it acceptable to coerce them into bathing on your schedule, where do you draw the line?

Discretion is the better part of valor. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I am excellent at persuasive language, none of which intimidating or threatening. It is all about what words and phrases are used, as well as the connotation to them and the psychology behind them.

I always document, and report to the assigned nurse. If I can't convince the patient (there is no coercion involved) I ask the assigned nurse to intervene or assist in suggesting. Then I work from there.

dancediva234

16 Posts

You should leave when your shift ends and take your breaks even if you are behind. If you are on a patient when your shift comes to an end or you have a break, complete your patient and go to your break or leave work. You have done your job to your best ability and no longer need to stay if it is the end of your shift. You aren't getting paid for overtime, so you don't need to work for overtime.

Yes they are ALL alert and oriented

When I was oriented at the facility it was told to us that was the most difficult unit

So its not like the DON doesn't know I just wonder if I should say something to her like most times I Dont mind completing my work its just sometimes I want to leave on time and charting takes about 45mins alone because we have to do both the computer system and manual book charting

When the new t shift comes on I was under the impression that I am no longer "responsible"

Like a resident falls at 11:02 i Dont fill out the incident report the next shift doed

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN

1 Article; 5,114 Posts

because tonight I was very upset with the 11-7 nurse as it was after 11 her aide was there a resident who always refuses to go to bed because her roommate keeps the room too hot she's on oxygen so she needs the cold air she is alert she made myself and another coworker put her to bed and change a two assist in bed resident because when offered she refused then we have several other people to change from 9:30 on who most have treatments for the nurse to do

I would like to say something more helpful, but I'm really having a hard time decoding this. Could you use some punctuation to make multiple sentences, please?

I did get that you are working a lot of unpaid hours. This is illegal; they have to pay you for all hours worked. I mean it. Never, never stay late without putting down your OT, including if you did not take your meal break, for which they must allow you time off and pay you for if you can't take it. The only thing staff can do to get more help is to start demanding to be paid for the work they're doing; a new hire is cheaper than paying overtime.

If you have too much work to do in your shift and it's not because you are not slacking off, then this is because the facility is not meeting their responsibility to provide enough staff to safely care for residents. Short-staffing is not your responsibility.

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