[catslave]

Any vitals signs required regarding medication administration I get myself as well as most routine blood pressures. It is my belief that half of the aides in the facility I work don't know how to take a blood pressure and I know they are unaware of normal parameters and could care less. I feel that more often than not - vital signs and meal percentages are made up. Having expressed these concerns to management - they care even less.

[Button2006]

Originally Posted by Daytonite

Anyway, part of your job as a charge nurse is to supervise these mutts and make sure they are doing their job.

Peace and Blessings to you,

Please forgive me if I am nitpicking at you but I feel very uncomfortable with your use of the word 'mutts.' Were you referring to the lazy/incompetent CNAs who have no business in the nursing field or are all of us as 'mutts?' Please don't take offense, I just want to understand what you meant.

I actually like the rest of what you said. I am a in training to become a CNA and I have plans of becoming either a Nurse Practitioner or a Nurse Educator some day. In the meanwhile, I am in the training program to become a CNA. I know fully well that I will be an awesome CNA and I will have a wonderful career in nursing. Why? Because I care with my whole heart. We have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to go on the floor and do bed baths and feeding a few times and those residents just melt me. I want to take care of the entire floor.

Even though I will be a CNA and not an actual LPN or RN (initially), I still feel as though the resident's life is in my hands. It is important that I meticulously and efficiently do my job and make detailed and relevant reports to the nurses on my resident's condition. In order to do this, I need other CNAs, LPNs, and RNs that I can count on. I also need to be able to count on the Charge Nurse to do as Daytonite said and discipline and hold all CNAs accountable for doing their job. It is remarkably frustrating for us 'good' and 'hardworking' CNAs to have someone who is lazy and unwilling to help out on the floor. So trust me, it isn't just the Charge Nurse or the DON who gets frustrated and has a hard time.

Its like a domino effect when even one CNA is not putting in their share of the work. Residents get less of the attention, care, and human contact they need, all kinds of liabilities occur, and it really takes away from the job.

I think the appropriate attitude to have is to put the patient's life and well-being first. So the to OP, your patient having his vital signs read accurately and regularly is WAY more important than this CNA's attitude and difficult behavior. You do no want this patient to either OD or not have enough medication because no one was willing to make sure this particular CNA actually did her job and read his vital signs. You just have to put things in proper perspective.

Good luck to you all and God Bless! Big hugs from me to you (we all need them )

~Button

[jace7m3]

Originally Posted by pumpkin92356

I am a CNA for many years and this story goes on everywhere I have worked. A lot of times some facilities are so understaffed that the workload for CNA's is next to impossible to complete in an eight hour shift. But, nevertheless its boils down to either accept your job as a cna or get out!! I'm am so tired of working along side of lazy CNA's. Most of the time its the younger ones with all the energy who are to busy taking smoke breaks and talking on their cellphones. Taking care of residents, patients is very serious business. An incorrect set of vitals could cause a patient to recieve to much or not enough medication. I would personally have a beginning of the shift meeting with my CNA's if I were a nurse and give them the report(which 99% of the time nurses I,ve worked with dont do this) and tell them you want your vitals by certain certain time. That way they can schedule vitals around their other tasks. And as for a cardiac patient, if I was responsible for the medication this patient recieves and I didnt trust the CNA I was working with I would personally do them myself. As a CNA I know who is boss and its not me. When a CNA is doing their job they are answering the call lites of all residents if they are not busy with their own residents, they are polite and ready to assist the nurse with any request within their scope of practice. Vitals signs when requested, making sure turns or done, helping other cnas without being asked. Down time could include depending on the shift stocking up supplies, spending quality time with a patient, tidying up the nurse station etc. I myself prefer to stay busy because I have found that the time goes by faster and if everyone is standing around the DON is going to think that there doesnt need to be as many cna's on duty and cut staff to save on budget. CNA's out there I hope you are listening.

I love your work ethic and can only hope to end up working with people like you. There is a girl I met at orientation who is already concerned about being hung over for clinicals (early Saturday morinings) and classes haven't even started yet. I hope she was kidding

[bcollins61]

You have taken the words right out of my mouth, it was like you were in my head !!!!!!! CNA's and Nurses can make each other miserable on the job. And it shouldent be this way. We should all work together and not see who knows more about the res or patient than the other. A nurse should listen to the CNA that has been working with the res a long time and learn. But in turn the CNA should respect the Nurses position also, because if the Nurse does'nt make sure the CNA is doing his or her job then the Nurse is'nt doing her job.Give the Nurse time to know you and the kind of job you do then the nurse will trust that you are doing the job right.

[love_being_an_aide]

I really must say that this thread has got me thinking. I am facing a similar situation on my floor where I currently work. I am an aide in a hospital, as well as a HHA. I find that in the hospital, we are always having wars between the nurses and the aides, and it's absolutely ridiculous. I have made many an enemy on both sides for being adamently neutral in the situation. I get along with all the nurses I work with--one in particular teams up with me and we handle the vitals as well as assesments together. If the patient needs to be T&P, we do it together. And it works wonders! We respect each other very much, and accomplish so much more! I also get along with the aides I work with, and we do teamwork together.

I think this is going to be a never-ending battle because both sides show a consistent lack of respect for each other. Not that all people do, obviously. And it's quite sad, because as i've read this thread, the lack of respect is shown in the writings. We are in this job to care for one person and one person only--the patient. When we as the healthcare TEAM don't get along, the patient suffers. And that my friends, is not fair. That person depends on us to ensure his safety and care for his needs while he can't. Remember, we are a team.

The healthcare team is like a tree. The CNA's are the roots, the nurses the branches, and the patients the leaves. Without one part of the tree, it dies. Think about that. And let's just try to respect each other and get along.

[Dixiecup]

Originally Posted by Valerie Salva

Wonderful post. I'd love to work with you.

Me too! Can you clone yourself?