A CNA snatched meds from me.

[Yonsei94RN]

I am a brand new nurse and working at LTC setting and have had problem with a CNA who has a certain relationship with DON.

She has showed lack of respect on the day I started working here. For example, she's always rambling something when I pass in front of her and been sacastic all the time. Today, Things happened. When I am sitting at the desk getting order from an doctor, she's yelling out and saying "According to this book (Alert book), I dont need to get this residents vital signs, why do I have to" like superviser. The thing is that she didnt see the font page. So what I did was sit next to her and show the page that she could not see and explained her nicely. after that, she was busy making excuses and never say sorry for shouting out to me.

She has been working there quite a while like, I guess, 10 years or so. she thinks she know everything about the residents. today, when I gave meds with pudding on it to a residents, she refused to take the last bite. the CNA who stood there snatched the last spoon from me and gave it to her when I didnt ask for it. I was so supprised and just said "thank you" to the resident. and got out of the room. she might think that I said thank you to her.

Come to think of it, I think I was so stupid. But dont know how to handle this CNA. I wasn't like this. But I dont know why. Seems to me, An LPN, who also worked there for a long time and are very friendly with the CNA, is not helping me and is avoiding to confront her on behalf of me ( I thought that she might give me some advice) Is anybody out there who can help me?

Is it only my problem?

[Brownms46]

Originally posted by Flo1216

What do you mean by rooming patients? And since when do nurse's aids give RNS their assignments, tell them what to do and take doctors orders? You will have to explain this to me..I don't understand!

Flo what I meant by "rooming pts" is that the CNA was supposed to be there to call in the pts, and take their V/S nothing more. But this one took it upon herself to overstep her bounds. I reported it, but got virtually no where. The thinking of the NM was that this would free the nurses up to take care of any MD orders given to the nurses, such as giving injections, setting up referrals, or procedures, and assistisng with procedures.

The clinic I'm at is a hospital based clinic, in a seperate building, but still on the hospital grounds. I work in resident/faulty clinic setting. We have about 14 residents, two medical students, and 6 faulty memebers, and we're supposed to separated into teams. Each team is supposed to have an RN/LPN or CMA, with the CNA helping out with the teams that don't have enough licensed staff on them.

Now the clinical director would like to have us work along side each other with no one being over anyone. But I let her know this isn't how it is supposed to work, and someone has to be in charge or nothing get done right. But this is how they had run things until they got rid of the CMAs who had been there for years. I think this CNAs attitude comes from the fact, that this is how things were run there.

I think the RNs allowed things to be run like this, because most of them are PT, and only maybe one of them has any expereince working with CNAs as most have no hsopital experience. Now there are no FT RN's there, as the last one just left on Friday. There is one new one, with hardly any expereince at all, and only works three days a week, one who is working two days a week, and one is now working three days a week, but will be cutting down to two days. So the clinic is desperate for help, and the clinical director told me they were lucky to get whomever they could.

I was offered a position in this clinic, but turned it down d/t they weren't able to meet my salary requirements. What they were offering was at least $9/hr less than I'making, not even including my paid housing, so I turned it down. I also turned it down because I didn't care to be in a setting working for less money, that was so unstructured. All I asked, was that she not room my pts, unless I'm behind or busy. That is where I feel she could be useful, but not taking over!

Unfortuately I was alone in being distrubed by what this CNA was doing. Now picture this. CNA rooming pts, answering the phones, and YES telling nurses, including RNs what they should do concerning a problem or a pt. And the nurses just sitting there letting her. But not me, so she and I ran head long into each other! The end result was, I was told they were looking at me to see how well I got alone with others, so I told the Clinical Director if this is what she wanted, then I would let it go. And I did! But I also let go of the idea of taking the job perm.

So they have offered me to stay on as a traveler, on a month to month basis, and that is just fine with me!

But I also let this CNA work her butt off, and she soon learned how to holler uncle...Heeheee! She started asking me what I wanted her to do with my pts, instead of trying to tell me what to do. More than one way to deal with a pain in the you know what!

Thanks Mattsmon for the encouragement, but ...like I said...getting paid waaaaay too much to worry about this CNA. Plus she has called in for the last couple of days. I wouldn't be surpirsed if she tries to go for disablity.

[RN2B2005]

OK, I didn't understand that the original poster had the pudding/med cup in her hand when the CNA took it and gave it to the patient. My understanding was that the patient still had the pudding/med cup and simply hadn't finished it.

I still don't understand why the original poster wouldn't want the patient to finish her full dose of meds, but that's another thread.

[rebel_red]

Ya'll I know I have mentioned my interactions with the CNA's you have described. Please as liscenced folks, draw the line with these people! It is so frustrating to have another CNA write the schedule, tell you your job, etc. When I discuss this with my supervisors nothing occurs......

They all say go to the DON. Why? I ask. (Okay I know why, they don't want to rock the boat, question the status quo etc.) For the good CNA's out there, these ones have a debilitating effect.

And I haven't gone to the DON primarily because I am a new hire, still in school for CNA. (Yeah that is sooooo wimpy, I know.) So I work around her.

Sigh, but I do love my residents. They make up for all the political in house nonsense.

Take Care

Tres

[kids]

Originally posted by RN2B2005

...I still don't understand why the original poster wouldn't want the patient to finish her full dose of meds, but that's another thread.

It is not a matter of the poster not wanting the patient to finish the full dose of meds:

Originally posted by Yonsei94RN

... today, when I gave meds with pudding on it to a residents, she refused to take the last bite. the CNA who stood there snatched the last spoon from me and gave it to her...

The point is:

The patient had refused the remaining bite (her right).

The CNA took it out of the posters hand (rude) and administered it to the patient anyway (illegal).

[RN2B2005]

I didn't understand that the patient had actually REFUSED the last bite of medication, and that the CNA forced her to eat it. And as I said before, when I first read the post, it wasn't clear that the CNA had taken the medication from the RN's hand. When that was made clear, her (the RN's) anger made a lot more sense.

Thanks for clearing that up.

[Flo1216]

What makes a CNA qualified to tell an RN how to do her job? IF I were the RN, I would have laughed right in her face and gone about my business. I don't see how someone with a CNA education can delegate tasks to someone with an RN education. Am I missing something???

[Brownms46]

Flo you're not missing a thing, because I didn't and still don't get it either! I was totally floored when I met resistance from the powers that be, when I complained about this CNA! I just watch in amazement sometimes, but only when she is doing this with others. I have been told there, I can be pretty blunt..:chuckle...what else is new...:chuckle

[mattsmom81]

Flo, you have not encountered someone like this CNA yet but you will in time.

They operate in a manner that says "You are a screw up" and put others down on the job. I have worked with nurses like this too...who barge into everyone else's business and try to take over...it feeds something in them to behave in this overly aggressive way. They enjoy making others feel insecure.

Usually they have impressed someone in authority or are friends or lovers with same, I've found. Yup it's very dysfunctional but there seems to be one in just about every facility.

I had a unit secretary that did this...she was close with the director of the unit. She did lots of extra things to make this director's work easier. She also was a snitch for her...and told her everything that was said when she wasn't there, adding embellishments as she wished. If anyone dared say anything to her, she would make their lives miserable, talk behind her back and spead nasty gossip. She spread a rumor that a married CNA was fooling around with a monitor tech and made this CNA quit ...she was a wonderful CNA too who worked my shift so this was personal and I got involved..

These are just evil nasty types...I stood up to her, told her I got her number and she better not cross me like this again... and she eventually wore down and moved on (like Brownie's CNA may) but I'm sure she's doing her dirty little deeds in her new job...some folks get a kick out of operating this way for some reason.

Brownie , how does this work month by month? How much notice will they give you to find another position?

Yonsei, how are things going there now? Have you resolved anything yet?

[Brownms46]

Boy do you have this CNA's tag, as you have described her to a tee! In this small town, who is to say who is related to whom here.

Mattsmom, when they asked us to extend, it was one month before our contract would have ended. So they really haven't extended us for a month, as we were only extended to the end of Jan. This contract would have ended on Jan 11th. So I would expect to have a month's notice before being asked to stay on longer. But either way it goes, I plan on staying until the end of February, But I seriously doubt they will have anyone to replace us by that time anyway. There is supposed to be another traveler coming to take the place of the triage nurse that left.

I plan to stay here until I get tired of the position. And I agree with you, that this CNA will probably move on soon. I get the feeling, that she doesn't want to work anymore. I'm hoping she continue to stay out, as I'm tired of looking at the way she comes dressed...! She reminds me of some backwoods person.

[Flo1216]

I have worked with people like this but I don't put up with it. I guess that is what baffles me the most.When I first became a student and a CNA some of the older CNAS tried to boss me around and treated me like I was an idiot. I nipped it in the bud right away. I think because I look younger than I am(today is my birthday...I am 27) people misjudge me and think that I will take crap from them. Usually, they are really nice to me after I let them know I won't stand for it. Almost like (gasp) respect.

[monkijr]

originally posted by flo1216

i think because i look younger than i am(today is my birthday...i am 27)

:biggringi :balloons:

happy birthday flo, keep looking younger than you are.

[Flo1216]

Thanks....now that I have said that, next year I will probably look like a shoe.