Friend DNRed from nursing home by CNA.

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

My friend is an agency RN, who worked as a charge nurse at a nursing home last noc. An 18 yr old CNA asked to leave early. She was not sick, just wanted to leave to go out w/ friends. This would have left the facility short-staffed, so my friend said no. This CNA became very angry and said some inappropriate things. She then called a friend to meet her in the parking lot and disappeared for a half hour. My friend found her and told her to come back in and work. The CNA invited her friend in to "hang out" with her on her rounds. My friend told the CNA's friend that she had to leave- she was not staff, and her presence broke pt confidentiality and distracted the CNA from her work. My friend slipped a note under the DON's door describing what happened. Today, the agency told my friend she is DNR from the facility because of "personality conflict with staff."

The DON is known in the area as very weak in leadership skills and as easily manipulated by staff.

And people wonder why there's a "shortage"! :angryfire

[meownsmile, BSN, RN]

A short telephone call the the proper authorities to relay the HIPPA violations here. A quick visit and a few stiff fines and that would be about all it would take.

[moia]

We had a really really ..REALLY good agency nurse who worked in the ICU...she worked a lot and was always excellent

She had a really tough patient who was very ill with a seemingly neverending list of complications...the family was wonderful

This great nurse made the absolutely FATAL error of suggesting to the family that they needed to be more aggressive when talking to the doctors...she told them to ask more questions and that it would be in the patients best interest if he got an MRI...soon.

Nothing she said to that family was unprofessional..she was an excellent advocate

she got the boot...the powers that be said she inferred that the patient was not getting appropriate care and she overstepped the bounds of an AGENCY nurse.

It was crap but she didn't fight it...she thought about it and a lot of us really wanted her to and we were willing to stand up for her but she understood something we didn't....she realized she never ever wanted to work for an employer that thought the way our management did...she said she chose agency work for that very reason...she left happy to know she would never have to curb her patient advocacy to keep management happy.

I still look back at that incident with real shock....did they do it for that reason I wonder? I know I am very careful in how I talk to patients and their families...I aim them at the doctor and get out of the way or I ask the doctor a lot of questions and chart chart chart to CMA.

I think it is ridiculous that a nurse gets banned for demanding that someone do their job....but I am not surprised...management just gets weirder and weirder

[hogan4736, BSN, RN]

I just left a weekend supervisor job at a LTC...You should see what drama has ensued after I left...The CNAs changing assignments (that the registry RN made), the CNAs telling the RN which rooms they will and won't cover...

All things I had gotten rid of (while making some enemies), but I had a core staff that respected me, and pulled extra weight (We had a core of 7 nurses and 15 CNAs)...Including myself, 5 nurses and 7 CNAs left with me...

Shame on any nurse that would put up w/ such insubordinate behavior, from a CNa OR nurse...

And more shame on the CNA or nurse that behaves in such a manner...

I fear the LTCs in our country are increasingly being staffed w/ less than desireable/reliable people, and are accepting more and more (younger) drug abusers)

Sean

[Rapheal]

It was probally a blessing your friend got the boot. Any mishap caused to or by that visitor would have been on her. A big liability she should not have to carry.

[mattsmom81]

There are too many places like ya'll are describing, unfortunately. Poor leadership, unprofessional dysfunctional staff, bosses who cave to doctors behaving badly. It's getting so a good nursing job is hard to find isn't it.

Agency is great but I can empathize with the OP's friend...it is easy for the staff to do this to an agency nurse if the leadership doesn't care. Also the doctors like to target an assertive agency nurse if they are the type (and there are more and more like this)

When I go into a workplace I go in with the attitude it and the people are totally dysfunctional, so I need to just focus on just doing the best I can personally...and I avoid being in charge whenever I can for the reasons mentioned in the posts.

[ktwlpn, LPN]

There are too many places like ya'll are describing, unfortunately. Poor leadership, unprofessional dysfunctional staff, bosses who cave to doctors behaving badly. It's getting so a good nursing job is hard to find isn't it........................

,........ so I need to just focus on just doing the best I can personally...and I avoid being in charge whenever I can for the reasons mentioned in the posts.

Have you ever seen a DON come to a unit and start tearing through all of the desk drawers screaming all the while? Throwing away nightshift's magazines and catalogues and such? I walked away-and was consequently relieved of my charge postion and am tickled pink (there were other issues also-let's call them differences of opinion-I am all for residents rights to a good quality of life and treating and supporting the whole family unit-others are all about CONTROL).....MM81-I will live by your words....I will not stand still and be treated in such a way by anyone and as long as I am not in charge I have an easy out (down the hall I go) If the admin acts this way and it is accepted then that attitude trickles down....I WILL NOT become that type of nurse....I WILL NOT treat my co-workers in a disrepectful and discourteous way.....

[ChrisA]

Wow. Who are these DONs and how did they get to be so clueless and abusive?

[leslie :-D]

i now realize that it's much easier to sweep dirt under the rug. God forbid the nurse that comes along and tries to make things right.

[missmercy]

Can't imagine working for someone who would lose a hard worker with a handle on the authority status of her role -- who was simply demanding that an employee keep their standards and work ethic at an acceptable level:angryfire . Your friend should count her blessings and run like the wind from there!! If she wants a job in OH --

[jyoung1950]

I guess the LTC's will have to get used to putting up with "uppity" CNA's. They won't pay aids a decent enough wage so that aids with a good work ethic will want to come work for them.

I just left a weekend supervisor job at a LTC...You should see what drama has ensued after I left...The CNAs changing assignments (that the registry RN made), the CNAs telling the RN which rooms they will and won't cover...

All things I had gotten rid of (while making some enemies), but I had a core staff that respected me, and pulled extra weight (We had a core of 7 nurses and 15 CNAs)...Including myself, 5 nurses and 7 CNAs left with me...

Shame on any nurse that would put up w/ such insubordinate behavior, from a CNa OR nurse...

And more shame on the CNA or nurse that behaves in such a manner...

I fear the LTCs in our country are increasingly being staffed w/ less than desireable/reliable people, and are accepting more and more (younger) drug abusers)

Sean

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

It is a shameful situation. My friend is an awesome nurse. She was a mentor to me when I was a new LPN, "back in the day" and she encouraged me to get my RN.

When we worked together on our old unit, we kicked butt. Our pts got the best of care, and we took great pride in that.

If she had let the aide go home or let the aide's friend hang out in the unit, had something untoward occurred, she would have been liable.

That's nursing- dam*en if you do, and dam*ed if you don't.

I worked in LTC for years, as a CNA, and LPN and an RN. I have had more bad mgmt., bad CNAs, and wacked-out DON experiences than I can begin to tell.