Horrible CNAs! Need to vent

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I worked 10-6 last night on the alzhiemers unit and I am about to loose it this morning. I come in at ten and there is an arguement over who has to work 10-6 on the ICF unit. One girl who is next in line to work a double is argueing that she can't because she and her man don't have any gas. They are dirt poor drug addicts... anyway she is trying to make this other girl who has already worked a 16 hour double stay and work 24 hours straight. The nurse covering the unit doesn't care but the skilled unit nurse had been told that if anyone stayed it would be the girl who was in line for it, she has been dodging it for 2 weeks. Well the ICF nurse cries. After shift change the other girl on the ICF unit goes to the "store" and stays gone thirty minutes, comes back with a pack of cigarettes for a resident and says she is taking her ten minute break in her car. She drives off and come back in thirty minutes. She abandoned her residents for over an hour. I told the nurse that if she left again I was calling the DON myself. The nurse calls DON, left a message. Later both ICF CNAs were asleep in the facility lobby with a call light going off, I tell the nurse, she wakes them up, they answer the light and one of them goes back to the lobby and lays down, the other goes down the hall to an empty room and lays down (I noticed the door was shut where it had been open). Nurse makes them wake up. All this time they only did two bedchecks one at 2:30 and one at 5:00 when they had to get everyone up. :angryfire The CNA that left got wrote up, the nurse was waiting to hear from the DON before she wrote them up for sleeping. Not to mention that she should have written them up for neglect. From the 9:00pm bedcheck until 2:30am no one dried those residents. I felt bad about going to the nurse until I learned that they had only done two bedchecks then I felt like they needed to be reported.

Specializes in Hospital, med-surg, hospice.

Wow! I work in a hospital with CNA's and I thought we had trouble! Don't get me wrong there are a lot of good aides out there but there are also plenty of bad ones! Hang in there Chad! You'll soon be a nurse

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Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.

Take heart, not all of us are like that.

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:uhoh21: I think that's the scariest story I've ever heard? There's nothing worse than doing what's right and having co-workers misbehave without being reprimanded!! They should have been fired on the spot being asleep during their shift. Isn't that some sort of neglect?

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Specializes in Critical Care / Psychiatry.
Let me see if I understand what you are saying; one of the CNA's is addicted to drugs?!!?? :eek: If this is true, why in the world is she still working with patients?

You would be surprised. I know our facility doesn't drug test.

Shel

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Scary! The whole place sounds like a total train wreck - if I was "next in line for a double" I'd dodge it too. I'm not safe to take care of anyone for sixteen hours straight! The state should know how things are staffed there - druggies working doubles... ick!

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This story brings me back to an old place of employment. Med/surg unit in a small community hosp. Med/surg is hopping busy. No time to breathe. I had to run to the MCU, which was just down the hall, to get some supplies. MCU had 5 out of 6 pt rooms filled and 3 nurses. 3 out of the 4 nurses were in the 6th room sitting in chairs, wrapped up in blankets, heads on pillows, feet up on the bed, sound asleep. I was flabbergasted and very very angry...not only for the pts but for selfish reasons also. I questioned the lone awake nurse and asked him what the scoop was. His response was that the pts were stable and he was monitoring them and if he needed one of the other nurses, they were "right there". All I could do was shake my head and walk away. I got my supplies and went to report this situation to the house supervisor. However, a lot of good that did. I went into her office and she had herself wrapped up in a blanket, head on pillow, feet up, sawing logs also. Needless to say, I gave my resignation ASAP!

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I called the Director of Nursing and she wants me to come in and speak to her in person. Knowing this facility they will be angry with me also. These girls are probably going to try to take me down with them. I always hate the times between when they ask me to come in and getting there my mind wanders in all of the scary un-nerving directions possible.

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I called the Director of Nursing and she wants me to come in and speak to her in person. Knowing this facility they will be angry with me also. These girls are probably going to try to take me down with them. I always hate the times between when they ask me to come in and getting there my mind wanders in all of the scary un-nerving directions possible.

- is this going to be today?

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I just left work both CNA's have been fired today. The DON and Administrator agreed that their behavior was inexcusable and the unit nurse also reported all of their behavior. I have to go to work right now because one girl is at work and they want them both gone.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Good work, Chad! I still think the place should be reported to your state Senior Services division, though, because they are obviously not particular about the people they hire, they're not working them safely, and the residents are being neglected as a result. You can't do it all yourself, Chad, there have to be other staff members who care about the residents there. I know I'd be absolutely FURIOUS if I were paying big bucks to have my loved one in that facility, and found out about this!! :angryfire

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Specializes in ER, Tele, Cardiac Cath Lab.

Hey Chad im glad to hear they got fired, but surprised! Im a travel nurse for 6 years and i have seen aides do that kind of thing almost everywhere.Often these aides have been at these hospitals for years and get away with refusing to do their jobs and pissing off families at the RNs.I have almost given up reporting it because i have only one time seen action taken and that was only a brief talking to.I have work with a number of aides from haiti that have accused me of being a racist when i report them.Thats funny because im BLACK my self, i could not give a damn about race, they have a job to do. Bottom line if u dont like kids dont work at toys r us and if u dont like patients please dont work at a hospital!!!!

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I just left work both CNA's have been fired today. The DON and Administrator agreed that their behavior was inexcusable and the unit nurse also reported all of their behavior. I have to go to work right now because one girl is at work and they want them both gone.

That's wonderful news Chad!!! Thanks for doing the right thing and reporting these things!!! :)

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