After this experience, I don't want to be a CNA anymore. I do not have any luck in this field, I have the worst luck.
I recently spoke with the Nursing home who terminated me to get the real reason why I was let go and things got real ugly. The RN was rude, had me on speakerphone so other RNs/LPNs could chme in aganst me. I ended up crying after the conversation.
Apparently, they said that there were too many complaints against me before I even reached 90 days. One of them was being getting a write up for one diaper being soaking wet.
And then a major one that almost cost my certification being stripped away from me involving a resident and his "shoe". His shoe was put on wrong, and his toes were curled under or something like that. He has arthritis. His son came up there to visit him and said that his father was screaming in pain because of how his shoe was put on. He was so angry that he was going to call state on the Nursing home, and try to get my certification taken away from me. I was unaware that it was this serious when I was employed. I was just told that his shoe was put on wrong and that I was not allowed to get him dressed anymore.
Still, I do not see how that could have happened. He had hard leather sneakers that easily slid on his foot.
The RN who I talked to claim that I ignored the pain and agony he was in--I told her that he was not in any pain when I put his shoes on. Then she switched it up and said he was SCREAMING after I had left my shift.
Then I asked how was I supposed to know if something was wrong--his shoes were perfectly fine when I put them on, he was not in any pain.
She claimed that what I did was not intentional and it was a case of being careless. You cannot tell if something is wrong with his foot because it looks fine when you put them on. Well, I argued why is he wearing hard leather sneakers if he has arthritis then?? Why doesn't he have cloth slippers so this doesn't happen again?
She claims that I was the only person this has ever happened with and since it has not occured again with another CNA.
I really don't know what I could have done differently. What happened was the inevitable. I still assured her that if they continue to make him wear those shoes it WILL happen again, despite her claims.
The other complaint was that I was too rough with a female resident. She complained to a CNA that a girl was not very gentle with her and that she did not want her ever again.
That was the first time I had ever dealt with the woman and I had been working there for nearly 3 months. She was having major difficulty getting up so I did the best I could to help her. Maybe I was a bit too rough with her, but I don't see how I could have gotten her up if I didn't put all my strength into lifting her.
It's really hard being a CNA. It is NOT easy lifting people with a lot of dead weight, what else are we supposed to do? We can't lift them like they weight 1lbs. Just about everything we do to help these people can be classified as abuse. You try to roll patients who are very heavy and cannot help themselves and they are always going "ouch" or "you're too rough"...or if a RN/LPN walks in and sees something and is quick to say you are doing it wrong and abusing the resident.
The other complaint was getting them dressed too early. There was only one particular set that was very exhausting and stressful that I HAD to get them dressed early. They had to be up at 5am, and I would just dress them at 3:30am instead of 4am. If I hadn't of started early I would have been behind. And all the other CNAs are too preoccupied with their workload to give me a hand all the time. I specifically asked the RN if this was in the employee handbook that we were not allowed to dress them at 3:30am and she started dancing around the issue..I stressed that there was no policy in the Nursing Home that stated it was against rules to do this. As a new CNA, how are we supposed to know it's wrong?? Especially, if we have not been properly trained! When I started working there it was really up to everyone's own discretion as to what time they get their residents up. Not everyone got them up at 4am. When I told her this, she specifically asked me for names and was ready to fire other CNAs of course I refused. I am not malicious at all. And I really liked my fellows CNAs very well, and they work very hard.
Lastly, the RN claimed I had many other complaints against me, and when I asked her what they were she said, "I have many things to do right now and I don't have time to be on the phone with you all day". With persistance on my part she finally told me that the other complaints were about the way my 'sets' looked.
I asked why was I not made aware of all these issues. She said she called me but I was never picked up the phone.
I TRULY felt that I was doing the job to the best of my ability. Everyday, when I came to work I thought I was doing the RIGHT thing. I had no complaints from other CNAs, in fact I helped them dress some of their residents. Just to think that everyday I came to work I was doing EVERYTHING wrong. I am very hurt and dissappointed. My intentions were always to do a good job. I was doing what I thought was right.
Lastly, the whole confrontation between me and the LPN was such a set-up to get me fired. The confrontation was what got me written up and taken off the schedule, but when I get there it was not addressed at all!
I know this post is long but I really need to vent. But I have talked to my mother and father and told me that I do not want to work in a nursing home ever again. I still want to be a RN, but not a CNA. I truly feel like there is VERY little respect for what we do and its easy for us to make so many wrong mistakes. I don't want to go through this ever again. I might find a job in retail or something. This experience has really jaded me a bit.
