Why do some CNAs make our jobs so hard?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Home Health.

Now, I just have to say that there are some GREAT CNAs who I appreciate dearly! But there is one on my floor Id like to knock her head off some days. Yesterday, I had a patient who was a total care and was incontinent of B & B. He had a BM and I needed her to help me clean him up. When I asked her, her response was "he can wait!" Well, this patient already has redness to coccyx/buttocks and I dont want him lying in poop, but I told her that whenever she was available to help me, please let me know. I was being NICE about it! No one else was available to help me and I couldnt do it by myself. Later I asked the other CNA if she could help me, she was too busy. I again later asked my CNA to help me, again she couldnt. Well, my mom showed up on my floor and needed to talk to me so I left the floor for 15 minutes to talk to her about a problem with my daughter at school. I came back and saw my CNA and asked her if she had time to help me. She said "I already did it with NO THANKS to you!" I followed her to the Nurses station and told her that I was more than willing to help and that I had asked her multiple times to help ME. She went off on me! I finally said "WHATEVER!" It was getting out of hand. Later she tried to act like nothing ever happened. I am not the type of person who can just "pretend it didnt happen" because I know it will happen again. I just dont understand that type of attitude. She refuses to help patients set up their food trays, saying "they can do it themselves" and then they end up not getting to eat. My patient's IV occluded when it had blood backed up in it and she told her "just raise your hand above your head and it will fix itself" and didnt even bother to tell me. The blood clotted and IV occluded. She does not have the knowledge to make such statements/assessments. She is making my job HARD and making patients' lives hard. Reporting her does NOTHING. How would you handle this?

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Specializes in Transplant/Surgical ICU.

Oh dear! Sometimes I wonder if management is too blame. If you have reported her on numerous occasions ( and I am sure she acts like this with other nurses, so it is likely other nurses have reported her too) and there is no change, you would think she would be disciplined right? I ran into a problem with an aide recently too and reported to the charge (to follow the chain of command. hugh, waste of time), but I later found out the aide reported me to the NM on grounds of me "telling him what to do with an attitude!." I have not heard anything from NM, in fact I heard she dismissed him.

Anyway, I'm sorry to hear this is happening. I have read far too many threads on this issue, and I am starting to think nurse managers can be very linient when it comes to handling conflict. It's almost as if they don't think its worth fixing.

I remember an RN reporting a transporter to his boss (I thought he was in the right, although he was a little rude about it) for being disrespectful, the guy got suspended for TWO days without pay. I was shocked! Other departments take us more seriously than ours...

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Home Health.

Thanks for your reply. Also, one day a patient of mine had a BP of 210/105. She didnt bother to tell me. When she finally placed the vital board back at the desk so I could check them....I took her to the side and NICELY told her to please let me know when VS are that far out of range. She went to CN and said that I belittled her in front of staff and patients (which I did not). I got jumped by the doc because I was late reporting such a high BP. I just get so tired of it. I dont ask for much, I really dont. I always try to be a teamplayer with all CNAs and nurses. I dont ask for help unless I absolutely need it. I sometimes wonder if being a bully nurse is better because those type nurses at least get help and respect. I just really felt that being a TEAM was best, but some people like being the leader instead and I hate that.

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

Personally, speaking from the CNA to RN perspective, I understand when they are swamped. With a high patient load(12-18 a piece), if they can't help me right away, I will often do whatever I can by myself. For those incontinent patients who I need help with, I will put on the light, do what I can in the room, and when CNA comes ask them for a 2 minute roll job.

I HATE when they do not tell me those vital signs until they are done with rounds. I want to know right away. I had a CNA who did not tell me about a low pressure until I noticed it was charted, and when I asked, she said "oh, i was going to tell you about that..." When I asked her when, she said "oh, well you see it now..."Yeah, a hour later!

If there is a VS issue, tell me right away, asap...and I won't get after you. Personally, I will do whatever I can for my patients when I have a certain CNA....because it goes faster than hunting them down....

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Sometimes it doesn't pay to be nice. (And I wouldn't have been that nice.) I found this thread about standing up to the bullies. https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/i-can-t-believe-i-stood-up-one-bullies-337653.html

How far up the food chain has she been reported? Is there a Risk Management at the hospital? There is also reporting to the licensing agency about her neglect. Not reporting that blood pressure is flat out dangerous.

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It works both ways. When I was a Tech I had 1 or 2 nurses who made my job intolerable. They treated me like I was "Cletus the slack-jawed yokel". They were quite surprised when they heard that I'd been accepted to the RN program that they'd been turned down for. Things really got unpleasant after that.

I've made it my creed not to treat any employees a certain way based on their title. I look at everyone as simply a hospital employee and assume that their job is every bit as difficult, stressful, important, critical, time-consuming, and deserving of respect as mine.

Just having to drag out of bed every morning at the crack of dawn is crappy enough. Why make the work environment any more toxic?

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I think some are just miserable in their jobs, spiteful, hateful. Some are truely wonderful I worked on a floor where unfortunately the bad out numbered the good, and management was oblivious, or just wanted everyone to likle her and did nothing to address techs being off the floor for 2/3 of a shift to smoke, or gossip, just not doing their job at all and giving attitude when asked to do things. I would go to work and be grateful if I had a tech from another floor floating to work with.

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