Describe good and bad CNA's you have seen

Specialties LTC Directors

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Do you remember any experiences with CNA's and their residents that were very good and heartwarming or any that were bad? Can you give some examples?

Thanks

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Specializes in LTC, geriatric, psych, rehab.

I have the most exceptional CNA. If only I could clone her. She has been an aide for about 30 yrs. When she gets to work, she checks each of her residents, just a quick look to make sure they are okay, then she starts a round, changing and cleaning. If they are wet, they don't just get dry clothes put on, she washes their bottoms. Other aides will sometimes bypass that. She keeps them clean and neat, hugs them, tells them that she loves them. She is always moving, yet never fast...always takes her time. Never too busy to stop and listen, even to a resident who is confused and doesn't know what they are saying. When there seems to be nothing to do at the moment for a resident, she is cleaning their room. I have seen her get a broom and sweep the lobby. She brings in small gifts for them, lotion or things to fix their hair. She will come in on her day off to accompany a resident to the doctor. She never complains, never criticizes.

The worst aide story was about one I recently fired. He had taken a resident to the shower. Another aide heard hollering coming from the shower room, and found the male aide spraying the resident in the face b/c "he won't stop fighting with me". The female aide took over and sent him out. Then reported the incident. I fired him and reported him to the state. I really wanted to do to him what he had done to my resident.

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Thank You Travel50..I appreciate your input. I am doing some research to find good and bad examples of CNA's and caregivers. You have helped a lot.

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I've worked in senior living for 10 years, mostly in Assisted Living. In my experience, the qualities that make an excellent CNA are: compassion, consistency, problem-solving skills, common sense and integrity. CNAs without integrity are the bad ones. Good CNAs perform their jobs well whether someone is paying attention or not, because they have a clear understanding of the concepts of right and wrong. Good CNAs will take the extra few minutes to do it the right way, instead of the easy way. Bad CNAs don't take ownership of their jobs; they remain detached from the people they are supposed to be caring for and try to get away with doing as little as possible. Good CNAs know their residents and are observant of the details; they take pride in how their residents look and strive to leave them feeling loved, respected, and appreciated. Good CNAs engage their residents; bad CNAs sometimes don't even address the person they are "caring" for.

I see things everyday that drive me nuts!! You get residents with dried food on their face because their aide didn't even notice! Residents who end up wearing the same outfit for days on end, or who have long dirty fingernails that no on has bothered to clean and trim; male residents who go without a shave for days. A resident with mismatched shoes on; residents without their dentures, glasses, or hearing aides. Residents who go to bed in their clothes because no one thought to offer help changing into their pajamas.

I don't understand it and it really frustrates me. I believe that lack of common sense & integrity are the biggest factors that can foretell if an aide will be a bad one. By the time someone is old enough to train and begin working as a CNA, their common sense & integrity meters are as a full as they will ever be. You can't teach common sense or integrity.

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Specializes in LTC.

Some of the worst ones Ive worked with are just....lazy.....I mean lazy....they basically come to work to try and get a free check...they whine and complain nonstop about having to do the job in which they are PAID to do....and omg..if you need a temp or something....you can forget it...they get smartmouthed and gripe about that...they play dumb when it comes to their vitals...they all know which ones to get...they say "I didnt know about vitals" ...and this comes out of the mouths of aides that have been here for over 3 yrs now, some over 11!!!! Ignorance is not bliss. Not to mention the ones who rush through everything and I find rooms in a mess, facial hair on the ladies, food from who knows which meal on their face, nasty nails...you get the idea. Their bad behaviors have been accepted and ignored for so long that when I or other nurses try to correct it, we get back talk and no backup from mgmt.

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Specializes in LTC.

ps....the only thing WORSE than bad cna's...is bad management in all areas, don, adon, administrator, social worker...whatever.....the ones who NEVER listen to what you are trying to say, who let stuff slide, who ignore issues in hopes that they will go away or be forgotten about......yea....that makes for a wonderful place to work.

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I have some really great CNAs. One that stands out right now, just goes above and beyond. She sits with the residents and does their nails, all of them, whether they are her resident or not. If someone wants a shower and it isn't their "shower day", She will make time for them. She doesn't say "it's not my resident" I wish I could pay her so much more then she makes. Oh and I have never heard her complain!

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The worst CNA I ever saw worked whilst listening to her ipod, not kidding, one earphone in and hardly ever spoke to the residents. The best CNA's see their residents as people with a wealth of life experience, they communicate respect for the individual and compassion. They know their residents really well and aren't afraid to continue learning.

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unforunitly I think some ppl become CNAs because the training is so short and they don't know how hard it actually is. BUT most CNAs are good CNAs. I personally think it's ridiculous all the "CNA bashing" that goes on when it comes to nursing homes! I have had people who didn't know what I did for a living say things in passing referring to how "they treat "those poor people in nursing homes" I explain to them that I've never seen any of the horror stories I've heard first hand and it's just like everything else, there's going to be those few bad apples. No one does news stories about the CNA that loves her job and goes the extra mile everyday. I v worked with some people who do as little as possible yes, and I can't stand it, but I've never seen a resident lay unchanged for hrs upon hrs. ect. where I worked that stuff just didn't happen. We were always short handed but we looked out for all the residents. It was a community and we took a lot of pride in it. I guess that's the thing we good CNAs have to kinda drum out the bad ones, so hopefully they'll just go into something else.

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The worst CNA I ever saw worked whilst listening to her ipod, not kidding, one earphone in and hardly ever spoke to the residents. The best CNA's see their residents as people with a wealth of life experience, they communicate respect for the individual and compassion. They know their residents really well and aren't afraid to continue learning.

that's crazy it would be really hard for me not to walk up and pull that thing right out of her ear.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.
The worst CNA I ever saw worked whilst listening to her ipod, not kidding, one earphone in and hardly ever spoke to the residents.

I had an LNA like that. She was also openly insubordinate. I wrote her up more than once, but my manager refused to fire her because "She's a good LNA." She ended up leaving on her own.

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Specializes in LTC since 1972, team leader, supervisor,.

The worst CNA story I have is our facility partnered with the housing authority to provide jobs for CNAs they had trained. There were 17 of them, we gave them intensive orientation and worked really hard to help them succeed. It has been 2 years since then and we have 1 left, most were unprofessional, loud, did not follow directions, were unsafe, and most fired themselves by being no call no show.

I have a wonderful group of CNAs that have come to the plate when things have gotten tough. We had a fire in our laundry a few months ago and the county decided it would be cheaper to outsource the laundry, all the laundry people were laid off and we got a new service from the outside. We have had so many problems with personal laundry, the CNAs without being told are doing laundry for the residents who are compaining, I was so proud that they took this upon themselves. It shows that they really care and want it to be a home for them

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