LAZY CNA's!!

Nurses Relations

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Hi everyone! I come here to vent! I'm so sick and tired of lazy cna's that have an attitude anytime u ask them to do something. I work nights on a med surg floor. Generally throughout the night we can get pretty busy. But there's one cna that feels once she has taken vitals her job is done!! God forbid you have a patient that has on diapers and uses the bathroom in it cause if you ask her to change him here comes ms. Attitude. At first I ignored but now it's really starting to **** me off! Like if you don't like your job quit! Go back to school!! Do whatever you have to to find joy in Wat you do! I know some people are just miserable people to begin with but most CNA's I've worked with are the worst. I worked as a nurse tech and I basically did everything a cna does except without the attitude! I don't mind cleaning a patients butt because that's not out of my scope of practice but is it wrong of me to expect the cna to do it if asked if all she's doing is sitting on her butt?! O well comes with the job I guess!

Fed Up Nurse!

Specializes in (Nursing Support) Psych and rehab.

I hear you, but the initial comment regarding the language simply said the other aides were in the hall chatting in some other language (when she needed help) my point is the mentioning of the language is irrelevant

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Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.

Some states have regulations regarding speaking in a language other than English in the patient care areas which include hallways unless speaking directly to a patient. Some facilities too.But I do get your point because of the tone used by the PP but the above is something to be aware of. Sometimes it not just being racist and sometimes it is.

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I agree with you there.The last facility I worked at I seriously wondered about some of the CNA's. An example, we were having an issue with the CNAs not documenting BMs or not doing it correctly. I suggested we have a clip board with a spreadsheet of all the residents names with date and shift across the top with all the types of BMs and code to put in the right spot. I was told by my DON that the CNAs were not smart enough to do that. I thought to myself that is crazy. I suggested an inservice on proper documentation and the importance of telling the nurse about a BM. I was then told again that the CNAs are not smart enough to handle that. I live in the SE US, and I wonder what do they teach in CNA classes now. I was taught that 20 years ago about BMs, and the importance of vital signs, changing a resident, and doing ADL care. Has the CNA program been "dumbed down"?I also want to add that not all CNAs bad. I have worked and been in charge of some excellent CNAs who do go above and beyond on their shift. it is just the other ones that don't. The ones that do just enough to get by whether it is good care or not. The same goes with nurses too.

And does it not strike anyone as odd that we would hire people who are "not smart enough" to care for the most vulnerable of our society?

If the CNAs are "too stupid" to understand the concept of charting a BM, then why the heck are we hiring these people?

Is this all our elderly deserve?

There are so many intelligent CNAs out there that are treated like complete morons... and so many scary scary CNAs that just have no business touching people.

We need higher standards and we need to give credit to those who already hold the bar high.

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The blame lays with the administrators who only pay the CNAs 8.50 an hour. For profit LTC facilities have substandard care because they barely pay minimum wage to their caregivers. Where I work, the CNAs start out at over 14.00 an hour. The greedy administrators tried to replace our regular aides with an all agency CNA staff whose agency paid them minimum wage. It was scary. I'm talking like it seemed as if this agency recruited it's aides straight out of jail. Many of them seemed functionally illiterate. Let's just say, you get what you pay for....

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blondy2061h - Typing in perfect English when upset is not a prerequisite for being taken seriously. I think she articulated her frustration well. Although it's an old drum she's beating, it is one of the most frustrating situations many of us encounter regularly. If you have nothing positive to say, please keep your comments to yourself. And to criticize the English ability of hospital employees, HA!
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Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.
If you have nothing positive to say, please keep your comments to yourself. And to criticize the English ability of hospital employees, HA!

If that was the rule then AN would not exist. I don't think being positive should be a prerequisite for being allowed to express an opinion.

It's a slippery slope honey

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Specializes in ICU/PACU.

The thing that bothers me, is the nurse always gets the blame or the flack from the patient for not doing what the CNA should be doing. That's all. Must be nice not having that responsibility on your back and to just answer a call light as you please, or take a break for however long you just feel like it. But my job, license, reputation with the patient/family are all on the line.

I've worked many different places, sometimes they're awesome and life savers, and sometimes I'd rather they not even be there to be honest. It depends on the hospital/unit.

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Specializes in IMC.

@HygieneQueen

I never hired theses CNAs our DON did. It just kills me to know that she felt the aides were "not bright enough" to understand the concept of documenting BMs. It drove me nuts that she thought that.

You are right there are some very intelligent CNAs who I have encouraged to go on and seek higher education whether it is to get their RN or not.

I was stunned when she told me that. My thinking was if we educate the CNAs they will do a better job and maybe have an understanding why some things are done. This facility did not have an elderly population. This facility had a lot residents that had anoxic or hypoxic brain injuries, so we had numerous trachs, g-tubes, and PEG tubes. I always thought the more you know the better.

I no longer work there and I do feel for some of the residents and there care they receive from the staff.

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As a nurse assistant myself, I know I do have days where I don't work as hard, but NEVER do I sit around on my behind. I, too, work a surgical floor, and you are describing one aide I work with to a "T." Only this aide has the balls to call OTHER busy nurse assistants to do her job for her because she is "busy." Uh, probably busy sitting in the break room on her smart phone!! I remember one evening, she had FOUR patients (now, that RARELY happens on our floor) because there were so many dismissals all at one time. She had the balls to come up to me and ask if I would shower one of her patients because she was behind on vitals! ***!! The nurse called her out and said, "Uh, you have four patients. Do it yourself." LOL!! This was 3/4 of the way through our 12 hour shift, and I was just sitting down for lunch! So, yes, I feel your pain because there isn't anything like watching another nurse aide sit on her behind while you run around like a chicken with its head cut off.

I will tell you this, though. I get VERY angry when a nurse calls me to ask me why I wasn't in the room with a new admit fresh out of surgery to do the vitals and has the nerve to call me and tell me to get in there and do the vitals as I am in the middle of showering a patient! Then, that same nurse go to a supervisor and tell the supervisor I refused to do what she asked me to do. I know there are certain duties only nurses can do, but at the same time, if your aide is busy giving a patient a shower, have some courtesy! LOL!! Nurse Aides who do their jobs need to be appreciated!! ;)

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Woah! That is unnecessary right there. Student or not, she is also an aide. I have worked with some nurses who were lazy, and I can see where aharris1 is coming from. I watched a nurse walk out of a patient's room and ask, "Hey, can you take _______ to the bathroom?" Are you serious? She was JUST in that room, and I was on my way to take care of someone else who needed to use the bathroom. This was a constant thing!! Now, YOU may not do that kind of thing to your aides, but some nurses do! Oh, and how about a nurse calling you to come take care of the first set of post-op vitals while you are in the middle of showering a patient who just had a major BM blow-out, and when you tell them where you are, she gets upset and tells the supervisor that you refused to do what she asked??? Yes, sometimes it IS and CAN BE the nurse an aide works with that makes a difference. Not ALL nurses are created equal, just like not all CNAs are created equal. There is no reason to make it sound like it isn't possible that the nurse is the problem.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

We very rarely have CNAs in the ER but when you do they are amazing. I had one couple weeks ago clean up and put a new gown on a geropsyche pt I had. The CNA never told me or had be asked to - she noticed it needed done and she did it. I later found out by a coworker what she did. I got her a letter and a gift card for a nice restaurant for just bring wonderful and doing what needed to be and not having to be asked.

Our ER techs on the other hand, most are men who are paramedics or emts. I can't tell you the last time one assisted with a urinal or bedpan - heaven forbid - actually change a patient. Granted, men are nice to have around with combative psychs but they also need to realize they can (and should) do patient care.

Personally, I'd rather have CNAs than techs in the ER. I can't tell you how many times I needed to pass meds or work a code when room xx NEEDS Cleaned because s/he received 80mg lasix iv, refuses a foley, but incont. And can not ambulate without at least 2 person assist.

I guess that I feel like our ER techs dont feel like they need to do personal care. They can answer call lights and call over vocera "room xx needs to see their nurse" when I'm in the next room and can hear the pt ask for urinal/water/bedpan/blanket ect. ALL things a tech can assist the pt with but they voice it as "room xx needs to see her nurse". It's frustrating.

I don't see any of that changing any time soon sadly. At least not until our management hold the techs accountable to pt as well. Most of the time when asking for a tech over the radio - they come up with some excuse why they can't do that task now then end up forgetting and never doing it.

Boy, our techs hardly miss lunches and take multiple smoke breaks but most of the nurses work thru their lunches. It's not fair. The techs need to be held accountable.

Anyways, beating a dead horse.

Give me a CNA over a tech any day.

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