I just got my CNA license 11 days ago, and I started working a brand new job 12 days ago. I'm a full time college junior who is not doing nursing but doing something in Child and Family Studies I got my CNA license because there are a. jobs and b. I love helping people. I'm a little slow at my job which is to be expected as I was just licensed 11 days ago.
Most of my work has been pretty good so far. Except for yesterday, I was made to feel like a complete dumbass. I was 12 minutes late to work because where I lived completely iced over so the roads were like a skating ring. This was not predicted. So I'm driving to work at 6AM and had to pull off the road as it was too bad. I pulled over and called my work and asked said that I was going to be late and I get told "we are a 24 hour facility, nobody is here to fill for you, your patients need you, and I'll TRY to find somebody to fill in for you". So I said well I will try to make it there as fast as I can. I get off the phone and start crying and have my mom and dad drive out to come take my car and me to work, I get there 12 minutes late and it was all down hill from there. I was told "you need to take driving lessons and your dad some how made it (like I was trying to avoid coming to work). The rest of the day it was my fault things were late, my fault things were bad, my fault god forbid the lazy ass nurses couldn't get off their asses, and my fault because I'm still new and learning where everything is and how to do my job. I was also asked to work a double and declined because I have studying to do that I couldn't do yet and need to do and was treated terribly because of that.
At the end of my lousy day, I feel as if everybody was completly unprofessional. I also feel bad because I'm going to ask my boss on Monday to cut a shift from my schedule, if I don't do this I will fail and since I'm paying for school I do not want that to happen. Can anybody offer some advice? I feel completely discouraged. Thanks.
Oh geez. I live in an icy area too, I'm nowhere near 40, and I'm putting myself through school *without* my parents' help. I feel like most of my coworkers are in the same position and would not appreciate someone acting like a baby. I'm guessing your coworkers probably feel that way too. Just trying to show the view from the other side, but apparently you're only interested in being coddled. Good luck with that at your job.
Fuzzy wuzzy wasn't fuzzy...... maybe fuzzy feels like belittling someone who's in the very same spot he/she was at one time. corinth13 did everything she possibly could to get there on time and be responsible. Lighten up, fuzzy.
I already explained that I know being a new CNA is hard and I can sympathize... it was the "I was late and everyone else needs to get over it or they are unprofessional" part that got me.
Oh geez. I live in an icy area too, I'm nowhere near 40, and I'm putting myself through school *without* my parents' help. I feel like most of my coworkers are in the same position and would not appreciate someone acting like a baby. I'm guessing your coworkers probably feel that way too. Just trying to show the view from the other side, but apparently you're only interested in being coddled. Good luck with that at your job.
Oh and yes, I AM perfect, as a matter of fact!
If you read the post I AM PUTTING MYSELF THROUGH COLLEGE. Just because you call your parents doesn't mean that you are living off of them and not putting yourself through school. Everybody else was late that morning as well, and no I don't just want to be coddled, I'm not asking for that I was just asking for people to DROP it when I walked in, I apoligized, I get it there was no way for me to do anything about it so why drag it out for the entire day? I don't know what the hell crawled up your ass but there's no reason to be a *****; I came on here asking for advice, not to be treated like crap.
I can understand how terrible it feels when coworkers are mean to new people. It happens to all new CNAs, including myself, and I would sympathize with this girl if she were only talking about that. I expect new people to be slow and clueless and I don't give them a hard time about it. But as I said, I DO get annoyed when people are late, and honestly, this girl had to call her mommy and daddy to bring her to work and then told everyone about it, apparently- my eyes would have rolled right out of my head. Especially living 5 minutes away, and especially if everyone else made it on time. Yeah, it sucks when people are mad at you but don't whine about how unprofessional they are and refuse to take any responsibility for your part.
Maybe her parents have a car that handles better in crappy weather???
She called in to let them she was going to be late, thats a he!! of alot better then not calling at all. It doesn't matter how far you are from work if the roads are bad (and the weather was NOT predicted) if someone doesn't feel comfortable risking LIFE/LIMB they should not be made to feel like an a$$ about it. If i had my previous car (rear-wheel drive, and i live in an area that ALWAYS gets slammed with bad weather) and didn't feel comfortable trying to continue driving myself you can bet your a$$ i'd be calling my parents to help me, and i'm 37.
We've heard what the "mean" nurse said when you called and when you arrived, but what exactly did *you* say when you spoke with them? How did they know your dad had to come pick you up? My point is, don't give more information than is necessary. A simple "I'm having a hard time getting in because of the weather, so I might be a few minutes late" would suffice. No need to go into detail about your mom and dad coming to pick you up and drive you in. While most of us depend on our parents from time to time, if you broadcast this information to everyone, people may think your "mommy and daddy are always coming to rescue you" every time you have a problem. They will think less of you.
And 12 minutes in itself really isn't that late, but don't make a huge deal about it by going and apologizing to everyone. No, it's not the pretty little manners our grandparents taught us when we were kids, but it will make you seem weak and too eager to please everyone, and your coworkers will take notice of this and pounce on you and take advantage of you.
Sorry you weren't treated well by your coworkers, but I think everyone has something to learn from this situation.
I already explained that I know being a new CNA is hard and I can sympathize... it was the "I was late and everyone else needs to get over it or they are unprofessional" part that got me.
Good gawd she was only 12 minutes late. Get over it already. Making a huge issue out of such a trivial thing is unprofessional in my opinion.
^re: coffeemate And that is EXACTLY what I was saying! I definitely judged you when you said you started crying and called your parents. So did your coworkers. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to tell you that everybody else is just awful for being mad-- being mean to you because you're new, sure, I'd say those people suck; but it's not unreasonable to get annoyed when someone is late. The day you posted this thread I had to bust my butt in the morning covering an extra 10 residents because someone was late and SHE lives 5 minutes away too- she could have walked.
We've heard what the "mean" nurse said when you called and when you arrived, but what exactly did *you* say when you spoke with them? How did they know your dad had to come pick you up? My point is, don't give more information than is necessary. A simple "I'm having a hard time getting in because of the weather, so I might be a few minutes late" would suffice. No need to go into detail about your mom and dad coming to pick you up and drive you in. While most of us depend on our parents from time to time, if you broadcast this information to everyone, people may think your "mommy and daddy are always coming to rescue you" every time you have a problem. They will think less of you.
And 12 minutes in itself really isn't that late, but don't make a huge deal about it by going and apologizing to everyone. No, it's not the pretty little manners our grandparents taught us when we were kids, but it will make you seem weak and too eager to please everyone, and your coworkers will take notice of this and pounce on you and take advantage of you.
Sorry you weren't treated well by your coworkers, but I think everyone has something to learn from this situation.
I said that I was going to be late due to the weather and I would try to get there as fast as I could. They called back and offered to come get me and I said no thank you my dad will come get me because I was stuck so I called my folks, big deal. I'm not married, no close friends in the area so who else was I going to call? My car wouldn't have made it and I explained to them how I do not know how to drive on ice (like anybody does really). I live five-ten minutes away but it's 5 miles on a street with a higher speed limit.
Working in LTC is tough enough, and being in that toxic environment is not helpful either. My suggestion to you is to search around and apply to different places. Try hospitals and assisted living too. I have never worked in assisted living, but I've heard it tends to be a lot easier per se. Make sure you get a tour of the facility and analyze the demeanor of the workers. I know no place is perfect, but some places are better than others. It's no fun going to work when you dread going to work in the first place.
In my opinion, I am glad that you called ahead and let them know of your situation. When I use to work in LTC, one of my co-workers *apparently* didn't have a ride to come into work at all. Nonetheless, she never called to inform any of us, so the nurse had to call her and that was she told her. So your co-workers should be MORE than happy that you came in and that their patient load didn't increase. Everything is not going to go to s% if you are 12 minutes late. Heck, our nurses sometimes don't even have our assignment sheets ready until 10 minutes after the shirt started since they are getting a report from the nurse on the previous shift.
Always remember that school comes first. If your facility is not willing to understand that, then they don't deserve to have your time. Time is precious and you can't waste it in a place like that.
Specializes in Long Term Care, Dementia, Neuro-Psychiat.
I have worked ltc for a few years, when I was new I was the outsider.. Now I am accepted, my ideas are sought.. Winter time is difficult as many call in, your assignment of 12 can turn into 30 during that time.. I would negotiate for increase of pto or critical pay if I were you.
corinth13: I also live five minutes away from the LTC facility I work at, but if the roads are icy it takes twice as long to get there. The thing is, people just freak the freak out when it snows and the roads get slick. Recently I worked a short shift and before I could leave the supervising nurse came up to me, all frantic asking if I could take over the shift of one of the evening CNA's who was desperate to leave early because the road on her 17 mile drive was going to be closed for the night and she had kids at home. I was all grumped out about having to stay another 3 hours, but I just did what I had to do. Occasionally we still get people calling in that they're going to be late because of the roads or whatever, and sometimes you groan inwardly when that happens, but hey that's life for a CNA. Just get over it and do your job people....OK?
Driving in snow and ice is not a big-ass deal. Just drive slow, OK? Just give yourself a whole lot more time to get there and you'll get there.
The only point I agree with from The Fuzz is that it wasn't necessary to apologize to everyone for being late. I just wouldn't have said it to you so belligerently. Coffee-Creamer also has a point that if you try too hard to be apologetic all the time, you may appear weak and easy to take advantage of. I was that way in the beginning myself and the result was everyone trying to dump their unwanted shifts on me. Now I have a policy of NO MEANS NO!!! and I won't take on anyone else's shift just because they want to fart around.
Anyway.......take heart. :heartbeat We're all with you in the same big 'ole boat. We understand. Hope that helps.:heartbeat
Its kind of amusing to me reading some of the comments in here about how to handle coworkers in a LTC facility. It almost sounds like something out of lord of the flies lol.
Just dont sweat the small stuff, there are a lot worse things in life than being 12 minutes late to work. Your coworkers sound pretty uptight to me, how much were they inconvenienced by these 12 minutes? If its a chronic thing thats another matter, but a one time deal during a blizzard is hardly something to get ***** about.
I'm too busy at work for it to matter much what my coworkers think of me, as long as they come when I need help with a transfer, they can think what they want. This is work, not highschool, so I wouldnt worry about this kind of stuff.
Coffee-Creamer also has a point that if you try too hard to be apologetic all the time, you may appear weak and easy to take advantage of. I was that way in the beginning myself and the result was everyone trying to dump their unwanted shifts on me. Now I have a policy of NO MEANS NO!!! and I won't take on anyone else's shift just because they want to fart around.
fuzzywuzzy, CNA
1,816 Posts
Oh geez. I live in an icy area too, I'm nowhere near 40, and I'm putting myself through school *without* my parents' help. I feel like most of my coworkers are in the same position and would not appreciate someone acting like a baby. I'm guessing your coworkers probably feel that way too. Just trying to show the view from the other side, but apparently you're only interested in being coddled. Good luck with that at your job.
Oh and yes, I AM perfect, as a matter of fact!