Absolutely ridiculous

[blue cna]

I am so tired of the place I work.

i was all excited to be a cna and help people. well im not even there while they are awake! when i started i had so much heart and now i have very little, and i find myself turning into somoene i dont want to be. i am already burnt out. This is my first cna job and ive been there for about 3 months. I work overnights.

Im tired of evening shift not having all alarms on and beds lowered when they've signed off that they have been. one night i trusted all alarms were on and a couple werent but they never go off because they dont try to get out of bed so i didnt know they werent on. in the morning the day shift told me about it. well whatever i let it go i shouldnt have trusted evening shift to do their job.

there are 2 sides in the facility- dementia and ltc, with 16-19 people on each side. 1 aide for each side. 1 nurse to drift between the 2 sides.

i am tired of one of the night shift people griping that they didnt get the side they were 'hired for'. noone is specifically hired for just one side. she actually yelled at me for going to 'her side' and getting report. i told my favorite night nurse about this and she mentioned it to the DON. i got asked about it and i told them the whole story. they told me to stand my ground and tell her im just working the side the master schedual says im on. anyways, i didnt have to because they told her she was to work on the other side until further notice because i reported her for abuse. she loves her side because its dementia, behind a locked door, where she can skip people on rounds, play on the computer, watch tv, read books, and not do sh*t. one night i went over there for something and she must not have heard me put the code in the door. when i walked around the corner she was YELLING at a resident who always gets up out of bed because she doesnt know any better. she is yelling GO TO BED , GO TO BED, GO TO BED!!!!! i asked her what was going on and she was pi$$ed that i saw her yelling and said dont even come over here! i wouldnt come over here if i were you! then she starts yelling about how the resident wont stay in bed and now she has to go deal with X, a combative resident. i offered to help her with X, and as i was helping her turn and change X, she was cursing about how shes tired of this sh!t and she shouldnt have to put up with this sh!t, and shes just going to quit, RIGHT IN FRONT OF X.

a few weeks pass, i have to have a medical procedure done. i need the weekend off and thats it because im already off the other days i would need off. i tell the supervisor, whatever she is, this. either shes extremely stupid, or just a b!tch. she would not accept this. or didnt understand. saying originally i only needed the 2 days off. yeah i still only need to days because the other days im not even on the schedule. basically saying at least its a good thing i dont need to miss any more than 2 days. she leaves me a message saying she switched me with someone to cover for me and she DID EXPECT for me to me there monday night.

UMMM...NO? i left her 6-7 messages having to repeatedly tell her i need about a week off but am only missing the 2 days because i already have the rest off. when she left me the message about monday i blew my top. id already left her multiple messages explaining the situation, each time explaining it more simply than before. a ****!ng 3 year old could have grasped what i was saying by the way i was explaining it. i was so angry i left her a message telling her i cant accept that schedule change and its not going to happen.

then i call the facility and talk to a nurse about who i could call to cover me for the other day i needed off. he starts asking me if im going to replace myself for monday night since i cant make it.

woah woah woah. hold up. im not on there for monday. i told him this. i told him the situation. basically the b!tch had lied to him telling me i agreed to the switch but could no longer make it so they had to find someone else. so hes getting angry and frustrated about it until i tell him whats going on. he was surprised to find out that i never even talked to the person about switching. i told him she did that on her own after i already told her no.

after this i am fuming. i leave another message asking why the nurse is under the impression that ive talked to someone and agreed to switching, etc, after i already told her no. at the end i said ive left multiple messages explaining everything and i cant physically medically be there and it just WASNT GOING TO HAPPEN.

couple days later i go in to give her my drs excuse. she says we need to talk. basically to make the long story short she didnt like the way i talked to her. i told her the same. she told me i needed to grow up. that i was

p!$$ing her off. that she was thinking about firing me. still doesnt understand the days i needed off (apparently cant count to 2....sat and sun. 1, 2.)

she told me ever since id been there id been nothing but a problem (no idea what that ment, never called in, was never late, always stayed late, and have covered shifts)

she told me that nobody liked me and everybody there hates me

she called me a little girl

she told me that i had a tattle-tale mentality (ok so ill just go ahead and let residents get treated like that? who knows what else she does behind those locked doors?!?!)

she asked me if id learned anything from this experience ( i said dont talk to me like that) and shes like excuse me? i said i dont think thats a very professional way to talk to your employees. and she says AND HOW MANY PLACES HAVE YOU WORKED AT THAT ARE PROFESSIONAL? i said i hope all work places are considered to be professional. she asked who i thought i was that i thought i could talk to her like that. who am i to talk to someone in her position.

she then told me that she thought i was a liar, and that i was making everything up about the abuse, etc.

ummm why would i make up something as serious as that...and lie about someone i dont even know?

i could not believe the things this lady was saying to me. it took all i had not to just lay her out right then and there and just walk out.

i told her so many things were wrong with that place that needed to be reported. she told me to tell that to the person above her, who was on her way. so the other woman comes in , with a 3rd lady, the one who hired me who is HR. i tell them everything. the way i was spoken to, the things she said. they werent too concerned even when she admitted to saying those things. the only thing they were concerned about was me reporting them for everything. assuring me that everything has been taken care of. (the lady who was yelling and cussing still works there.....so ummm..how?) i asked how and they said they couldnt tell me. ok whatever. i said forget about it, dont worry about it. but i said it in a voice that ment they needed to worry about it.

i went into the other room with the HR lady that hired me. she said all those things were probably just said in anger. ( well i dont care, you cant talk to your employees like that) and that next time we would be able to talk more calmly about it.

i said i dont think theres going to be a next time. because i know damn well my husband wont let me be treated like this. he makes good enough money to where i dont have to be.

she said she would call me the day of the night i was scheduled to be back. ok whatever. at that point im thinking i wont even BE back.

the day rolls around, the lady that told me all those horrible things calls me and apologizes for acting so unprofessional and that she wanted to start fresh. and i said ok. and that if i want to pick up any hours she had some spots open. (OK THATS WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT. THEY TOLD HER TO CALL AND APOLOGIZE FOR 1. FOR 2 THEY JUST NEEDED SOMEONE TO PICK UP SHIFTS!!!!)

dont think ill be doing that for her

later on HR lady calls me telling me she hopes she called and apologized. i said she did. then the other lady who was there asks me if she aplogized. which tells me they told her to and the apology wasnt authentic. i knew it wasnt anyways just by the things that were said and the type of person that i can see that she is.

im tired of this place. always short on linens, cnas who leave people soaked for night shift, getting spit in the face by a 101 yr old lady with a black rotten ass mouth, and the spit goes in my eye! she kicked me in the head, tries to kick people in the stomach or wherever she can and hits. im tired of getting the **** beat out of me for trying to help someone not sit in their own sh!t and p!ss!!! im tired of mean cnas, nurses who treat you like crap who chart for 7 hrs straight then use the last hr to pass meds. whoopty sh!t 1 hr of work...i know damn well that you cant sit and chart for 7 hrs youd be writing a damned book. they just do it slow so they dont have to help with rounds if needed or do anything!!!!!

i run my ass off with alarms and rounds, sweating BULLETS, then the worst part of the shift comes, go and get 3 people up at 6am!!!!!!!!! i dont think i should have to do that! im wore out by 6 am and done!!!!

there is only 1 person i like in that whole damned place and shes a night nurse i work with often and she agrees with me on everything!!!!!

AND IM TIRED OF THEM TRYING TO GET ME TO COVER SO MANY SHIFTS. THEY CALL ME EVERY DAMN DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LITERALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i cant afford to quit we need the money or else my husbands bank account will start sinking again! what am i going to do? its already uncomfortable working somewhere where everyone doesnt like you, and your boss talks to you like that! i dont even know how i show my face in there after all thats happened! because they all know i reported that woman, and told on someone for not wearing gloves while giving showers. helllooooo your hand is digging in someone elses crotch and you dont wear gloves?!?!?! then go on your lunch and smoke?!?! ew!!!!!

and another thing, we dont even get breaks! just a half hr lunch!

and i put in for 5 days off to go to an event i have tickets for that i got before i even applied there. and i asked off for it 2 months in advance and i havent heard anything about it, and i just know she will deny the request because of all thats happened and because shes a b!tch!!!! if she doesnt give it to me i swear i might just walk out even if my husband hates me for it! i cant believe he even let me go back after the way i was talked to and the things that were said to me!!!!!

and if someone i work with reads this you probably know who i am, but screw you!!!!!!!!!!!!! change your ways then if you dont like it!!!!!!!!!!!!

i dont know what i can do until, and if, i can get hired somewhere else! i have no compassion anymore!!!!!!!

[lauraashley]

exactly why I changed my mind and am now looking into going for phlebotomy...

i can't believe people actually like being a CNA...being treated like **** on an hourly basis. yeah i'm a pessimist, but honestly...I could never do it. I commend people for being able to!

[blue cna]

i dont think i can for too much longer...

[juliaann]

I hope you're putting in applications anywhere and everywhere right now. That's an awful situation.

[bakpakr]

Like Juliaann posted; put in apps all over the place. Not every facility is like that. I had to walk away from my last facility because I was not even allowed to take 5 minutes to take a restroom break. I now work in home health. Less hours and money but I am happier. I am thinking of getting a PRN job in a facility just to make up the difference in pay. Hang in there until you find another job.

[KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN]

Sorry is all I can say I know what its like to be mistreated and dealing with crappy co-workers.

RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!!!!

[blue cna]

small town with limited places to work im in a bind

[CoffeemateCNA]

Commute?

[rosey2007cna]

I have worked in the different LTC facilities and they all sucked. With the last facility I got so burned out that I hope that I never have to go back to LTC. It is such a negative place to work and I think that home care is better.

[tokidoki7, ASN, RN]

The place you work out sides like h#ll. It's unfortunate you have to stay there for financial reasons because I'm sure you would've been quit. All I can say is apply to work somewhere else and hang in there.

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

You may not like this but...If this is the only place that, geographically, you can work in you will find that adjustment is necessary. The only person you have complete control over is yourself. You may not have thought that this woman's apology was sincere but really so what? What is your end game here? To get others fired, change their way of doing things?

You sound smart enough so I suggest you think creatively about trying things another way and stop looking at things so globally. Break it down into smaller things and address them. For example, the alarms. Clearly this is a grave safety issue. You have three options. Continue to report the previous shift. If not report them be you can continue to be resentful about them as you are now. How about making an approach to those CNAs and work out what is preventing them from putting the alarms on and asking them to...CNA to CNA. If you establish working relationships with people in the previous shift they are less likely to leave you in the poop.

Don't you get some sort of report/handover? Just ask them "so can I assume that all the beds are lowered and the alarms are on?" Don't be sarcastic or pointed about it just matter of fact.

I know that it shouldn't be necessary to charm people into doing their job and I am not really suggesting that. Personally I hate people who work to mediocre standards -- it drives me bonkers. Because it drive me bonkers I had to find other ways of dealing with things. My original way was much likes yours it seems -- all it got me was angry and burnt out. Also, it called negative attention to me rather than the problem. Hence, I ended up being super scrutinized instead. Great right?

I know for sure that if you think of people you work with as being *******, useless, lazy etc. They will meet your expectations. You had a success in getting an apology from someone. Take it as such and show them that you are a professional. Which means you can work on resolving problems rather than going for an all out win. It does sound to me like you want an all out win including some people fired and others throwing themselves on their swords in apology to you. It will not happen.

I am sorry you are going through this but you can come out of it feeling better than you do now. Maybe make an appointment with that person in HR and ask him/her to help you work on your approach to these issues. Sometimes HR people are OK (I am not a great fan for the most part). Basically it is that old chestnut "be part of the solution".

I hope things work out at that place.

[CoffeemateCNA]

If you're having problems with other shifts (i.e. alarms, soaked briefs), do walk-through rounds with them. Make them show you that each alarm is on, beds are lowered, and that each resident is dry (or at least semi-dry --- people pee, but it's easy to tell when someone soaked their brief 5 minutes ago versus 8 hours ago). If that resident hasn't been changed, ask the CNA to change him/her (and maybe even offer to help out if you are in an exceptionally good mood). That way you know the job is done, and nobody can come back on you later for not having something finished.

Also, don't "tattle" on other CNAs unless what they are doing is absolutely life-threatening to the residents or is an abuse/dignity issue. Like the whole not wearing gloves or washing hands before smoking thing? If they want to breathe in cigarette fumes laced with poop and pee, let them. They are not hurting anyone but themselves. The more you turn people in to management for tiny things, the less they are going to listen to you (and may actually become annoyed with you). It's kind of a "boy who cried wolf" type of thing.

You mentioned it's a small town and there are only limited places to work. Are there any nearby towns you could commute to?