Anyone else have a bad CNA experience

[mcclot1993]

about several months back I started my very first CNA job not to mention my first job I ever heard I started out of full time daylight shift at a place called HCR Manor Care. Without my choice at all they threw me up on a rehab unit. When I first started I only received 5 days or orientation before being thrown out of my own where I was responsible for taking care of 11-13 patients who all have therapy appointments some with 5 or 6 minutes from the next patient I had to get too. People constantly coming in and out it was almost like a hospital new admits people getting discharged. I was also responsible for passing breakfast trays and lunch trays and getting so many vitals and weights, and check my patient every 2 hours and cleaning up their room and trash bags. It made things so hard especially they would fire you fi you gave someone the slightest skin tear cause they said it was completely unavoidable to give someone a skin tear. You wear not allowed to use hoyer lifts by yourself so with so many other aides being busy it could be another half hour before you could get a person up out of bed and then they would be late for the therapy appointment and then you fall behind and cannot get your stuff done. So after being shown how to do a lot of things after one time they threw me out of my own where I had to put up with all that stuff and they saw that I could not handle it and gave me extra 5 days of orientation. I hardly made it a month there. Everyday I had a full assignment I had on my own decision sacrificed my lunch breaks just to get all my work done and still could not get everything done. I had put so much effort and work into trying my best to please these people. So on my final day there I had a full assignment and this was the worst day by far. I had trouble with a patient trying to get dressed for therapy and no one was around to help me not to mention other things going on at once. I was falling behind because I had no one to help me with hoyer lifts cause I was not allowed to use them by myself or else I would get fired. The other aides there did not appreciate me and gave me a hard time as well. I had struggled to get people ready I was not able to pass lunch trays that day regardless of all the other times I was there to help pass trays. I don't even understand why I was thrown on a rehab unit to begin with no other aide understood why they threw and brand new CNA on a rehabilition unit with how fast pace it was. once again I sacrificed my munch break so at the end of the day I was tired, exhausted ,stressed , hungry so I get called in the DON office and they said they were letting me go off my probationary period because I could not meet orientation. They handed me a sheet that had a list of things. One being that I did not know how to empty a colostomy bad after being shown. I was not exactly sure how to do it so I got help which was what I was suppose to do when I was not sure about something and I got reported for it and was marked against me. I was not able to help pass trays one day because it was impossible to get any sort of help from anyone in trying to get a few of my people up regardless I was there other days to help pass lunch trays. The aides reported me for every little thing that I said or every little mistake. I understand I am brand new to this and I am dealing with peoples lives but it takes more than just a month to get used to this job and perfect your skills and become confident in yourself. If I made a little mistake they should tell me what I did and then I make sure not to do it again not go behind my back and report me and abunch of other little things that I did not do right but like I said I am brand new you cannot expect someone to be this good at this type of work so fast especially being thrown up on a rehab unit. I remember my clinical instructor before I got done with nurse aide program even told me don't work for manor care. Does anyone think that I did a horrible job or does anyone think I got screwed over a little bit.

[murphybrown]

I work for HCR ManorCare in California as a CNA while going to school. Some of the CNAs have been there for twenty years, others, like me, not as long. I have heard some horror stories about some HCR facilities, but some are very good. What you said about rehab -- these types of patients can actually be much easier to contend with rather than Alzheimer's units etc. Most rehab pts are able to do at least some of their ADLs on their own, while demented pts are obviously not so helpful and often capable of making your job take a little longer.

I agree with what has been said on this thread -- you were working a busy facility with a full load and during a shift that should have been reserved for someone with more experience. It is easier to start out on PM or NOC than it is a day shift where you have many pts to get up, fed, and on their way to therapy.

Wonderful that you got a new job, and hopefully your exposure at HCR will help you in your new job by being able to handle a full load and prioritize your activities. And just think, you already know how to empty/clean a colostomy bag now :)

What you probably experienced there was something common in many facilities -- more senior CNAs are often not so nice to newbies, gossip starts then mob mentality sets in and the majority seem to be "against" you. As you progress throughout your career, keep this in mind -- and do what you can to help the newbie :)

Best of luck to you.

[mcclot1993]

The thing that bugs me though that some things I actually needed helped with that I was shown on orientation and when I was on my own even if I asked for help on something I was not sure about I was written up. If I tried to empty that colostomy bag myself and spilled all over the place I would have been written up. Rehab does have more generally independent people but it is very fast pace and very busy and a brand new CNA should not have been thrown up there as I was told by some other people. the pace of rehab is similar to a hospital. On top of that I am worried about people judging my every move making sure a skin tear does not happen. it was hard working under these conditions. I could not get me wrights or vitals in some days becauses I needed help with things and it was impossible to get help sometimes. even more experience aides there did not get all there vitals in and where not able to check their patients every 2 hours and no body attacked them they were all over me for it.