Are all CNAs mean

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I just started clincials at a LTC and the first day the CNAs look at me and the other lpn students drity and nasty. They made rude comments and was bossy. Some act like they know everyhthing and hate to me wrong and don't forget they are mean and rude to the residents. Why are CNAs like this is due to lack of education? Are they not happy with their self or job? I thought nursing was bout team work and doing what is best for the patient..

I was being sarcastic pumpkin....Of course not all CNAs are mean, there are a couple nice ones(sarcasm again).

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Not all CNA's are mean and grumpy. A lot of the ones I work with are amazing. There are the few, however, that are constant complainers and tend to bring everyone else down. It is a very stressful job, and they don't get nearly enough credit. Once they get to know you I'm sure they'll warm up!

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Specializes in None yet..
Got that right - no, all CNA's aren't mean. Pretty much like any other group of people, you'll get some that you'll get along with, and some that you won't. Lots of times we're working under the gun, taking care of between 9 and 20 patients, plus fielding questions from nurses, family members, etc. Plus vitals, I&O, charting, etc. so we're typically on the run from the minute we clock in. And...sometimes politeness & courtesy get tossed right out the window in our frantic attempts to get eveything done by the end of the shift.

For what it's worth - I tend to agree that the comments mentioned are highly unprofessional and uncalled-for; but, given how verbally and physically abusive some of these patients can be (not to mention the family members) I'm somewhat surprised that it doesn't end up much, much worse at times.

Incidentally, don't be too surprised to find that the CNA you're working with has more professional credentials than you do - in my case, I hold both A.A. & Bachelor's degrees in Computer Science, along with being currently enrolled in a local community college where I'm working towards my LVN and ultimately my BSN.

It's a tough line of work, no two ways about it - but, speaking solely for myself, I wouldn't have it any other way.

----- Dave

I work at a large facility with many CNAs for whom English is a second language. They are highly skilled CNAs with many, many years of experience. All are highly competent at their jobs and quite a few have impressive credentials from their native countries. Sadly, their English skills are not enough to allow them to get very far outside their current jobs.

I think language issues can hold people back from using all their abilities and it's sad. My sister-in-law is Vietnamese. She has an accounting degree and credential in Vietnam but she didn't start trying to learn English until she was in her late 20s when she moved to this country. She was frustrated by the process and now she's managing a nail salon. She just couldn't get past the considerable barrier of learning a new language. Still, her accomplishment is impressive; I know that her English is much better than my Vietnamese could ever be. As an adult trying to learn some Vietnamese, I can't even hear some of the tonal vowel sounds in the language. You never know what's behind the little we see of the people around us.

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Yes, all CNAs are mean.

What kind of question is that? Are you 5 years old? Some people are nicer than others! Grow a thicker skin.

Wow, I guess I really am kind of mean, huh? :jester:

Also kind of wise. Trying to have everyone like you will cause you to end up with no one liking you... including yourself. How someone else treats you is never about you; it's always about them.

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Specializes in Long term care.

This has been & still is my take on anyone training where I work:

I'd like to help you but, teaching you is additional work for me on my already busy schedule. You are slow because you are learning. I understand that, but if my work isn't done, I am to blame...not you.

If you make a mistake, not only do I have to "correct" it, but I will have to take the blame (and I have) for it because it is my patient and my job.

When I did my clinicals, I thought the CNA's would be happy to have the extra "help". Now I know better!!

I try to help the new people out as much as I can. I'm sorry if I seem abrupt, I don't mean to be.

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all CNA's are not mean. they are definitely overworked, underpaid and depending on how long they have been in their facility, are burnt out. they see a new group of students and might feel overwhelmed at the extra work they now have... I wouldn't say they are jealous of your education, probably just exhausted.

Very insightful. Also, I find when I'm angry about someone else's behavior that it's useful to look first at my own. Usually there is something I'm doing to contribute to the situation, even if it's just not accepting certain aspects of a person's being and working around that but getting into a power struggle instead.

Assuming someone else is jealous of us because we're smarter, richer, higher status, whatever, is just a thought and a superficial one that doesn't really help us to solve our problems. It might be more effective to see what needs are behind the CNA behavior that bothers you and to think about how you could meet them. That's hard when we're in a place of anger and expectation, believe me, I know! So take some time to calm down and detach so you can think about it from another perspective.

No matter what happens, remember you're just passing through. Not so for many of the CNAs.

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CNAs aren't all mean, but they're usually all under a lot of stress. The others are right, that can be misinterpreted as mean. When you have to remember 8 or more people's routines and how they fit together, and then chart everything and still deal with attitudes of all of the residents, sometimes their family members, and your coworkers, that is A LOT. For me, when the students came in, that's just one more thing to worry about. I'm already in a hurry, and then I have to slow down and remember the "right" way to do everything so that you can learn. Meanwhile those residents' routines and everything else I have to get done are racing through my head. It's not that we don't want to help, and see others learn too, it's just that they really should take into account the fact that we have to go super fast and not slow down and show someone else our job skills if we're going to finish what we need to get done in one day. Trust me, it's a marathon every day.

Can't like this enough.

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My very first day of clinicals, me and my fellow classmates were thrown to the wolves...The CNA's figured because we, the students were there, they could go about their business with a lighter workload. They never came back to check on us, they didn't tell us anything about the patients, It was a huge mess! There were 10 students and we were paired in partners of 2, our poor instructor was running herself ragged trying to help all of us ( She always had to be present for 2 person assists, hoyer lifts, etc. ) It was an incredibly rough start to clinicals! Haha!

No, not all CNA's are mean, but they are incredibly busy and it has to be kinda hard having students running around messing up their "normal routine" Even the CNA's that I worked with during clinicals weren't mean, But I would only see them when we first arrived and most of the time at the end of the day...At first I thought it was very rude, how could they not be there when we needed help? After all, we were just students! But once I experienced how hectic it can be working in a LTC, I understood a little better and felt bad for thinking they were horrible! :nailbiting:

Hope things get better for you! All the best! :)

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