Assisted Living med aides

roser13, ASN, RN · Sep 27, 2017

Who is "letting" them skip their resident duties (bathing, etc.)? If you are their boss, then apparently the answer is you.

Why aren't you writing them up or otherwise enforcing the aides' duties? Your residents are suffering. My parent is in AL, and I would be one unhappy customer if his nurse was not advocating for him.

Maybe your pride in being "nice" needs to transition to pride in being "effective." You need to step up your game and protect and care for your residents.

mrsfoster601 · Sep 27, 2017

Has anyone worked with med aides that don't even know what drugs they are giving? I work at a place that lets them skip the bathing schedule, and allows them to basically run a facility with a negative attitude. I am a very nice nurse and I am their boss. Why do they think they can act like this? It is assisted living, it's a easy job. The call in sick, pull no call no shows, act like babies and still complain about their checks lol. The residents do t get taken care of, then the nurse has to burn out fires. Is anyone else going through this?

You sure we don't work at the same place? GEESH!!! Sounds like where I work.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Sep 27, 2017

ALF is a lot tougher than one would think. It used to be that only people with minor ADL needs were admitted; now they're as apt to be nursing home candidates with dementia, two-person transfers, feeding etc. Unfortunately, in many states aides, and even med aides, are not required to be licensed so we have people who are barely high-school educated taking care of and administering meds to residents. It's scary, isn't it?

As much as I hate to say it, you have to be a role model, and one of the most helpful ways I found to do this was to take an occasional floor shift. Just so you know what you're asking your caregivers to do and how hard their job really is. The other really important thing is to demand a higher standard and hold them to it. If they call off too often or don't do their job when they *are* there, write them up and have a paper trail so that if it comes time to let them go, you have documentation to support your decision. Train your med aides to know what and why they are giving meds; to do otherwise is just asking for disaster. I used to give tests to my med aides to make sure they had at least a bare-bones understanding of the most common drugs, and then when someone required an unusual med I gave a brief in-service about it. Education is the key!

NerdyKnitter, CNA · Oct 24, 2017

I am starting nursing school next year and I'm currently a Med Aid and Personal Care Aid at an ALF. About half our staff really care and make sure we provide all care tasks to our residents on each shift. The other half either call out frequently, don't do their showers, don't toilet residents often enough, or all of the above. Due to budget issues we cannot pay enough to attract even mediocre staff. We are piecing together shifts every month just to have NOC coverage. This is a horrible cycle to be in because people are stretched thin and know they can get away with providing poor care because the facility can't afford to lose them.

I would like to see our administration begin writing people up for not doing their jobs. Particularly for repeated call-outs and failure to provide care (showers, toileting, etc...). As a staff person who picks up their slack it is very frustrating to see no consequences handed out. I cover so many shifts and I shower so many residents not assigned to me. How is it right for some staff to work twice as hard and still earn the same paycheck? That's a good way to lose good staff and end up with a full staff of crappy aids.

I know this was more a personal rant, but I wanted to share what your hard workers may be feeling and thinking. Good luck!