CNA this, CNA that - Enough Already!

Nurses General Nursing

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I am just so sick and tired of my fellow RN's and LVN's bashing the CNA's on my unit for the stupidest things. For example, One CNA came to me in tears almost because another floor nurse called him a lazy, uneducated "PAW" (Professional A** Wiper)! Interestingly enough, This CNA who told be this is one of my best and hardest working PROFESSIONALS on the unit. He is very articulate, reassuring, funny, has youth and energy to enjoy life and is very senseable. I advised him to ignore this individual who is herself a very rude woman (in general she is to everyone), file a complaint with the charge nurse, and write an incident report (harassment). We as RN's need to stop being so creul to our aides and treat them with dignity and the utmost respect.:angryfire

Specializes in ICU,PCU,ER, TELE,SNIFF, STEP DOWN PCT.
I am just so sick and tired of my fellow RN's and LVN's bashing the CNA's on my unit for the stupidest things. For example, One CNA came to me in tears almost because another floor nurse called him a lazy, uneducated "PAW" (Professional A** Wiper)! Interestingly enough, This CNA who told be this is one of my best and hardest working PROFESSIONALS on the unit. He is very articulate, reassuring, funny, has youth and energy to enjoy life and is very senseable. I advised him to ignore this individual who is herself a very rude woman (in general she is to everyone), file a complaint with the charge nurse, and write an incident report (harassment). We as RN's need to stop being so creul to our aides and treat them with dignity and the utmost respect.:angryfire

I have to agree and disagree.

Many of our Aides and techs work very hard BUT BUT there are a few "I" know of who are "lazy, dissapear, and do vitals and nothing else. " So for those they deserve "bashing" The others I let know and say"Hey you are great to work with thank you so much."

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That nurse needs to be suspended, for starters.

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i am a cna and i love my job, where i"m from there are a few nurses who dont show respect to us aides, i think you can get that kinda treatment wherever you work or what title you have on your badge, but the way i look at it is: we are to take care of the elderly(or whereever you are working) and be respecting them... believe me some people think that if you do not have a title RNor LPN or whatever else thats not CNA than you know nothing,well i am sorry we do know our resident more than you......and i know this from experience

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The CNA should go to HR and report that nurse and if HR doesn't want to do anything about it then maybe she should tossing around words and phrases like....lawsuit, hostile work environment...harassment....belittlement etc.

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I totally agree! I dont know what I would do without my techs, they work so HARD. They keep me sane, helping the day move smoother. I can not believe someone would say something like this...I wonder what she would do without them? I guess she would become the PAW then, and we will see how much she complains...

I'm sure it isn't meant to be this way by most but it just seems demeaning in the first place to refer to CNAs as "my" techs. You would not use this possessive term in the same way when regarding an equal or superior.

Maybe it is just a hang up I have, but it still runs me around the bend.

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Specializes in RN CRRN.

I have an aide that is usually working with me and she is awesome. They DO work hard. I get tired when I am relief charge though of the CNAs calling me to help transfer pts (dont mind but let me finish) when the nurses they are working with ignore call lights, phones, and sit talking..Also twice when they know I am charge were sitting in report from 1445 to 1600 (really-it took a brave CNA to tell me this-I assumed since I was on the other end with the newer pp and 3 admits, that they were working on the floor) .It upsets me because there are new nurses -and CNAs on the floor that are still needing help with "firsts" (first NG, first cath etc) that I need to help with. Of course I will do it but when they call in a panic and I head down to the other end see call lights going off and 3 RNs sitting (one actually saying "what a chg nurse to me is....") Probably was upset cuz she knew I had told the CNA that called that I was tied up, and it would be a while-- and that RN may have had to help the CNA. Burned my eyelashes it did. Anyway, when I started there I had never really been a CNA. I went with a CNA to train for a day to learn their job while on orientation-- a sarcastic, rude ('I am just kidding") person. She told me how to 'really do things' in front of pts (I started as an RN), and was just grrr. Anyway she is graduating soon and I may have to precept her to our unit as a nurse, on our shift. The tables have turned little grasshopper. But I do work with great pp. But I find the ones who complain about things not getting done, or their aides not fast enough, tend to not help them out. Therefore at 2315 the RNs have their charting done and are out the door, whereas the RNs who work as a team with their CNA end up with more charting to finish up with. It is about the pt. -- clean a pt up don't call a CNA in another room to come to that room next -- that is just wrong.

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CNA's have a bad rap where I work, but I feel that each person should be taken at face value. It's not CNA's in general that are lazy, it's particular individuals. We should never resort to stereotypes when it comes to ones ability to work. The majority of CNA's I have ever met are very hard working... and even as a "PAW" myself, I can tell you that on the other hand there are a lot of CNA's that just aren't cut out for the job.... but EVERYONE should be treated with the respect the deserve. For this nurse to down this CNA is ridiculous and I hope she's called out on the carpet for it. She may think she is "more" professional, when in fact she is representing the exact opposite of what a educated professional treats those "under" him/her. It's a team effort and everyone plays their vital roll.

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Specializes in Infusion Nursing, Home Health Infusion.

that rn needs to be counseled ....... that is unacceptable behavior and that nurse needs to be reported. If I would have heard that words would have been flying........ that CNA has every right to earn a living. This bad behaviour reflects on the rn and says quite a bit about him or her

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Tele, ER.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for my co-workers, no matter what capacity they work in. Regardless of the acronym after my name, I readily defer to the expertise of nursing aides, ward clerks, housekeepers, you name it. I'm not out there looking to subjugate myself to anyone - I just don't think getting good information right from the source indicates anything about my own level of knowledge. Several experienced aides have taught me invaluable ways of doing hands-on care with patients. The ward clerk frequently is the only person who can answer my "If I wanted to do X...how would I get those resources?". The housekeepers know how to track down missing equipment, know how to get hold of who for which infrastructure problem.

While there is an established hierarchy in the hospital environment (which is important), my rule is respect and kindness for all my co-workers, regardless of how stressful my job is. The nurse's behavior in the original post is really unprofessional, and should be reported to the supervisor.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, rehab, Alzheimers.

I think it is great when the Nurses help out the CNA's. I know that the Nurses are busy with their own work, and I would never expect a nurse to do my duties, but we are all there for the same reason and ultimately have to work as a team. I work NOC shift, on a busy rehab unit. There have been times that I was the only aide on the floor and have had 2 bed alarms going off at the same time, and other call lights going off, and the Nurse just sat at the desk charting! To me it makes no sense because if something were to happen to the patient, thats just more paper work for her!!! She actually came into a room while I was giving cares to another patient, to tell me that another patient would like some more water!!! But for the majority of the Nurses I work with, They are excellent and I love working with them.

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