CNA needing advice.

[mewmewmewz17]

Hello

My name is Renee and I've been doing cna work for 4 years but 2 summers ago I officially became a CNA. I really love my job. I used to help take care of my grandmother when she was diagnosed with cancer. Anyways in 4 years I've never made a mistake until now. The other night I was given a whole new assignment with new people I've never taken care of before. So when you clock in you get a sheet with every residents name and how they are transferred and etc. I glanced at it once thinking I will remember everything if not I'd take a look at it again. So that night I went to ask a resident what time he would like to get ready for bed and he of course then said now would be great. He transfers himself sometimes ( which I did not know until after the incident) but he is a Ax1 which I obviously didnt remember. So it is my fault right there for not checking. So I stand him up to put the gait belt on him because it hurts my back to bend down and before i put it on him I look over to his bed and its all messed up and theres the table in the way and everything, I then said oh wait I need to clear this area up and fix your bed and I proceeded to the bed area and fix it instead of making sure he sat back down, well he followed me and fell and hit his head and now has 8 staples in the back of his head and has a concussion. I was too stupid and didnt think before my actions because I have 10 other residents to take care of and I should have sat him back down or stayed with him. I feel really bad. I cried for 2 days and kept asking his wife( who was there when it happened and lives in the same room as him) how he was doing. She told me he was doing better after he got back from the hospital and to stop beating myself up over it, but how could I not? I made a terrible mistake and I'm paying for it now and I think they might fire me. This is my first offense but he was injured badly I guess I deserve it. Anyways my question is what should I do? What are the signs that I will be getting fired? Will another job hire me after this? I feel like I dug myself a hole that I can't get out of. please someone give me some advice I'd greatly appreciate it.

[Hygiene Queen]

What you do now is to look back really hard at the situation and learn from it.

What did you learn?

You probably learned that:

1)You don't just glance at the information regarding your patients. You need to copy it/write it down so it is handy for you to refer to. That sheet becomes your "brain sheet" and helps you, especially with patients you are not familiar with.

2)Never ever let a patient ambulate without you (ready to catch them/ease them to the floor if they fall) if you are not familiar with their abilities.

3)Patient safety trumps fussing over how tidy the room is. Being with your patient and ensuring their safety comes first. Always.

As to what will happen, I don't know.

Please know that I am not beating you up.

When I was very new and very green, I turned my back on a patient brushing his teeth at the sink. He went down and hit his head on the sink on the way.

I can tell you this, I never did that again.

I got a stern lecture and a hard hard lesson. I suppose I also lost a bit of trust for awhile, too.

I want you to also notice that some 20 years later, I am now a nurse.

It was not the end of my career but the start of total understanding of how serious our jobs are.

I truly wish you the best and hope you can reflect, learn and move on.

P.S.

It is also helpful to tell your supervisor you understand where you went wrong, what you learned from it and what you plan to do about it, as well of any changes you have already made in the way you care for your patients.

[HairIsOptional]

Renee, I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you. Chalk this incident up to a learning experience. Learn from this mistake and hopefully this won't happen again. I wish I could offer you advice in whether you will be fired or not. Each facility is different and from my experience, some people will get fired and some will get warnings for the SAME incident. For example, at my old facility, if you hoyered by yourself and got caught you got fired. However, a male aide who worked a lot of hours got caught red handed and only got a slap on the wrist.

In regards to your situation, be honest when speaking to your supervisor and tell him/her that it was a mistake. From what it sounded like, the issue isn't the number of assists for putting the man to bed (there was the A x1) but that he didn't listen or hear you when you said for him to stay in the chair until you fixed the bed. Accidents will happen on the job and yes you will learn from them. I am also a CNA so I know where you are coming from. Good luck!