CNA shift wars

Sounds as if we may be working at the same facility.

Sounds like my facility too. I will never understand people nitpicking about the small stuff...things are never going to be perfect. These are human beings we're taking care of, and a very busy job. Sometimes a person is going to be wet, or something is going to be out of place.

But you know what? Since my whole shift gets nitpicked about every little detail by 3rd shift, I've started reporting the giant messes I come into when I get there at 2 p.m. Because I might have time to make sure every room is spotless if I weren't coming in to 12 kids who have been sitting in the same position without being changed for 6 or 7 hours, empty linen carts, and trash that has not been taken out. And when I leave, my rooms are clean and my kids are clean and dry and comfortable. And if management wants more than that from me, then they need to make sure the shift before me is doing their job, too.

Sometimes I feel bad for reporting things, because I never did before. But you know, we're all paid to do the same thing, and if I have to hear griping about how perfect other shifts are and how much my shift sucks, I'm going to make sure management knows how things really are.

I hate nitpicking too. So there's a brief in the trash or someone is wet... OMG! Just get over it! How much does it really set you back?

Our third shift doesn't do showers. First shift does the bulk of them and second takes the rest. The showers are assigned on each day/shift so that there is no passing it on to the next shift if it didn't get done.

I am going to be honest, I'm the complainer at my facility. Sorry to write this but hopefully it will clear things out a bit. One thing that I don't do is complain to the bosses. I will first tell the CNA. If she is not there then I complain to the supervising CNA. If there is no supervisor then I complain to the nurse. I never go further BECAUSE I know that once I complain to the management, the aide WILL be fired. My facility is very strict and I know people need the job.

I know what aides are supposed to do each shift. I know their routine and I know what is supposed to be done when I come in to work. If I see a resident still in his/her wheelchair at 10 pm, I will complain because unless there is a specific reason why that resident is up then they should be sleeping. If the bed is put in an incorrect way (siderails down, no mattresses around the bed, etc.) I will tell the CNA what she did wrong so she can fix it. That's why when I get my assignment, the first thing I do is check every single resident. I simply don't want to be blamed for someone else's mistake.

I get it that you were short staffed and you had to do 12 showers (I've done 12 showers too so I know how it feels) and I won't bother you. I will even help you.

There is one thing that bothers me more than anything: not changing residents before I start my shift. I know these residents and I know who gets wet at what time (around 95% of my residents are incontinent). There is a huge difference between wet and soaking wet diaper. Just be honest and tell me who you didn't change and I will change them. No big deal. But if you don't tell me then they are lying wet for 2 hours (a lot of residents get wet around 12 am so I start changing then). To this day there is a war between the afternoon and night people about that. Same with morning and afternoon shifts.

I don't complain to make people feel bad, to get them fired or just because I'm an evil CNA. I do it for everyone. I do it for the residents so they feel safe and comfortable. If the state comes unexpectedly then I'm protecting you, me, nurses, and administrators. If I point out what you did wrong then hopefully you won't do the same mistake twice. I'm not perfect either. Stuff happens that you can't predict.

I will also offer advice/tips if I see something wrong, and I hope people would do the same for me. I get that people will sometimes pee right after they are checked.

I can't comment on your work environment specifically but I can tell you that it's not helpful to think of a discussion with your manager as "getting in trouble".

We are all a team and on that team there's the health care staff, the bosses, and the patients and family too! Our goal is to promote health, healing, and coping. That's a HUGE goal!

So at times mistakes will be made and somethings will be over looked. But when that happens what are we to do? First thing we should do is fix the problem as soon as possible, second step is to try to take actions to prevent problems from happening in the first place.

So if there is a problem in your facility you need to talk about it and try to find ways to fix the problem. So if your manager asks to speak to you about a problem, that should make you feel good that you work in a place that addresses problems instead of just letting them get worse!

Be creative and flex your imagination. I bet if you think about it and collaborate with your peers on all the shifts you can find a solution to most of your problems. And when the problem is fixed your life will be better and so will your patients!

Isn't that wonderful?

So you see, communication is key. And communication is NOT punishment. It's the first step in implementing improvement.

I have found that when I make a complaint or an observation about the previous shift, that they will retaliate. Retaliate by leaving more residents up or by trashing the floor. Like I've said before, the CNAs where I work run the joint