I'm an LPN at a LTC facility and I have a CNA who is a habitual complainer and whiner. She's such a ***** all of the time. She does some parts of her job rather well. Sometimes she is on the phone 4-5 times during my shift. Today I called her on her phone habits and asked her if she was on break. She gave me attitude.
Then she begins complaining...
Where's....? Where's....? She likes keeping tabs on one of the other CNA's on the floor whom she does not like. Yet, I see her talking on the phone and sitting down all of the time.
The problem...
The other nurses don't do crap about it. They call her to the phone when her personal calls come in, etc... This problem is a long time in the making and won't be fixed overnight. I'm going to have to find things to keep her busy so that she won't be running her mouth all day long. She's my little instigator and troublemaker!
I feel as if I'm raising a child. She knows her job better than I do! She's been doing it for a very long time. As if us nurses don't have enough to deal with already...
I guess that I'm going to have to outline EVERYTHING I want her to do all day every day and find busy work for her...or bring some duct tape! Muahahahahahaha!
Life can be a b..ch, but reality is a bummer...stay offended...I will stay with the peace of mind knowing that my patient's will not be shortchanged or put at risk by UNLICENSED wannabees! Want to be a nurse???....go to school! CNA, PCA, ED Tech, etc is not a substitute. More importantly, bad behaviors and zero productivity, along with the whining, dissin', flat out refusal to do the job you agreed to do when you were hired is no longer tolerated in my world:(
Perhaps part of the reason you had such a problem with your techs and/or CNAs might be the obvious disrespect you're oozing of. (and you've made it QUITE clear how little you think of CNAs, which, FYI no one said they were a "substitute" for nurses, where you pulled that one is beyond me)
You're not going to get respect, etc. when you treat ANY employees like crap (attitude included), no matter WHAT their job title is.
Used to be angry about this whole CNA thing until I got the chance to fix it. Believe me like it's coming from the burning bush when I say my RN's were overjoyed at both the cleaning house of UAP's, and the subsequent generous pay raise taht came along after the housecleaning of wastefull spending on UAP's (Unproductive Assistant Peoples). My nurses were ecstatic, their morale and productivity increased, and even I got a thrill knowing that wiping tushy's and transporting patients to the units was no big deal since we were all being compensated well, and worked as a team...an ALL RN TEAM ; devoid of the bad behaviors of the former dilitantes. In my way of thinking, the DOG wags the Tail...not the other way around!!!
Used to be angry about this whole CNA thing until I got the chance to fix it. Believe me like it's coming from the burning bush when I say my RN's were overjoyed at both the cleaning house of UAP's, and the subsequent generous pay raise taht came along after the housecleaning of wastefull spending on UAP's (Unproductive Assistant Peoples). My nurses were ecstatic, their morale and productivity increased, and even I got a thrill knowing that wiping tushy's and transporting patients to the units was no big deal since we were all being compensated well, and worked as a team...an ALL RN TEAM ; devoid of the bad behaviors of the former dilitantes. In my way of thinking, the DOG wags the Tail...not the other way around!!!
Working as a team includes not being so condescending to those who are obviously not as great as you.
I'm so glad that my boss appreciates real teamwork that includes all types, titles, certified, and licensed employees, and realizes that everyone plays an important role, gets respected and gives respect, and ALL help that dog wag that tail to the best of it's ability. She credits that to having worked as a housekeeper, then a CNA, then an ADN, then a BSN, then now as an MSN.
Your anger and your overall outlook on those less of a RN (not to mention your sheltered opinion) make me want to try even harder to NOT have that kind of attitude once i do get my MSN. Plus i also appreciate my boss even more for not having the work environment that you've described.
I work LTC, I get tired of all the complaining from LPN'S, CNA'S and RN'S, so I walk away. I stay away from it all and just take care of residents, what I am supposed to be doing anyway.
What I feel is that if you have time to stand around and complain you don't have enough to do.
Just found this board a few days ago, and am soo glad! I'm a current PCT 2 on a tele floor in Chicago, and, not that I'm great at my job by any means, I do have issue with a fair amt. of techs (and RN'S, too.) For instance, last night a tech blatantly didn't change a bed when a patient was incontinent.....another tech, who'd taken a 45 min. break earlier in the day, before I got on, (I was in the cafeteria eating before I worked at 1900, and after working out at the hospital's health club) and threw her pager at me and said, "I'm going on break." (she was back in close to an hour!) And on Sunday- the tech that had my pager while I was at lunch blatantly didn't answer my pages, and I got sh*t on when I returned to having upset families! Anyone who does their job well in any capacity I have loads of respect for- and will help any nurse with any patient if they're helpful to me. What goes around, comes around. It irkes me that techs that do nothing but complain don't ever get spoken to about their laziness- bc people have such low standards for their job capabilities- yet when I and others who never sit and work hard ask for a little bit of help from other techs or certain nurses, we're looked at like we are incompetent!
Anyway, glad to have found y'all- I'm entering a BSN program in August, just have Micro to take.
That right there is the reason (and i say this being a CNA for almost 11 years) why i think "nursing" should not be used in a job title unliess you are a licensed nurse. Patient Care Assistant is what a lot of places use, but the term PCA can be confused with Patient Controlled Analgesic lol. Certified Care Assistant, i think is a good idea. When people see a name badge that says "nursing" they sometimes just see "nurs" and assume you are one.
Too many ex co-workers have referred to themselves as nurses, and i HAVE said "it's bad enough the majority of people here are confused, but don't make it worse by lying".
Even now, i still get that, even though my name badge says "C.A./Phlebotomist" (in the world's tiniest print, yet that gawd-awful mug shot picture is nice and big).
But I have ALWAYS corrected the pt. or the family member (for example: asking for pain meds) who referred to me as "nurse", by saying "i'm the assistant for the nurse. Your nurse is _______. But i will tell her/him you want something for pain. If you need anything, just ring". It's the right thing to do instead of letting them believe you are the nurse.
excuse me!you have alot of ****** nerve we are they back bone of this damn job we know alot more about the pts then you cause you dont want to get your hands dirty. iam in school for lpn and will not treat cna like**** cause ive been there i think they should teach nurses 101 respect in school. we are not any better of person than just higher degree. thats why iwent for lpn as cna i can do lpns job yeah i am only cna.
Specializes in Gerontological Nursing, Acute Rehab.
Well, things certainly are getting heated up around here......I understand the frustration on both sides. On the one hand, I have worked with aides that were rude, insubordinate and downright mean. I have broken up fist fights in resident hallways, and have been yelled at and talked about right in front of my face. Like I'm sure other posters have said, if you don't like your job, then leave,
On the other hand, I have worked with aides that were kind, compassionate and willing to work as a team. I am not a nurse that doesn't want to "get her hands dirty", and I have done rounds with the aide when they were short staffed. I change and transfer and toilet people. But, my first responsibility is to act as an RN, and I think many aides don't realize all that that entails. However, I respect my CNA's and I know that they have one of the hardest jobs in the world, but NO ONE has the right to be rude or insubordinate. Unfortunately, most of the management teams I have seen won't dircetly deal with problems like these, whether they come from nurses or aides.
For some reason, it seems that it's only in the nursing field that things like this happen. I have worked in an office setting and things like this never happened. The bottom line is that we are here to help the sick and elderly, and all this nonesense just has to stop, but I don't think it ever will.
Life can be a b..ch, but reality is a bummer...stay offended...I will stay with the peace of mind knowing that my patient's will not be shortchanged or put at risk by UNLICENSED wannabees! Want to be a nurse???....go to school! CNA, PCA, ED Tech, etc is not a substitute. More importantly, bad behaviors and zero productivity, along with the whining, dissin', flat out refusal to do the job you agreed to do when you were hired is no longer tolerated in my world:(
sorry that your experiences with cna's made you so bitter. but using just a minimal amt. of intelligence and insight will hopefully negate your rigid stereotypes of ALL cna's. honestly, i have never heard anything so outrageously ludicrous. as i've seen crappy cna's, i've seen just as many crappy nurses. it comes in all forms.
And on Sunday- the tech that had my pager while I was at lunch blatantly didn't answer my pages, and I got sh*t on when I returned to having upset families! Anyone who does their job well in any capacity I have loads of respect for- and will help any nurse with any patient if they're helpful to me. What goes around, comes around. It irkes me that techs that do nothing but complain don't ever get spoken to about their laziness- bc people have such low standards for their job capabilities- yet when I and others who never sit and work hard ask for a little bit of help from other techs or certain nurses, we're looked at like we are incompetent! 
Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN
12,126 Posts
Perhaps part of the reason you had such a problem with your techs and/or CNAs might be the obvious disrespect you're oozing of. (and you've made it QUITE clear how little you think of CNAs, which, FYI no one said they were a "substitute" for nurses, where you pulled that one is beyond me)
You're not going to get respect, etc. when you treat ANY employees like crap (attitude included), no matter WHAT their job title is.
Even from your fellow RNs.