Department Wars

Published

Little did I know that when I switched shifts from evening to day that I was walking into the proverbial fecal storm. I apologize now for the length of my post/rant.

I cannot believe how much animosity and bickering happens on our day shift, and I'm not even talking about among the aides! It seems we have at least seven people who are constantly looking for ways to get the aides working the floor, and sometimes the two of us who are in showers, in trouble. The worst are the housekeepers.

The housekeepers in my facility have it pretty easy compared to some places. They are allowed to ride the clock and they seem to constantly be searching for even the most minute detail that a CNA has missed. Forgot throw an empty package of briefs away and a corner of it is hanging out of a closet? They will report you for it. You can't even get a resident up and down to exercises in the morning without them running into a room to see if you left a trash can unemptied. They literally give you no time to go back and get the trash out of the room before they are trying to report you for not cleaning up after yourself.

Last week, a resident who has been sick for almost a month was wrapped up in a blanket in her bed. I hadn't done anything with the resident that day as it wasn't her shower day. I happened to be walking down the hallway to get another resident when one of the housekeepers snidely said to me, "Are they going to get Resident A up or are they going to leave her in bed all day?" I replied simply, "I don't know. I've been in the shower room all morning." I was being completely honest. And, really, how was I to know if she hadn't already been to breakfast and was brought back to her room and put in her bed because she didn't feel well?

Today was almost the final straw. I was finishing a shower on another resident when a fellow CNA popped in to see if I could get a resident in the shower due to an appointment that was sprung on us at the last minute. One of the housekeepers had hunted her down to tell her that she needed to get the resident up and down for a shower because the resident had an appointment! I was completely flabbergasted. The appointment and time were written on a small card that the housekeeper would have had to actually search to find on the resident's counter. The fellow CNA merely said, "Okay, thanks," and went on about her business. I went down to get said resident and she was taking a breathing treatment. I told her I would come back in 10 minuntes to get her for her shower. Ten minutes passed and I went back only to find that she had a guest in her room. I chose not to bother her and told another CNA I would be be back to get the resident after I showered someone else. The same housekeeper then told me that I needed to get the resident up and showered for her appointment. I looked at her, tossed my hands in the air and said that she needed to take it up with the nurse. The housekeeper had heard me tell the other CNA that the resident had a guest. I would find it rather rude to interrupt their conversation just to give the resident a shower. I reported what happened to one of the nurses and she agreed that I had done the right thing.

This department war is getting out of hand and we've expressed our frustrations to our DON who is usually good about going to bat for us. I just don't know if it's worth getting involved in it. I'm fed up with them trying to dictate to us how to do our jobs when we're doing just fine.

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:( Maybe start checking all of the soap dispensers, to make sure they've been filled, and the paper towel dispensers too. Then again that might make it worse. That really sucks.
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This situation is so bizarre. I wish I would explain my duties to a housekeeper. They are not trained to do patient care and really have no room to question what an aide is doing. You know HIPAA allows you the aide to tell them to mind their business (in a nice manner) due to the fact they are not providing any care; " its not your business, it's none of your business." Just remind them to clean the dining room, shower room or something lol. But, I would pay a visit to the DON if I were you. That way this situation can be handled accordingly.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
:( Maybe start checking all of the soap dispensers, to make sure they've been filled, and the paper towel dispensers too. Then again that might make it worse. That really sucks.
Pick a room where both pts are unable to use the toilet. I mean they are incontinent and would NEVER EVER use the toilet, like they're bedfast, hoyer lifted, and turning & repositioning required by nsg q2.

Now keep a vigil on the toilet bowl to check for the scum that settles at the bottom of the bowl when it's not brushed. I guarantee that you may be in for one MAJOR surprise. Then take action when you have enough evidence...

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:( Maybe start checking all of the soap dispensers, to make sure they've been filled, and the paper towel dispensers too. Then again that might make it worse. That really sucks.

CHECK THE TOPS OF PICTURE FRAMES AND WINDOW PANES TOO IN THE ROOM FOR DUST!.........

Do it.

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But to stop the department war and not retaliate, I would talk to a nurse/nurse supervisor about the incidences and see if they can communicate the misunderstandings of duties of the housekeepers to the head of housekeeping. It may put a stop to it if their boss tells them to mind their own business instead of you telling them to.

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Specializes in retired LTC.

Sunflower is right - the war DOES have to stop! Playing tit-for-tat only perpetuates the war and will further antagonize hskpg.

We are the professionals - and we do need to better solve the problem.

But it is sooooo hard to take the high road at times!!!

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Ummmm....just ask them if they are qualified or willing to do your job for you since they can't focus on their own duties. Sorry, but if they brought that crap to me, then I would retaliate with a smart comment like, "The bathroom floor needs to be mopped...indefinitely. " or "clean up on aisle six". Eventually they'd get tired of my mouth, and move on to someone else.

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Sunflower is right - the war DOES have to stop! Playing tit-for-tat only perpetuates the war and will further antagonize hskpg.

We are the professionals - and we do need to better solve the problem.

But it is sooooo hard to take the high road at times!!!

And the retaliation is exactly what happens when we report something not being done. Rarely do we report something that they are or are not doing. The last time one of the aides reported something was months ago and they were sitting in a resident's room, reading her newspaper and watching TV. One of our charge nurses has turned them in for doing that and sitting in the break room for the first 30 minutes of their shift. They know we aren't the ones reporting them but they take it out on the aides thinking we are the ones reporting them. The fellow aide who got yelled at by housekeeping reported what happened to the DON. I'm waiting for the backlash.

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This is one of the most bizarre things I have ever heard of. As Erikson would put it..."Identity versus Role Confusion."

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Why on earth is housekeeping telling you what to do??????

Posting from my phone, ease forgive my fat thumbs! :)

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Why on earth is housekeeping telling you what to do??????

Posting from my phone, ease forgive my fat thumbs! :)

The administration refuses to crack down on it. She is too busy trying to find things the nursing department isn't doing instead of managing the rest of the building. They are allowed to have power and influence they should not have. We are a very small facility; I think essentially, the housekeepers have been allowed to run rough-shod over everyone and now that there are some of us who won't allow it to happen, they aren't happy. If I have to take it up the food chain I will. The administrator seems to like me so I've got one foot in the door and I am pretty sure that the nurse who has turned them in twice would go in, too. Just as a side note, I have never told any of them how to do their jobs. I'm waiting for the day that they cross a line that causes major issues. I know for a fact that the DON has concerns that they will get us tagged during survey.

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