Department Wars

[mstearns09]

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.

[downsouthlaff, LPN]

This is not new to me. We've had those housekeepers who thought they new it all. Personally, I would never give any information about the residents care to a housekeeper. That's a hippa violation. The care of the resident is the responsibility of the nursing department. Housekeeping has no business knowing what is going on with a resident. That's a violation right there. Back a few years I was a janitor/housekeeper in a nursing home, then I became a CNA. Hahaha housekeeping only thinks there job is hard, most don't realize how hard ours is. I was there I know the difference. If I was you I wouldn't share info about residents care with housekeeping that's not legal. Report it to the DON and then the Administrator.

[mstearns09]

This is not new to me. We've had those housekeepers who thought they new it all. Personally I would never give any information about the residents care to a housekeeper. That's a hippa violation. The care of the resident is the responsibility of the nursing department. Housekeeping has no business knowing what is going on with a resident. That's a violation right there. Back a few years I was a janitor/housekeeper in a nursing home, then I became a CNA. Hahaha housekeeping only thinks there job is hard, most don't realize how hard ours is. I was there I know the difference. If I was you I wouldn't share info about residents care with housekeeping that's not legal. Report it to the DON and then the Administrator.[/quote']

Neither I nor the CNA targeted by the housekeeper disclosed any information to the housekeeper. What I said in the hallway to another CNA was quiet enough that the housekeeper had to ease drop to hear it. The housekeeper took it upon herself to read the information left in the resident's room by the lady who is our SSD and the housekeeper took it upon herself to tell us what we needed to do. Our DON knows I'm tight-lipped about resident care, I follow HIPPAA to he letter, and knows that I do my job above and beyond the call of duty. If I go to her about something going on, she knows that it is probably pretty serious.

[downsouthlaff, LPN]

I'm not in anyway trying to blame you for what is going on at your facility. But housekeeping purposely throwing away supplies, and trying to get you in trouble, that's serious housekeepers have an important job, there Job is maintaining a clean building. That's there only job. They are not supervisors. They are minumum wage workers there to clean the building. If this is the only facility you've worked at I assure you this is not the norm. They have no business looking at any care plans are anything like that, just a visitor wouldn't. Yes your DON is right, if they will get y'all tagged big time for things like that during a survey. It's time for y'all's DON or Administrator to put Housekeepong in there place. This would never fly at my facility I promise. If housekeepers want to do care, they need to get go to 75 hours training and become a Nurse Aide. It they want to run the facility they need to get the BSN and there Nursing License, or Bachelors degree and Administrator License. Until they do these things they need to keep there mouth shut, and clean the facility. I respect housekeepers jobs and know there important, and I treat then like human brings, but when they get out of place I don't tolerate that from them, or dietary workers for that matter, there their to support us, just as we're there to support the nurses, and that's the way it is. I would walk out of a facility on the job before i let housekeeping supervise me. I answer to the Charge Nurse, Nursing Administration, the Administrator and the Residents that's it.

[HM-8404, BSN, RN]

Maybe it's just the male in me but I would have to tell the housekeeper, If you're tired of being a mop jockey and want to do my job then get the training it requires, like I did. Until then you focus on the toilets and I will focus on the residents.

[funtimes]

There is always going to be more drama and scrutiny on day shift. There are more people around observing, from staff to management to family, so it stands to reason your going to be under the microscope more.

If you think about it housekeeping does have a pretty good window into the type of care residents are being given but I've personally never worked with housekeeping personnel that are actively trying to get CNAs in trouble. As if the CNAs dont have enough problems already.

Most of the ones I worked with in LTC were former CNAs themselves who were too old to take the heavy lifting and stayed on as housekeeping. But they were usually pretty sympathetic to the CNAs and if anything would stick up for them.

[Paws2people]

I am not understanding why housekeeping has the authority to tell you to do anything. Your job and their's are apples and oranges. They need to worry about their own duties. Just as you would never tell the nurse how or when to do her/his job, housekeeping cannot tell you how or when to do yours. I wasn't aware housekeeping went to school and had knowledge and a certificate on patient care... Lol.

[cbOmahaNE]

This is why I moved to overnights. I cannot comprehend why people in Nursing are such narcs. And between shifts it's worse. Instead of complaining about everything the evening shift didn't do before I get there, I just do it myself. I get the psychology behind it-Nursing produces a very competitive environment, but people are ridiculous. My advice is to document everything and always try to keep your cool.