Devastated and don't know what to do...

blwilliams10 · May 17, 2013

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I know the feeling of being laid off, I was laid off from a job when I was younger do to us not having enough profit margin. I promise you things will get better! You can only go up from this point.

You are right about the laundry that is unreasonable to want everything done by time day shift gets there since it does not start building up until after 5am. I don't think that is the reason that they laid you off, it could be any number of reasons, but at this point though I would try not to focus on it. That is a lot harder than it sounds, but I would take about a week before you start looking for another job to let you mind rest. Visit with some family and friends, enjoy a day at the park, pamper yourself; whatever is your cup of tea just allow yourself to decompress.

After that I would start looking around, you have some experience now so you will be able to be a bit more deceive when it comes to choosing a new place to work. I would get a list of the different facilities in your area and then if you go on Google you should be able to find reviews for them which will help when choosing. Higher rated places will generally have friendlier staff and work better as a team.

For your question about how to handle multiple residents I work night shift and get about 20 residents assigned to me. What we do is work as a team, there is me and 1 other aid. We combine are resident load and then work together to take care of tasks. We will each pass water on half of the hall, we will start on opposite ends of the building and work till we reach each other doing bed checks, we do the same for getting residents up in the morning and ready. Then with more combative residents and obese residents we go in together and perform our duties together. It really makes a difference when everyone works together. For those other CNA's that give you a hard time, try to ignore their attitudes and go in ready to work. This will show them that you are not someone who is going to give up.

You are not a loser or a failure!!! Read what you wrote yourself. You said that you are slower than those in have been in the field for years, that is to be expected. I work with one CNA who has been doing this for 20+ years, she is one the fastest people I work with. But it took her several years to get that good. If anyone ever gives you a hard time about being slow tell them that you were once new also.

I believe in you, you will be okay. Don't doubt yourself you can only go up from this point. There are greater things a head for you.

mvm2 · May 17, 2013

I am so very very sorry that this did not work ot for you. You seem to me that you have a heart of Gold and your heart is in the right place for being a CNA. So I would not give up. There is somewhere for you in the feild. You just have to find that right place. Have you considerd Home care? It is a lot like what you have been doing. You are one on one with your clients so it is not so crazy as LTC. Also retirment homes are good places to try as well when it comes to being less crazy. Just keep trying, and there will be something out there for you.

Marisette, BSN, RN · May 17, 2013

I think you have a good attitude. I would rather work with a CNA with good attitude than one with a ton of experience because skills can be learned with time,and practice. I'm sorry you lost your job, but don't give up. You will get another chance. Don't let others determine your worth. People can be mean, especially, if they sense any insecurity. Try to appear confident, and soon it will come naturally. Sometimes, the "fast and experienced" know little more than you, but are good at selling themselves to the boss. Whenever, you go out of your way to do something positive for residents, casually mentioned it during a conversation with the charge nurse or supervisor, but don't make it sound like your bragging. For example, "sorry for the delay but Mrs. Soap wanted me to help her find her glasses again, and I just can't say no to her." Sometimes, we have to work to get noticed. I don't think there is anyone, anywhere that has never been fired or"let go" so don't dwell on your job loss. Move on with confidence and you will succeed.

funtimes · May 18, 2013

There are many really good CNAs, and even RNs, who were horrible as new CNAs. Not that I'm saying you were horrible, but just that the job has a learning curve and sometimes it takes the right employer to make it through this period, because LTC is full of people who tend to make molehills of every mountain. I understand that the mentality is sometimes necessary to ensure these small problems don't add up into big problems, but as often as not this mentality probably creates as many problems as it solves.

I mean when management and staff are continually making a big deal out of crap like whether you used the precise amount of laundry detergent or whatever, that's usually a good indication that this isn't the best place to start out as a new CNA.

TurtleCat · May 19, 2013

Some people were suggesting to me that I should report them to the board of health for some of the conditions I observed while working there but I doubt I will mainly because, well, I don't want to be one of "those" people. You know which ones I'm talking about. The ones who, every time they lose a job or something else doesn't go their way, they decide, oh, they're gonna get their revenge and sue, report a place to the state, etc. Those sort of bitter, sue-happy people where everything is everyone's fault but their own. At the same time, though, I feel like the people telling me this had somewhat of a valid point, and here's why.

When I first discovered the place, I'd thought I'd found some sort of dream job. A CNA job where I only had 3 residents to care for? Unheard of! However, it seems like there's always a trade-off -- even if I didn't have to deal with the understaffing and seemingly impossible workload of the typical nursing home, there were other glaring problems. Namely, a chronic lack of essential supplies such as gloves, and other practices I found questionable. There were several shifts I was forced to work without any gloves on hand, and a few without even any hot water as well. The lack of gloves seemed like quite a health and safety concern to me, because like, that's one supply that you can NOT, and should NOT, ever have to go without in any sort of healthcare facility. You just... can't.

The last three shifts I worked over the weekend, there were no gloves and no hot water. I reported these problems as soon as they were discovered, but nothing was done about them. No one had even come in to see about the water problem. I had to boil water on the stove and pour it into a basin for washing up the residents in. I had to make do without gloves, washing my hands as thoroughly as possible w/ soap & water and also making use of hand sanitizer. On one of the shifts, one of the residents had a bad case of diarrhea and I was NOT cleaning that up without some sort of barrier. I took plastic bags from one of the drawers and wrapped them around my hands, while the entire time I washed her up she was grabbing at the bags on my hands and ripping them to shreds. I came this close to just breaking down and crying, but I kept reminding myself it's not the poor lady's fault, she has Alzheimer's, I certainly didn't blame her but I did blame the management who would make me work without such a basic and essential supply as gloves.

The whole time I found myself worrying that I had contracted, or was going to contract, some disease. Should I still be worried about this? AFAIK the residents didn't have anything infectious, they were mostly just Alzheimer's patients however I know there are still diseases you can get from contact with human feces even if the person in question is healthy. If I haven't shown any symptoms, am I likely in the clear or should I still go and get myself tested?

On my day off, my supervisor called me about the hot water problem and said it should have been reported immediately. I told her that I did call her as soon as I found out about it, and she admitted it was her mistake for not having done anything about it, but that if anyone asks, not to tell anyone. So basically, she admits that she was in the wrong but was instructing me to keep my mouth shut so that she didn't get in any trouble.

One thing about this place was that the woman in charge, the supervisor, was not an RN, LPN or even a CNA, or from a nursing background at all. She was actually a social worker and as such, she had a lot of practices and way of doing things that I found questionable coming from a nursing home background. For example, when I was working in the nursing home I was instructed to check on the residents every 2 hours and clean/change them as needed to prevent odors, skin breakdown, infection etc. and AFAIK this is the standard practice. However, when I first started working at this place I asked the lady in charge how often she checked or toileted the residents during a shift and she said twice. The shifts are 12-hrs long. Twice in a 12-hr shift doesn't seem like often enough to me?

Another thing was that when I first started, we were using wet wipes to clean the residents. However, after a while they complained they were having to replace the wet wipes too quickly and to use toilet paper instead. Um, OK... have you ever actually tried to use toilet paper to clean up an incontinent person? It doesn't work too well! Their logic was "What do you use to wipe yourself? Toilet paper." Yeah, but you typically aren't incontinent... BIG difference there. Trying to clean a big poopy mess off of someone with nothing but toilet paper is a pain and doesn't do a very good or thorough job. When I'd arrive for my shift and toilet the ladies, I'd often find they smelled and still had urine, feces and bits of TP still stuck to them. At the same time, I couldn't blame the aides before me since they were just doing as they were told. To get around it, though, what I usually did was use TP to get the bulk of it off and then use a warm, wet, soapy washcloth to give a really thorough cleaning and make them smell good. Again, in the nursing home, I was instructed that every time they had an accident, to wash them down thoroughly with a soapy towel to prevent any incidents of skin breakdown or the like.

The place was also extremely stingy about their supplies. I understand that they were a smaller operation than the typical LTC facility and as such, didn't have the money or resources to keep a constant stock of supplies; however, when it gets to the point where you're constantly having to work without gloves or other essentials, and being constantly scrutinized for how much of what you used during a shift, it gets a bit ridiculous. There were times I was actually grilled about what laundry or what supplies I used during my shifts and what for, etc. At least in the nursing home, they didn't seem to care how many or what you used of something as long as the job got done. This place just made a big deal out of every little thing, it seemed. In the nursing home, they didn't seem to sweat the small stuff so much as long as the residents were being taken care of, which IMO is how it should be. Patient care should always be #1, the other stuff is important too of course but should take a backseat.

I was also constantly called up on my off time during things that happened during my shift. Now, maybe I'm alone in this, but I kind of feel that generally, you shouldn't call up an employee on their personal time unless it's something important, like something that went wrong with a resident or if you need them to cover a shift, something like that. However, they'd call you about every petty little thing -- a good example of this was when they called me up about the guy's wool sweater. They also accused me of not drying the dishes when they were put up, and when I explained to them that I wasn't even the one who put up the dishes, my supervisor responded "OH, WELL, I'M GONNA CALL UP _____ AND TALK TO HER ABOUT IT" Of course I didn't say it, but my thought was "Really? REALLY? You're gonna call up an employee on their off time to yell at them for a couple of dishes not being thoroughly dried? Does that not strike anyone else as a bit petty?

I don't know, I apologize for this long-winded post... I just wanted to vent a bit, I guess. Right now I'm looking into going back to the LTC I was at before and I'm going up to the DoN tomorrow to talk with her about it. Working in LTC again is going to be hard but people tell me it does get better with time and as you get faster at the job. And I will get to do what I love, which is caring for the elderly.

TurtleCat · May 19, 2013

I also wanted to add that I am relatively new to the working world... I'm 23 and have only been working since I was 19. And I realize that this is something that's probably old news to people that have been working their entire lives... but it is kind of saddening to me just how little some employers care about their employees. They have their own agenda, and it seems like they'll toss you aside in a heartbeat for the next person that comes along that is more experienced or they think better suits their needs. And it makes me think, what if I didn't have a husband or second job... what if this job was my only source of income and the difference between having a roof over my head, or a bite to eat. I'd like to think that if I were an employer, I'd give employees a chance. If I felt there was a problem with their performance, I'd try and address the cause behind it and work with them before outright firing them; maybe they needed more training/orientation, or maybe it was a confidence issue and they needed more positive reinforcement, etc. Then again, I'm looking at it from the perspective of the employee, and not the employer; maybe the employer is fed up with trying to work with employees and it not working out anyway.

lmccrn62, MSN, RN · May 19, 2013

This is part of life. I was laid off due to reorganization after 20yrs on the job I was a nurse manager. I was devastated but I picked myself up and moved on. I am happy and can't focus on the why's its just life and you will too. Sometimes these things happen but life will open a new door for you. Good luck!

mvm2 · May 20, 2013

Oh wow I had no idea you were working without gloves. With that i'd say they did you a favor by letting you go. There is something better for you then that. I might be wrong, but if some certain people would know a place like this was having people working without gloves they would have a mess on their hands. For a side note i'd personally keep a box of gloves in your car for your own personal use if anything like this would happen again. I know it is easy to say then to live it sometimes, but try to keep your head up high and know somewhere there is a better job for you.

Marisette, BSN, RN · May 21, 2013

Sadly, many employers are there for the bottom line, that is, making profit. They don't care about the employees. After being fired or "let go", it's really hard to forgive ourselves. We think, if only we had done this instead of that, things would have worked out. Sometimes, it seems like a good idea to hold our employers accountable for their mistakes also. Your previous employer may be guilty of several violations, but it will be difficult for you to prove it. I worked in a place where the so called disgruntled employee reported the employer and "the authorities" came to inspect. But usually, the institution reported puts on a good show for awhile and all is forgiven. Personally, I think you need to forgive yourself and move on. Why not work part time, maybe 3 days or a couple hours daily at a long term care facility so you can gain more experience and confidence. It will be more tolerable if you work part time. When you improve your skills, time management, and confidence, you will be ready to move up to bigger and better things. Your on the right path because you completed your cna certification. But nurses don't learn everything in school. Keep working and learning, forgive yourself for any past imperfections and move on.

TurtleCat · May 21, 2013

Sadly, many employers are there for the bottom line, that is, making profit. They don't care about the employees. After being fired or "let go", it's really hard to forgive ourselves. We think, if only we had done this instead of that, things would have worked out. Sometimes, it seems like a good idea to hold our employers accountable for their mistakes also. Your previous employer may be guilty of several violations, but it will be difficult for you to prove it. I worked in a place where the so called disgruntled employee reported the employer and "the authorities" came to inspect. But usually, the institution reported puts on a good show for awhile and all is forgiven. Personally, I think you need to forgive yourself and move on. Why not work part time, maybe 3 days or a couple hours daily at a long term care facility so you can gain more experience and confidence. It will be more tolerable if you work part time. When you improve your skills, time management, and confidence, you will be ready to move up to bigger and better things. Your on the right path because you completed your cna certification. But nurses don't learn everything in school. Keep working and learning, forgive yourself for any past imperfections and move on.

Thank you for this reply. This was a really beautiful post.

LightX · May 23, 2013

Not all LTC facilities are so hostile. I work for a nursing home as a CNA and all my coworkers are wonderful and supportive. We are a great team.

It may not be the norm, but you can find a great LTC to work for. Dont be afraid to ask about the staff morale in an interview.