FED UP CNAS!!!!

10ACGIRL · Jun 29, 2010

Why am I fed up? Well...
Short staffed all the time
Never have the supplies that I need
No one knows what teamwork is anymore
Tired of seeing lazy no good CNA's get paid for NOT doing their job and somehow keep their job
Residents being treated like lower humans
Nurses that don't appreciate a GOOD CNA that goes over and above their job duties
The pay just sucks for everything that we have to endure.
I think that just about sums it up for me. At least, that's all I can think of for now. Great thread BTW.

I know! That's whatI mentioned in my 2nd round of interview with a panel! I knew that they would ask me my strengths and my weaknesses, my response was even b4 they even asked was " My weakness is getting frustrated when I see others not pulling their share because it's the same as neglect for the patient> I got very positive responses that they liked that answer! :up:

Angel,LVNStudent · Jun 29, 2010

Just have to say I printed this out and posted it on my refrigerator last year.
It's that good.

What did u change your career to now?

10ACGIRL · Jun 29, 2010

What did u change your career to now?

Well with any luck by the end of this week, I will b a PCT (patient care tech) in the ICU of neuro. Plus I am also working on becoming a certified medical office assistant though Penn-Foster Career College online. This will help me whether I'm in a unit secretary position in a hospital or either a medical office clinic setting.

NM_CNA · Jun 30, 2010

Speaking of privacy curtains:

Our facility's beds are at an angle and are almost impossible to move around in-- especially when you have a patient in a wheelchair, a shower chair, and a lift in the room. There's no way I could close a privacy curtain (they only cover up the bed) to keep people from seeing the full monty when I'm transferring. Last year when State was here, several CNAs got "dinged" for not having privacy curtains closed for this reason. The state inspectors didn't knock when they entered the room and walked in on a resident on the lift.

It's also hard to have a privacy curtain closed when you have to give a bed bath here. You don't even have room for a tray of soap and water (unless the curtain gets soaked) with it closed. Why don't they move the curtains to allow for more privacy and add a curtain in FRONT of the door since no one seems to want to knock? We're not magicians here!

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Jun 30, 2010

Yeah. A small curtain in front of the door and another down the center of the room, wall to wall, would be nice. Ours are only big enough to go around the beds so anything that's going on in front of the door (which is everything, because that's where the actual open space is), can be seen by the roommate. Not to mention most of the rooms have a mirror on the wall so the roommate can just look at that and see what's going on. I don't understand why our curtains in the middle only go halfway through the room.

10ACGIRL · Jul 1, 2010

Yeah. A small curtain in front of the door and another down the center of the room, wall to wall, would be nice. Ours are only big enough to go around the beds so anything that's going on in front of the door (which is everything, because that's where the actual open space is), can be seen by the roommate. Not to mention most of the rooms have a mirror on the wall so the roommate can just look at that and see what's going on. I don't understand why our curtains in the middle only go halfway through the room.

I feel for both you CM and fuzzywuzzy! Ican only picture what your shift is like and you have suck it up with a FAKE smile with a burning up P.Oed self inside wanting to rage way too well!!! I just hope & pray that you girls have each others backs when the other tech is in need of and extra hand or back when it comes to a full bed bath! I know bcuz I was forced to bathe a 260 stroke patient by my lonesome and I hurt my back in the ambulation process and I got blessed out and told "you just didn't use proper body mechanics"! How on God's green earth can you use properbody mechanics when you have a patient like that and no one assist you in anyway!!

JessCNA2RN · Jul 1, 2010

To my fellow CNAs.....

Keep doing great work! I have worked in 3 diferent states over the past 6 years and have found that some CNAs don't care about their patients and lack even the slighest bit of common sense. Please don't let it discourage you!

Also, if you can deal with it emotionally, try hospice. Yes, its tough and yes every single one of your patients is going to die relitivly soon but it is rewarding. I work at a hospice where we have 4-7 patients during our 12 hours shifts and its a wonderful enviornment. I am able to take extra time to speak with and try to make families feel welcomed and cared for ALONG WITH my patients!! (I say families first because often is hospice the family needs more consoling than the patient.) It is an amazing feeling to be able to be with someone in their last days and to be able to provide excellent care both physically and psychologically.

I will say again it is hard and its not for everyone, but it can be so heart warming. In hospice you tend to get paid well and have less patients than a nursing home which is always nice. I recommend trying it out, maybe going for a per diem position and see how that goes. You'll either love it or hate it. :)

riotgrrl · Jul 6, 2010

i actually called the department of health on my facility today. our facility is short staffing us on purpose, all of a sudden 3 months ago they stopped using agency to cover cna shortages and our facility is 119 bed facility. we are doing day shift with 10-11 aides. we currently have 113 in the facility. they have it split into sides. if we have 11 aides side one has 47 residents and they get five aides. side two has 66 residents and we get six aides. so a side one has about 9 residents each while a side two aide has 11 residents each.

the problem is the acuity and the attention that the resident needs. we currently have a lot of hoyers...about 38 in house. we also have several residents that need to be 1:1 but aren't. we also have some very combative residents. and residents that are on 15 minute checks. we probably have about 10-12 combative residents that need more supervision that what they are getting. staff is getting very abused.

the fact that they are not calling in agency baffles me. and get this on day shift on july 4th we worked with SEVEN aides in the whole building. four on side two and 3 on side one. it was horrible.

the lady from doh said pa law is 20:1 ratio but that they will investigate my concerns based on the fact that i said care is being documented but not done properly and that residents are not being supervised closely enough and may cause harm to the residents. hell i'd even go as far as to say this is neglect because how can the staff watch the resident if there are only seven of us in house? seven of us is not right.

i need to figure out how to go about getting a petition started to get something changed about the state ratio for aide to patient. the doh also figures rn and lpns into that but i mean they DO NOT help or even if they help some they do not do as much as they should.

so glad i just found out my days as a cna are coming to an end i just found out i passed my EMT exam. but still this is not right for the residents!!

lovesierra · Jul 7, 2010

Well, now I'm absolutely terrified. Thanks guys. :-P

I'm going to take the CNA class this fall...and I know that I've got a 99% chance of working in LTC facility.

I mean, the people there...the patients...THEY'RE PEOPLE! They've all had hopes and dreams and crazy nights and loves and adventures...just like us...and the workers there are treating them like they're downer cattle?!

I've definitely become more of a bleeding heart since I had a kid. I don't know what I'll do if I witness mistreatment and cruelty like I've just read happens....

I gotta admit: I've never wanted to work in a nursing home. The idea has never held appeal for me. Hell, I didn't even want to go into nursing until the day after I gave birth to my daughter. (August 28, 2009. :-) But that's what I have to do in order to be admitted to further nursing programs.

I don't hate old people. Honest. I've just always had a hard time trying to relate to them...trying to have conversations with my husband's Grandma and Grandpa in itself is difficult, because you have to yell at them so they can hear you. And his Grandpa is dying (nearing the end now) from lymphnoid cancer, so all he talks about is dying now. Its very hard for the whole family, not just me.

I hope I don't sound like an a-hole now.

Did anyone else have similar feelings towards the elderly? Did you find your feelings changed?

I should also mention that my goal is to work in a Mother-Baby Unit in a hospital.

wishinguponastarLPN · Jul 9, 2010

Well, now I'm absolutely terrified. Thanks guys. :-P
I'm going to take the CNA class this fall...and I know that I've got a 99% chance of working in LTC facility.
I mean, the people there...the patients...THEY'RE PEOPLE! They've all had hopes and dreams and crazy nights and loves and adventures...just like us...and the workers there are treating them like they're downer cattle?!
I've definitely become more of a bleeding heart since I had a kid. I don't know what I'll do if I witness mistreatment and cruelty like I've just read happens....
I gotta admit: I've never wanted to work in a nursing home. The idea has never held appeal for me. Hell, I didn't even want to go into nursing until the day after I gave birth to my daughter. (August 28, 2009. :-) But that's what I have to do in order to be admitted to further nursing programs.
I don't hate old people. Honest. I've just always had a hard time trying to relate to them...trying to have conversations with my husband's Grandma and Grandpa in itself is difficult, because you have to yell at them so they can hear you. And his Grandpa is dying (nearing the end now) from lymphnoid cancer, so all he talks about is dying now. Its very hard for the whole family, not just me.
I hope I don't sound like an a-hole now.
Did anyone else have similar feelings towards the elderly? Did you find your feelings changed?
I should also mention that my goal is to work in a Mother-Baby Unit in a hospital.

Actually yeah I felt the same way. All of my grandparents died before I was born or when I was very young, so I didn't have much experience with the elderly. I am a nursing student and work as a CNA, at first I was a little uncomfortable with trying to make conversation. I did great as far as skills go, but conversation was difficult. Now after 6 or so months I feel completely comfortable with my patients and love them dearly! So, I guess like everything else, you get used to it and adjust! Good Luck

tlawsoncna · Jul 12, 2010

We've got the same problem with CNAs not answering all the call lights that go off. We've had CNAs tell other CNAs that the call lights aren't theirs.

Does anyone ever have CNAs bossing other CNAs? There are a few CNAs who boss me around and override my supervisor's requests. Such as feeding my residents. I've got four and they think that their residents are more important than mine.

There's this one CNA who tells lies behind my back. She runs to the DON and our supervisor constantly to complain about me. Well, when I reported her to the DON for refusing care, I'm retialated (Spelled wrong I know) against by the same supervisor. I'm coerced by this CNA who lies. She threatens to go to the DON if I lie which I don't. I'm not a liar and I know what I heard.

Then there's this other CNA who thinks I've got 'beef' with her. She argued with me for telling these two other CNAs that I was feeding on another hall. She argued and reported me to my supervisor again. I feel like an outcast and they've labelled me a liar. So now I'm afraid to report changes in skin or conditions because they think I'm lying to them. I'm being discriminated against because I have an undiagnosed learning disability. I'm not stupid and do my job very carefully. I may be slow, but I do my best. I feel like I'm alone here at times. There's only a few CNAs who really know what I feel like. I wonder if there's any other CNAs out there that have the same issues I have.

I would leave, but the economy and job market's terrible. How can I find another job in this economy? If these people would concentrate on their jobs instead of picking on someone who works hard, they would get their jobs done. I haven't been getting any breaks or lunches for that matter. I'm always interrupted. So I don't take a break or a lunch. Perhaps the DON should know about that as well. I don't even do my monthly inservices. I have to wait until someone who watches the hall to do so.

Jenny_07 · Jul 14, 2010

I am so sick and tired of going to work and having to change and toliet all of my Residents because the shift before me was in too much of a rush to get out of work on time. (God forbid you do any work while you are at work). I am tired of having to pay out of my own damn pocket when we hardly get paid at all to buy some decent Shampoo and conditioner for my Residents the home wants to be cheap and buy that all in one crap that never works or drys out the skin and scalp. I am tired of watching my Resident freeze in the shower while i have someone run around to find the nurse cuz the home is too cheep to invest in bath blankets. I want a dang hoyer lift that actually works and i don't have to run around the home to find another to come back and find that all the other aids have ran into rooms or are magicly busy. I want co-workers who actually works and helps you when you need help cuz when they need help they come to find you and you say no or your too busy they throw a fit like a child. I think it's sad that the residents pay so much money to stay in these homes to recieve proper care, but never receve it because the home wants to be cheep and spend the money to over pay the head honco's while the worker bee's bust they butts for nothing. All i ask for is to be able to give my residents the care and services that they pay soo much money for.

Ok thats my rant for the week.