FED UP CNAS!!!!

allnurses Guide · Jul 16, 2011

omg!! we have "fine dining" at our facility, and if something happens when you're working in the dining room, its still your fault and it was your assignment. smh, well don't pick me to work in dining then. one girl got caught faking vitals. i think she should have been re-educated on taking vitals first... but if she did it again? she should be fired. that is a big deal. she was out the door quicker than a prostitute on the street, but a physical therapy assistant can be ambulating a pt with a gait belt and they drop her and she's rushed to the hosp with a broken leg, and its ok that is an unfortunate risk of ambulating pts and if everyone who had a pt fall got fired, there would be a precious few left. a pt doesn't get "dropped" while ambulating w/ a gait belt!. he still has a job. this healthcare field needs some real help.

i can see you are really frustrated and, trust me, i get why.

i am sick to death of seeing cnas get stretched so thin and then the powers that be complain about the quality of work.

you get beat down for everything and then it seems you can do nothing right.

i think we sometimes start to see demons where there are none, too. i think your comments are examples of that.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Jul 16, 2011

I have definitely noticed myself getting unreasonably defensive about everything lately.

cmm4ever · Jul 16, 2011

Just had a HORRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIBBBBBBBLLLLLEEEEE Day :mad: !!!!!!!!!!! Im switching positions soon...(really hope that goes well). Anyways, I thought it would be an okay day, since the floor wasnt that packed. They were going to float me :eek: (I just started by myself).., but ended up floating the lady that is always late. So I didnt even get to start my vitals on time, because they made me wait. There were only 2 of us. Then I get called all over. I got up to this one room with vitals, and had 3 after her still to do. I had to get her in the bathroom (big women), change bed, wash her, finally vitals. She came into the hospital because she had worms coming out of her legs!!!!!!!!!! So that put me even further behind The one nurse had to get the remaining vitals. 3 of the baths I didnt even get to do until after 1 and I was "supposed "to leave at 3. After all this in the morning, I try to get some stuff charted, because I was wayyyyyyyy behind. I go and tried to chart vitals, and nothing showed up that would allow me to chart them. I couldnt even pull from the filtered list. Thought it would be the one person, but it was for everyone! I couldnt chart anything all day!!!!!!! no adls vitals, baths, I's &o's etc. I didnt know what to do, and the nurses werent that helpful. I called the help desk twice, but noone ever resolved the problem! It better not be like that again tomorrow. The other girl had no problem charting. I told my manager when she was there, and she said to call the help desk again...and they never did anything! At the end of the day, the one nurse had 2 of my rooms, and she had to chart my stuff for the 3 patients. The other nurse, started doing the same thing after I told her I couldnt put anything in. After 2 people she told me to give her my worksheet and she would put them in. Hopefully there is everything she needs, but right now I dont care..it is ridiculous! and I better not get into trouble. I got out 45mins late. Oh yeah...the one nurse who seems to be the one to mention things lately and not in a nice way. She goes these rooms are a mess/cluttered. Im sorry, but not all the rooms were messy/cluttered.. I changed the dirty linen a bunch of times etc. Im sorry, but when you dont have time..you cant get everything PERFECT! My head is spinning. Cant even think straight when your there. Sucks. I better be getting paid for the extra time. Im sick of getting out late. I wish they would just take me off the schedule! Also...sick of noone telling me that there was a new admission(s) while you were away, The other aide didnt even get the admission vitals! Also half the time your just supposed to guess if there NPO GRRRRRRRR..!

vampcna · Jul 16, 2011

I agree with all the posts on this thread. It is sooo frustrating when I'm racing

to finish my final changes, and the lvn , who finished her med pass 30 minutes

prior, yells at me because a patient got out of bed by himself. It's like, seriously,

you tracked me down to complain that you had to help a patient back to bed? And can

we discuss the payrate for cnas. I live in Los Angeles( a very expensive city).

I make $9.50 an hour with a $.50 night differential. I've worked at the same facility

for over two years and when I asked for a raise I was told there is a payrate freeze.

This place makes money hand over fist but they can't afford raises?***

LaterAlligator · Jul 17, 2011

Coworkers: You're pregnant. You were trying to get pregnant. Congratulations! I'm happy for you. But not so happy that I won't care that you:

a) call out 2-3x a week, late enough in the day that no replacement can be found for your shift

b) show up for your shift, with your boyfriend waiting out in the parking lot (!!) for about 30 minutes, then insist you can't stop vomiting and leave, sticking everyone with yet another short handed 8 hours to go through.

c) show up for your shift, and stay the whole time, barely doing anything and sitting down and putting your head down at every opportunity.

Maybe you can't get fired for being pregnant, but how is it that you haven't gotten fired for all that crap??

Poi Dog · Jul 17, 2011

Coworkers: You're pregnant. You were trying to get pregnant. Congratulations! I'm happy for you. But not so happy that I won't care that you:
a) call out 2-3x a week, late enough in the day that no replacement can be found for your shift
b) show up for your shift, with your boyfriend waiting out in the parking lot (!!) for about 30 minutes, then insist you can't stop vomiting and leave, sticking everyone with yet another short handed 8 hours to go through.
c) show up for your shift, and stay the whole time, barely doing anything and sitting down and putting your head down at every opportunity.
Maybe you can't get fired for being pregnant, but how is it that you haven't gotten fired for all that crap??

I have a pregnant coworker who pulls a and c at least once a week. While I understand that she is pregnant and not feeling well, I do wish she would just stay home rather than come in and leave. She typically leaves at 1900 when it is impossible getting a replacement and leaving me to work the floor alone. At least if she called in a replacement would be found/mandated.

SC APRN, DNP, APRN, NP · Jul 17, 2011

I need to vent about two nursing students. These students attend a school that does not have a good reputation in my area. I always assume you get out of something what you put in, so I would never judge.

Until a month ago I had two jobs, one was 64 hours a week, I ended up with maybe 3 days off per month. I have a home and a daughter I raise with no help. I have been in the military and traveled to all the wonderful places they like to send us.

I am out of the military (until school ends), I only work 32 hours a week now, I will have 3 days off per week. To me that is a huge break!!! I have also made the Dean's list 5/6 semesters with this work load. I don't know how I do it but I just want it bad enough, so I keep going.

Well my vent comes from a pair of students, that were listening in on a conversation I was having with a nurse during a quick coffee break at the desk. Both students hadn't done anything for about 5 hours except hold up the desk. Nobody said a word?? With my military background I had to bite my tongue. They even came and told a nurse that a pt wanted help to the bathroom. "Ummm you are 3rd semester students you can do that"! They can't even make a bed? So the nurse asks when I start 3rd shift and school. The students chime in with "You can't work four nights and go to school", not knowing all of my pre/co-reqs are done. Not knowing what I am capable of, assuming I am as lazy as they are. I was mad, and I ran my butt off that day. The other students with them were fabulous and helped so much. So I won't blame the school, but their CI needs new glasses, or a clue.

I really hate it when lazy people tell me what I CAN and CAN NOT accomplish.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Aug 8, 2011

This is a really long rant and I don't expect anyone to read the whole thing. But this is what this thread is for, right?

I work REALLY hard. Every day, my people are washed properly. They're nicely groomed and their rooms are tidy. My residents are always changed and repositioned on time and even the completely incontinent people on lifts get to sit on the toilet at least once a day unless the other CNA I am working with adamantly refuses to assist me with that (even the "totally incontinent" people usually poop on the commode if you make the effort to put them on). I go to my lunch break on time, without leaving any of my residents in bed for the other CNAs to get up while I'm gone. Nails get cut, mouth care is done, butts are washed after incontinence, vitals are done and not made up, etc. I go out of my way to jump in and help other aides with whatever they need be it assistance with a transfer or toileting their residents while they're busy. When people put things off continually, hoping that somebody else will do it, I'm that somebody. I know for a fact that most of the people I work with don't get nearly as much stuff done as I do in a day. With some people it seems like it's for lack of trying, and for others it's due to lack of common sense, or because their priorities are simply different.

I know that in other facilities where the ratios are more extreme, this would be impossible. I'm not trying to say that I'm perfect because I'm absolutely not. I just break my neck trying to get all this stuff done, because I'm completely neurotic. I don't do absolutely everything by the book and I'm very organized and I stress myself out a lot. There are a few other people at my job that do the same amount of stuff that I do, so it's not like I'm super-aide or something, I just work! Other people I work with will spend all morning getting people dressed, which is fine but that means they don't get changed or repo'd again until the afternoon. I don't let that bother me because at least those people are focused on care- that's what I mean when I say their priorities are different. I can't get mad at the scatterbrains either. But then there are a lot of other people who wash everyone up pretty fast and do nothing with the extra time but take extended breaks and goof off. Then, because they didn't bother to change anyone all day, everyone is sopping wet at the end of the day and it takes us FOREVER to get our rounds done. Then, things that I had planned for the "free time" at the end of the day (usually it's nail care), get pushed off. :mad:

What kills me is that these lazy people never get in trouble for anything!!! Last week I didn't get to brush someone's teeth until it was almost lunchtime. I didn't feel too bad because back in the day when this lady was able to brush her own teeth she never did it until before lunch anyway. I go in there to get started and an alarm starts going off and of course none of my lazy coworkers who were standing around at the desk got up to get it, so I did. 10 minutes later a supervisor made me feel like a total jerk because i didn't do this lady's teeth yet. She acted like I wasn't planning on getting it done at all. Half the girls I work with NEVER do teeth and they're the ones that are clearly standing in the hallway or at the desk talking. No one says squat to them. I don't get it. They don't do teeth, they don't do nails, they lie on the ADL sheets and say that people were wet or dry when they didn't even check! If someone is wet or FOS after last rounds it's like pulling teeth getting them to help you change them because they're "done" for the day and 2nd shift should have to do it. What the frigg?

I feel like I get hammered for every little thing just because I don't giggle and suck up to the supervisors. That's just not in my nature. I'm very shy and it takes me a long time to get to know people and open up to them and I never have contact with the supervisors so I'm not the same wisecracking person that I am with my coworkers. Sucking up is fake and annoying! Why can't they just leave me alone and let me do my job? And while we're at it, why keep validating the slackers? I know the job is hard and things come up. No one should be expected to be perfect or to work like an indentured servant every minute of every day. I'm the first one to get annoyed when the higher-ups find silly things for people to do just to make us work for the hell of it, but come on! Everyone would be a lot better off if some of these people actually made an attempt to do something more than take smoke breaks and sit around dawdling and watching TV. It's not called "going to work" for nothing! Anyone I work with that actually works is also at the end of their rope. I don't want to end up a naggy, bitter person that won't help out her coworkers. But I feel like I'm on my way there.

ArmyWife11B · Aug 15, 2011

Coworkers: You're pregnant. You were trying to get pregnant. Congratulations! I'm happy for you. But not so happy that I won't care that you:
a) call out 2-3x a week, late enough in the day that no replacement can be found for your shift
b) show up for your shift, with your boyfriend waiting out in the parking lot (!!) for about 30 minutes, then insist you can't stop vomiting and leave, sticking everyone with yet another short handed 8 hours to go through.
c) show up for your shift, and stay the whole time, barely doing anything and sitting down and putting your head down at every opportunity.
Maybe you can't get fired for being pregnant, but how is it that you haven't gotten fired for all that crap??

Pregnant don't make you criple. They can still atleast try to be useful....such as helping with feedings more....pushing residents back to their rooms...re-filling waters...tidying up rooms??? But what do you do?? ohhh okay just go ahead and sit there doing nothing...."I'm pregnant...I can't do that.." Let me say it again "Pregnant doesnt mean you're criple!"

Poi Dog · Aug 15, 2011

Stop treating the CNAs like we have the brain of an amoeba. Oh wait, amoebas don't have brains.

y&rfan84 · Aug 17, 2011

I've been disrespected ever since I took on my first CNA job 8 months ago. Im so tired of people getting mad because I ask for help with the hoyers. When among their clique they happily help eachother! I get talked about behind my back constantly. I try to do as much as I can by myself without bothering the other aides. And that's not enough! Im still labled badly! It's like a high school where I work. And no it's not just me. Another new aide who was hired a few months ago they treat her like crap too. They eagerly report her and say awful things about her to our supervisor. Im ready to just look for another job that is less stressful. Im so fed up I really dont want to work as a cna anymore. Another job in a different field sounds nice.

y&rfan84 · Aug 17, 2011

This is a really long rant and I don't expect anyone to read the whole thing. But this is what this thread is for, right?
I work REALLY hard. Every day, my people are washed properly. They're nicely groomed and their rooms are tidy. My residents are always changed and repositioned on time and even the completely incontinent people on lifts get to sit on the toilet at least once a day unless the other CNA I am working with adamantly refuses to assist me with that (even the "totally incontinent" people usually poop on the commode if you make the effort to put them on). I go to my lunch break on time, without leaving any of my residents in bed for the other CNAs to get up while I'm gone. Nails get cut, mouth care is done, butts are washed after incontinence, vitals are done and not made up, etc. I go out of my way to jump in and help other aides with whatever they need be it assistance with a transfer or toileting their residents while they're busy. When people put things off continually, hoping that somebody else will do it, I'm that somebody. I know for a fact that most of the people I work with don't get nearly as much stuff done as I do in a day. With some people it seems like it's for lack of trying, and for others it's due to lack of common sense, or because their priorities are simply different.
I know that in other facilities where the ratios are more extreme, this would be impossible. I'm not trying to say that I'm perfect because I'm absolutely not. I just break my neck trying to get all this stuff done, because I'm completely neurotic. I don't do absolutely everything by the book and I'm very organized and I stress myself out a lot. There are a few other people at my job that do the same amount of stuff that I do, so it's not like I'm super-aide or something, I just work! Other people I work with will spend all morning getting people dressed, which is fine but that means they don't get changed or repo'd again until the afternoon. I don't let that bother me because at least those people are focused on care- that's what I mean when I say their priorities are different. I can't get mad at the scatterbrains either. But then there are a lot of other people who wash everyone up pretty fast and do nothing with the extra time but take extended breaks and goof off. Then, because they didn't bother to change anyone all day, everyone is sopping wet at the end of the day and it takes us FOREVER to get our rounds done. Then, things that I had planned for the "free time" at the end of the day (usually it's nail care), get pushed off.
What kills me is that these lazy people never get in trouble for anything!!! Last week I didn't get to brush someone's teeth until it was almost lunchtime. I didn't feel too bad because back in the day when this lady was able to brush her own teeth she never did it until before lunch anyway. I go in there to get started and an alarm starts going off and of course none of my lazy coworkers who were standing around at the desk got up to get it, so I did. 10 minutes later a supervisor made me feel like a total jerk because i didn't do this lady's teeth yet. She acted like I wasn't planning on getting it done at all. Half the girls I work with NEVER do teeth and they're the ones that are clearly standing in the hallway or at the desk talking. No one says squat to them. I don't get it. They don't do teeth, they don't do nails, they lie on the ADL sheets and say that people were wet or dry when they didn't even check! If someone is wet or FOS after last rounds it's like pulling teeth getting them to help you change them because they're "done" for the day and 2nd shift should have to do it. What the frigg?
I feel like I get hammered for every little thing just because I don't giggle and suck up to the supervisors. That's just not in my nature. I'm very shy and it takes me a long time to get to know people and open up to them and I never have contact with the supervisors so I'm not the same wisecracking person that I am with my coworkers. Sucking up is fake and annoying! Why can't they just leave me alone and let me do my job? And while we're at it, why keep validating the slackers? I know the job is hard and things come up. No one should be expected to be perfect or to work like an indentured servant every minute of every day. I'm the first one to get annoyed when the higher-ups find silly things for people to do just to make us work for the hell of it, but come on! Everyone would be a lot better off if some of these people actually made an attempt to do something more than take smoke breaks and sit around dawdling and watching TV. It's not called "going to work" for nothing! Anyone I work with that actually works is also at the end of their rope. I don't want to end up a naggy, bitter person that won't help out her coworkers. But I feel like I'm on my way there.

There is a lot of that on my shift. There are 3 aides that really do it, and it's so annoying! They talk about our supervisor, but at the same time they are at the nurses station licking her butt. Makes we want to go in there and ring their necks and tell them to get back on the floor and work! Grrrrr!! :devil: