FED UP CNAS!!!!

Butterfliesnroses · Jul 25, 2009

Had a rough night last night. A lady was cussing me out and using threatening language. I reported to the nearest nurse. She said too bad, you still have to take her out to smoke, it's her right! I said so the resident can talk to me however she wants. She said yep. then asked resident why she cussed me out. I don't know it just made me feel low. Like if she'd been cussing at her (the nurse), then the resident would have needed to go cool down in her room for 10 minutes, because that is protocol when a resident is being verbally abusive/combative. But because she cussed at me, how silly of me to think that was wrong. I'm just an aide, I'm the lowest life form anyways, so what does it matter if a resident is threatening me. I start nursing school in September and I don't ever want to make an aide feel how this nurse has treated me. She's done other things like chew me out right in front of a resident, yet when we say something to her about how she's doing something she demands we talk in private. Gee that's pretty funny considering 5 minutes ago you thought it was okay to berate me up and down in front of said resident. I love my residents to pieces and have a really strong bond with them, but it's some of the other staff. Nurses that yell at me like I'm nothing, other aides who won't do anything, housekeeping who won't leave us garbage bags, but won't stock them either.

qhjumper · Jul 25, 2009

LOL right! Sometimes it sucks! I'm not sure that I could be an aid forever but they are very important, afterall they do the majority of the primary care for patients. Can't we all just get along! I think it really shows who cares and who is just getting a paycheck. I know for a fact that being an aid will for sure help me to be a better nurse!

njadreamer · Aug 6, 2009

Where do I start !!!! I agree with what everyone is saying. If I quaoted everyone it would be nothing but quotes !! But the one that really gets me is there is no RESPECT !!!!! I'm now in pre nursing and when I become a nurse I will NEVER NEVER NEVER be disrespectful to ANYONE !!! I feel aides are the backbone to nursing. I would say majority of the nurses are good to me. But the ones that arn't I would love to slap some sense into them !!!!!

njadreamer · Aug 6, 2009

Oops !!! sp mistake in last post. Next time I will proof read it.

asun21ta · Aug 7, 2009

I have so many pet peeves, I don't know where to begin. Working at an LTC can be very stressful. The top complaints I had were:

1. When I used to work 3-11p, it wasn't uncommon for me to walk in at 2:50p and they would be paging me to come clean someone up. I know 7a-3p has it bad, but could I at least clock in first?? It's not like they would actually pay me overtime for clocking in early!

2. Demanding family members. I have said it time and time again. I simply cannot stand pesky family members. They are the ones who put the call light on for everything. They stand in the hallway and look for you until they find you. They act as if you don't have other patients to care for. They think that when their loved one needs you, you are supposed to STOP what you are currently doing and come to their beckoning call. Not the way the real world works when you have 15-20 residents to care for.

3. Being resposible for so much at once. Another person said it so right. Housekeeping should tidy the room and make the beds. Nurses should do their own vitals and dietary should drop off and collect trays to certain people. Why should I have to dress & wash 16 people, give 4 showers, make 16 beds, pass and collect 25+ trays, do changes every 2 hours, collect all 16 patients vitals signs plus answer to the nurses misc. demands and clean everyone's room in only 8 hours?? Something is seriously wrong with this picture. Can you figure it out? And they wonder why nursing homes always get hit with neglect cases! :smackingf

4. Angry, lazy nurses. Don't get me wrong, most nurses are a pleasure to work with and help out as much as they can. But then you have the others I mentioned. These nurses will spend 10 minutes trying to find you to ask you get someone a glass of water. The amount of time & energy it took for them to hunt you down they could have done the task themselves. The ones the always pages you to go clean someone or give someone tissues when they know you are already swamped. The nurse who looks for reasons to get you in trouble. You know, The nurse who writes you up for things totally beyond your control. In all acuality, they probably should have been written up for neglecting to help. I could go on. These are little things they could help you with but many refuse because they are an LPN, RN ect. I guess their degrees give them too much pride.

5. Lazy CNA's. They are always to first to finish. They get away with murder (not washing residents, not using the hoyer, leaving nasty linens on the beds, arriving to work very late). They tell the Nurse what to do. They are never around when they are needed. They are totally MIA-before and after their lunch break. They get the easiest assignments ALWAYS. It seems like they are either always at work or they are always absent. There is no happy medium with these types.

6. The pay. Unless you get lucky, the pay is usually very lousy for the amount of work you have to do. I remember some days I had barely enough money to get to work....you truly have to have a heart to work in this field. If your thinking you'll get rich, you are sadly mistaken!! In my case, bills had to get paid, having a heart wasn't enough. So I had to change my career a little bit.

7. Working short. Number 3 says everything.

ktgrl1004 · Aug 8, 2009

:up: Thank you SO much for this! You really hit the mark with all of your points. It makes a huge difference to not be alone in the daily frustrations. I wish I could post these comments on every floor of the hospital.

I have so many pet peeves, I don't know where to begin. Working at an LTC can be very stressful. The top complaints I had were:
1. When I used to work 3-11p, it wasn't uncommon for me to walk in at 2:50p and they would be paging me to come clean someone up. I know 7a-3p has it bad, but could I at least clock in first?? It's not like they would actually pay me overtime for clocking in early!
2. Demanding family members. I have said it time and time again. I simply cannot stand pesky family members. They are the ones who put the call light on for everything. They stand in the hallway and look for you until they find you. They act as if you don't have other patients to care for. They think that when their loved one needs you, you are supposed to STOP what you are currently doing and come to their beckoning call. Not the way the real world works when you have 15-20 residents to care for.
3. Being resposible for so much at once. Another person said it so right. Housekeeping should tidy the room and make the beds. Nurses should do their own vitals and dietary should drop off and collect trays to certain people. Why should I have to dress & wash 16 people, give 4 showers, make 16 beds, pass and collect 25+ trays, do changes every 2 hours, collect all 16 patients vitals signs plus answer to the nurses misc. demands and clean everyone's room in only 8 hours?? Something is seriously wrong with this picture. Can you figure it out? And they wonder why nursing homes always get hit with neglect cases! :smackingf
4. Angry, lazy nurses. Don't get me wrong, most nurses are a pleasure to work with and help out as much as they can. But then you have the others I mentioned. These nurses will spend 10 minutes trying to find you to ask you get someone a glass of water. The amount of time & energy it took for them to hunt you down they could have done the task themselves. The ones the always pages you to go clean someone or give someone tissues when they know you are already swamped. The nurse who looks for reasons to get you in trouble. You know, The nurse who writes you up for things totally beyond your control. In all acuality, they probably should have been written up for neglecting to help. I could go on. These are little things they could help you with but many refuse because they are an LPN, RN ect. I guess their degrees give them too much pride.
5. Lazy CNA's. They are always to first to finish. They get away with murder (not washing residents, not using the hoyer, leaving nasty linens on the beds, arriving to work very late). They tell the Nurse what to do. They are never around when they are needed. They are totally MIA-before and after their lunch break. They get the easiest assignments ALWAYS. It seems like they are either always at work or they are always absent. There is no happy medium with these types.
6. The pay. Unless you get lucky, the pay is usually very lousy for the amount of work you have to do. I remember some days I had barely enough money to get to work....you truly have to have a heart to work in this field. If your thinking you'll get rich, you are sadly mistaken!! In my case, bills had to get paid, having a heart wasn't enough. So I had to change my career a little bit.
7. Working short. Number 3 says everything.

sunkissed75, CNA · Aug 8, 2009

I am in Canada and am in my last month of school before I start work as a PSW (personal support worker-but from what I gather the job description/scope of practise is the same as a CNA) I can't believe how little you guys get paid. It's shameful. In Ontario, a PSW will make $16-$18/hr in LTC. What we do is so important...how can you put a price on taking care of a person in the most intimate of ways? You can't...but it should be more than a few dollars an hour. We are very important to the medical team. We are the first to notice problems with skin care, transfering, bowel or urinary problems, cognitive defincies, and overall health. It's a hard job but it's also rewarding...just not financially by the sounds of it if you're from the U.S. This is a profession that isn't recognized and taked as seriously as it should be.

CNANessa · Aug 8, 2009

I am fed up with my home health agency sending me on a 45 min. drive with no mileage reimbursement for hr. long cases!! I'm tired of telling them I want Mon-Fri cases, no evenings, no weekends, and them offering me cases that are the COMPLETE opposite of that! I'm sick of when they DO call me for cases, it's when I'm scheduled with a patient so I can't answer my cell phone, and then when I call them back after my shift, they say "oh nevermind we've already filled it!" and I'm fed up of only getting 15 hrs. per week for the last 6 MONTHS after having 1 of my permanent patients pass away and one of them being tranferred to a nursing home!! :down: :banghead:

pca_85 · Aug 8, 2009

I am fed up with my home health agency sending me on a 45 min. drive with no mileage reimbursement for hr. long cases!! I'm tired of telling them I want Mon-Fri cases, no evenings, no weekends, and them offering me cases that are the COMPLETE opposite of that! I'm sick of when they DO call me for cases, it's when I'm scheduled with a patient so I can't answer my cell phone, and then when I call them back after my shift, they say "oh nevermind we've already filled it!" and I'm fed up of only getting 15 hrs. per week for the last 6 MONTHS after having 1 of my permanent patients pass away and one of them being tranferred to a nursing home!!

Did we work for the same place lol? They make it seem like they have so much work and so many shifts, then it's like 20 hours a week. Very far away and very odd hours. Bath visits 2 hours away, of course no payment for mileage. They always have help wanted ads up.....wonder why no one wants to work there lol?

asun21ta · Aug 8, 2009

I had the same issues at the Home health agency I worked for. I guess they all have the same problems. They would always call me for a job when I was on a case. I would call them back 5 minutes tops....and they would tell me they found someone else! Sheesh...could you have least given me a few minutes to respond to your message?

CNANessa · Aug 8, 2009

Geez, it's daunting to think all home health agencies are like this! It's so frustrating... like tonight they have me going to *Saturday*,*Evening* (8pm), and for only *ONE* hour! (ends at 9pm). Ridiculous! AND it's a half hr. away to boot. Sheesh. :crying2: And it's not even a permanent case! There's a CHANCE for me to keep receiving shifts if everything goes okay, but it'd always be SATURDAY EVENING FOR ONE HOUR. ARGH!

asun21ta · Aug 8, 2009

I guess the HH Agency I work for must have had a lot of complaints. They will not send us to a job more than30 minutes away. They started this when the gas went up astronomically in price