do you feel like the CNA's run the floor?

flasandy42 · Mar 7, 2006

I've always felt that good aides can makea floor run smoothly or break a floor. In fact, I felt more valuable when I was an aide...lol. The problem is that there usually just aren't enough aides on a floor. If one aide is taking vitals on 40 patients and then charting them...and trying to get them done before breakfast trays are there...it's almost impossible to get help from the aide. He/she is also giving out bedpans and running to tell nurses that a patient needs a pain med and other things! In the mean time...the nurses are asking for help pulling pts up so they can take their meds. I usually did my own vitals, but many of the nurses refused. Yes, teamwork is needed....but there have to be enough team members!

HappyNurse2005, RN · Mar 7, 2006

You know, I do what I can to help. If i'm in teh room, and pt needs to go to the bathroom, i'll help. Whether its ambulating to BR, using bedpan, or getting on BSC-I'll help.

But, if i'm in the middle of discharging an indigent immigrant, who can't read or write english, trying to explain to him how to get his free medications and how and when to take them and pt X wants to walk, yes, i need the aide to do it b/c i cannot stop doing what i'm doing. although it looks like i'm "just sitting there" it's because i'm working on his paperwork, etc.

WHat I especially dislike is when say, pt X needs something that an aide can do. Secretary pages the aide, she's busy doing whatever. I'm busy too. I am the one expected to stop doing what i'm doing and go get it done.

ahh......

can't we all just get along?

SharonH, RN · Mar 8, 2006

I worked as a nurse tech while I was in college. If there is one group in the hospital who does not run ANYTHING, it is the CNAs and they know it too. The occasional snide remark or the flippant look is the only power they have, and while it is quite annoying it really doesn't amount to anything. It has been 15 years since I was a tech but I have not forgotten how it felt and I have met many a tech who gave me attitude but I also remember what it was like to have to do all the crap work, answer bells, feed patients and you better look busy all the time because some busybody nurse was going to make it her business to see that you never rested especially if she didn't. So the answer is NO, it doesn't feel like the CNA's run the floor because I know better.

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Mar 8, 2006

If one aide is taking vitals on 40 patients and then charting them...and trying to get them done before breakfast trays are there...it's almost impossible to get help from the aide. Yes, teamwork is needed....but there have to be enough team members!

Good Googly Moogly !!! 40 patients? I'd be out of there. Where I work 12 is a large tech load. 5 or 6 to a nurse. Sometimes 4 is more than I can handle.

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Mar 8, 2006

I worked as a nurse tech while I was in college. If there is one group in the hospital who does not run ANYTHING, it is the CNAs and they know it too. The occasional snide remark or the flippant look is the only power they have, and while it is quite annoying it really doesn't amount to anything. It has been 15 years since I was a tech but I have not forgotten how it felt and I have met many a tech who gave me attitude but I also remember what it was like to have to do all the crap work, answer bells, feed patients and you better look busy all the time because some busybody nurse was going to make it her business to see that you never rested especially if she didn't. So the answer is NO, it doesn't feel like the CNA's run the floor because I know better.

I don't think the OP seriously meant she feels like they run the floor. Heck, even us nurses know we don't run the floor. It takes everyone working together. The question was more like it's hard to work with techs who are not cooperative in doing what they're paid to do. It makes it hard when you're trying to do your job and giving directions to others at the same time. I have enough to do to keep myself in line.

elizabells, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2006

In my clinicals ('cause I'm still a student, can't wait till I don't have to qualify everything with that!) I've worked with fantastic aides who have taught me more than the RNs, and also with aides on 1:1 observation who spent the entire day (and I do mean ENTIRE day) chatting on their cell phone outside the door of the pts room. I don't necessarily agree that CNAs can't run a floor - I've been on floors where nurses and aides told me that very thing. The point I guess I should really make (which is the point germane to the topic) is that no one should throw attitude at anyone, regardless of "rank", and understanding each other's jobs (ON BOTH SIDES) would help so much. In an ideal world all RNs would not avoid "aide's" work if they didn't have something else that only an RN could do, and all aides wouldn't assume that RN sitting down = RN with nothing to do.

SharonH, RN · Mar 8, 2006

I don't think the OP seriously meant she feels like they run the floor. Heck, even us nurses know we don't run the floor. It takes everyone working together. The question was more like it's hard to work with techs who are not cooperative in doing what they're paid to do. It makes it hard when you're trying to do your job and giving directions to others at the same time. I have enough to do to keep myself in line.

Yeah I think I have a pretty good handle on what she meant because I have felt that way myself. I've been frustrated by techs who seemed to do whatever they pleased while I was left to struggle with my job and theirs. I was merely trying to point out that despite that perception/feeling/whatever, you are still talking about a group of people who have very little in the way of power and you need to understand where they may be coming from, it might help in dealing with them. People expect amazing things from CNAs, do this, do that, be here, be there, and do it with a big grin on your face and for how much money? Nurses complain about getting treated like dirt by doctors and families but I see them turn around and do the same thing to the aides.

Just the other day I was at clinical and a tech got onto the elevator and her hands were full with supplies and she had the gall to ask the nurse standing at the buttons to hit her floor and the nurse glared back at her and said "What?!" and the poor tech backed down and said "Oops, I'm sorry" (with an apologetic smile) and reached over and did it herself. I should have cussed the hag at the controls out but being new to the institution I didn't want to make waves but I can imagine what a joy it must be to work for her on the floor, but I bet she tells anyone who will listen how lazy the techs are and how she has to make the lazy so-and-so's do their work. The other nurses have no idea how hard she is making their job for them.

Bala Shark · Mar 8, 2006

What I hate to see is that I am working very hard with a lot of duties and the CNA is sitting in a chair and talking to other CNAs or nurses...That really pisses me off...I know CNAs are important..They are my third or fourth hand..But sometimes, they piss me off..

tiffanycmt · Mar 8, 2006

reading all of these i can relate to both sides. I am a med tech and i also work as a cna depending on the day. When i'm doing meds and someone needs something simple like lifted up in bed,drink of water,blanket i go ahead and do it but sometimes i am caught up in my own work and am unable to help with the bigger tasks and it always makes me feel SOOO bad when i have to a. tell a resident i'll have to go find someone (although it usually does take two people to perform the task they are asking for)b. telling a aide so and so needs this when i know they are completely overwhelmed with EVERYONE needing something. Not to step on anyones toes this is just my opinion but i think that it would really make a difference if a nurse would work as a cna before being able to go to nursing school in nebraska it is that way. I think it would give them more of an idea what aides go thru and how phisically and mentally draining it can be at times. Granted meds and nursing duties are overwhelming as well. I just think it's important to help WHEN able and not to think like some ppl do "thats the aides that thats why i went to school" The facility i'm currently at the nurse are extremley helpful and i am very thankful for that. just my two cents Tiffany

Mirai Kangofu · Mar 8, 2006

I am working as a CNA while I wait to get accepted into nursing school, and I work with a few wonderful aides who love their jobs, love taking care of people, are sensible, have great work ethics and personalities, and are a joy to work with. They do run the floor in their own sense, as they get along very well with the nurses and are able to help (legally!) because they've been in the field for so long that they've picked up a few things. Such CNAs are worth their weight in gold, and I would trust these people with my own mother. Unfortunately, they are a minority. I work with too many who prioritize their own petty issues over their assigned jobs, and don't care that people's lives are in their hands. I'm not bashing on the CNA field, it's that I'm working in a nonprofit nursing home that's so desperate that they're willing to overlook the fact that they're employing potential perpetrators of negligent manslaughter.

CNA is a job which does not weed out enough people. Although you can't be stupid and pass a CNA exam, it doesn't teach you valuable life lessons. In high school and college, I learned many valuable lessons such as modesty, obedience, patience, having to grit my teeth and move on, good work ethics, diligence, prioritizing skills, taking responsibility teamwork, having a good attitude, empathy, and workplace psychology. I'm not saying that school is necessary for a good attitude. Some people never outgrow a middle school mentality and grow up thinking that the only way to survive is to attack others before they attack you, which turns into a very bad, very defensive attitude. These said people smirk at you when you ask nicely to help you transfer a patient, as to show that they're not "slaves" to anyone, yet loudly sigh, roll their eyes, and tap their feet to show that they're PATIENTLY waiting for you to make a bed for them. They never learn the value of "please" and "thank you," but expect those words to be used on them lavishly. They consider themselves victims to an unfair society, and deny all responsibility for their offensive actions. They bounce from nursing home to nursing home, either quitting out of bratty tantrums of get fired when they push the limits, and continue to abuse the fact that they cannot be easily fired.

CNA is a job that is taken out of necessity rather than choice. Many low-paying, low-skilled jobs are taken because they need the money and the jobs are available. Many of my coworkers are doing it because it pays better than McDonald's, and don't care that people's lives are depending on them. If a resident requests to have their briefs changed or to please help pull them on in bed, they treat them the same way as most people would treat a call button-mashing patient who demands filet mignon. I have nothing but respect for the people who love their job and excel at it. All too many act as if they're doing a HUGE favor for you by being there, even if they aren't doing anything and are all too happy to make your job miserable. It's a stressful job that underpays and understaffs, which guarantees bringing out the worst in people.

CNAs have a tough job, and we're caught in a Catch-22 that the majority of the nursing field is caught in. A quick CNA is more highly valued than a thorough CNA. I would never neglect to wipe feces and urine from someone nor leave them in a highly uncomfortable position, yet the ADON called me in and accused me of slacking, bad prioritization, and dependence on others (this has NOTHING to do with the fact that there are 50 residents and often only 4 CNAs). I've noticed that management tends to give up on difficult employees, as nothing can be done, so they nitpick on those that they can lay blame on. I care about the residents and take my job seriously, and while I'm flattered that they expect more from a future nurse, this is ridiculous. After a particularly bad shift, I called up my father and told him that I'd rather shoot him than put him in a nursing home. We proceeded to have one of the best heart-to-heart talks of my life, which was simultaneously morbid because we discussed our death plans.

I don't think that CNAs run the floor, but I do think that too many CNAs hate their jobs, make no efforts to conceal their feelings, and abuse the fact that management can't afford to fire them like they deserve. This gives them delusions of grandeur and invincibility like spoiled children get, and assume that they can do as they please, fail to show up on time or at all, give attitude, and slack off without repercussions. This is dangerous, as people's lives are in their hands.

Sorry for the rant. I'm working with someone who has repeatedly barked at me that she refuses to help me because I supposedly don't do my work, never mind the fact that I had to ask 3 times for her to pass out trays while she was flipping through the latest Mary Kay catalog and talking on her cell phone about "This little bi*** who thinks she's the boss who I'm going to give a piece of my mind to." I informed her to her face that I am always willing to assist her, and that if she could not prioritize her job over her petty animosities, I would have report such behavior to the DON.

I'm not saying that all CNAs are like that, nor that CNA is an undignified job. There are difficult people in every field and any educational degree. I know that nurses are busy, but just as I wouldn't mind rolling a patient on his side while s/he administers an enema, I love nurses who can take 5 seconds to help transfer a heavy resident, or simply a "thank you." I once worked with a nurse who flagged me down from the hall to help another CNA transfer a resident. The nurse stood by and barked orders. The resident is a former nurse, and commented that the nurse COULD be helping out, but the nasty nurse simply retorted that it wasn't her job.

AMARTIN1 · Mar 8, 2006

You guys have aides? I can't believe there is a world out there with such a thing :lol2:We've been begging for some help on our busy stepdown unit and there has bee someone "hired" for the job. If she/he is actually working, she must be a ghost. I haven't seen them yet :lol2: Amartin1

nurse_clown · Mar 8, 2006

write em up! i did that recently. i am the supervisor. i have the background training and i am able to do the whole job. but if they are there getting paid, it's my job to delegate tasks and make the whole show run smoothly. why pay them for sitting around with attitude?? yes, i got attitude and a psw refused to get a resident out of bed. why? because she was big and heavy and "we don' get her out of bed." well, this resident had to get out of bed to an appointment.

what did i do? i got other psw's to get her out of bed and gave this psw a written reprimand with a copy to put in her file. i only had to do that once. from that point on i got excellent teamwork from the psw's. yes they like to think they run the show but if the registered staff weren't there, they wouldn't have a clue what and how to do the clerical administrative tasks.

no you definatley should not be accepting the snide remarks. when i hear that, i saw "pardon me? are you having trouble with your assignment?" i'll explain to this one in particular that she is the only one who seems to have the toughest assisgnment but her reflief always gets the job done in a timely manner.

but on the other hand, i've proven my worth and skill and earned the respect of my staff. i rarely hear snide remarks and refusals. when i'm on shift they don't run the show. you have the training and part of the rn/lpn job is to delegate the tasks to run the ship smoothly. in the end, you will be the one left holding the bag.