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

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Mar 9, 2006

that nurse should have been written up the very first time she said that.

Well, she was, but the DON was at a conference for a couple of days, hence the delay in firing lol.

GLORIAmunchkin72 · Mar 9, 2006

Some CNAs walk past lights and expect somebody else to get them. I don't mind taking time away from my medpass to help an aide who is working hard even if it gets me behind. But what's bad is when you help them and they get an attitude. I feel like saying "Why don't I just quit my job and do yours" but I don't. Have to keep the peace.

I am a new nurse of about 2 years and work on an acute med-surg geriatric floor. It is an 18 bed unit and we work with 3 RN's and 2 CNA's. THough this ratio seems fair, myself and the other nurses constantly feel like we are doing everyones work. When we do ask for extra help from the aides, it is usually accompanied by an attitude or a smart remark. The nurses on my floor feel as though it is unfair that we have to sacrifice our nursing time with our patients to do aide work. (We do perform these duties anyway, but can not do both jobs for the whole shift). The aides seem to do oly the minimum to get by per their job description. Has anyone else encountered this issue?:angryfire
PS: When this issue was brought to attention to administration, we were told that they cant change anybodys personalities and do the best we can.:uhoh21:

postmortRNhere · Mar 9, 2006

I don't mind being called "Nurse" instead of "Registered Nurse"......a little humor :lol2: . I like to pick and choose my battles and this is not one. I have been called all kinds of awful stuff by patients and do not take offense. I usually reserve my discontentment for much worse.

bethem · Mar 9, 2006

Hmmm beds should be changed daily?

Yup. Well, everywhere I've worked or been on clinicals, which included the worst aged care facility I have ever seen. They wouldn't shower someone, even if they were soiled, if it wasn't their "shower day", but at least they would change the sheets daily, soiled or not.

Different country, though. Our housekeeping will wash the floors and bathrooms, but the beds are our business. When someone is discharged we have the "bedmakers" who come and wipe down/sanitise the beds, but otherwise, that job is all mine, baby!

bjs54321 · Mar 9, 2006

I am going to respond based on the topic without reading the other responses. Cna's run the world! Once I realized that...my life became much easier. Ya, for sure...an RN who has no authority in some respects.....whatever. Only the pts suffer. I hate to go along with it....but there is much less stress in my working life if I just let cna's rule the house.

Mirai Kangofu · Mar 9, 2006

First since it is fresh on my mind , beds are stripped cleaned and sprayed daily, just not by me. That is in the category of housekeeping. The only time I would have to do a complete is if I didn't do my job and check my pts. But since I do my job I have never had to do it and don't anticipate it. And again I don't like being called and aide, just because of what I said before, if you have to call me something either call me by my name or call me a CNA, just like that those three letters. I never said I had a bad attitude because I don't. But I do work the way that I see fit, and since I know that I do my job, I don't have the time or energy to waste on someone telling me how to do my job. For example,when I say that my work is done you could walk down my floor ( I have 16 rooms, and 30 pts minimum on a normal day) and no that wasn't a typo, and you will find each on of my pts with everything they need done, done. Notice I didn't say everything that they want, but everything that they need. Needs in my book in this situation are, being clean, fed, having cold fresh water right there, to pick up an drink, and laying down, or sitting in a comfotable position, and comfortable lighting and call light at reach. A want just to name one is telling me to do something that can wait. Anyway, that as to say I do my job, and I know I do it well. I am not afriad to speak my mind and will do it in any circumstance. if I see my nurse sitting on her butt watching TV, while on the phone with her mama, and eating a snicker, while a ligh is going of, and the pt is requesting for the nurse to come down, well guess what I'll tell her about herself. I won't be an errand girl and get it for her. But as I tell all if it isn't being done right do it yourself, and I may just go get the light, but I will let her know about herself. I'm no mean, or bad spirited, but I am assertive and firm. In any industry esp in healthcare you must be this way. Just like Docs will try to run over Nurses Nurses will try to run over CNAs, but only if you let them. I cut it off before it even starts. I don't think that I am the best CNA, but on my hall it is my way as far as MY duties go. Having that way cuts down on confusion. I am not running up and down the hall like a chicken with it's head cut off. I am not a follower never have been and never will be. And no one could ever attemt to intimidate me into being one, so no matter how much leadership training a person (not just a nurse) has, it won't matter. When in comes down to it the only one you can truely "lead" is yourself, and I live just like that. Think about it if more people were more concerned with their own hand insted of in the left hands business, how much more productive "THAT PERSON", would be. And when you are doing do hat you have to do, then maybe you can give me a few pointers. I am not a difficult person to work with at all actually I am very friendly, as long as you do your job and leave me be to do mine. It's quite simple. It is not always about "copping" an attitude, but I ill let no one think that they can just attempt to belittle me, because of the letters behind their name. When it comes down to the come down, we are all people, no one is superhuman, therefore I don't care who you are and what you have to say to me if I sniff out an "I'm this or that so i am superior to you attitude", from a nurse, doc, teacher, ect just like I would treat anyone else. A person's profession does not demand respect, not from me, a person does. So do you and what you need to be done, I'll do the same and we will be in perfect harmony. All that to say yes I can talk back and I do, if a person is trying to "handle" me, that is what they are asking for, period. Now, there are people who supposedly do their very best, and look how below average the world is, so my doing the minimun is pretty good. Look st it like the our world and our country better yet are full of people doing their best right? Well, tell me why my people in my city ( New Orleans), and still not taken care of. Tell me why my people in my city and my home had to be full of at least 10 feet of water for days. Tell me why over 1000 my people in my city, including two of my family member had to drown, and die on the streets while the whole country (the richest one in the world mind you) was watching. I know that doesn't exactly relate but, it goes to show that many people doing their "best", doesn't have an effect on how great, average, or below average things are.

This sounds like a cynical, know-it-all attitude as well as problems with authority, mixed in with a bit of an entitlement complex. I hate my boss and my working conditions and can't wait for her to be replaced, but c'est la vie. I made a choice by taking this job. Just because I'm having a bad day does not mean that I'm going to make things hard for other people. Even if you're your own boss, you're always going to be working for somebody and following someone's orders. There's a difference between respecting authority and being taken advantage of.

Also, the lines, "I'm the type of person who speaks her mind," and "I do as I please and don't care what others think," are all to often an excuse for being the type to be deliberately offensive and bratty without remorse. It's as annoying as the people who say, "No offense, but (insert offensive line here)," in the sense that people excuse their own attitudes with that little disclaimer. It's hilarious how people who "speak their minds" can't eat what they serve when you use their same tactic back on them.

I also refuse to do another person's work if they are standing right there, and I refuse to be treated as room service (there's a princess at my nursing home who can walk very well and is active, as she only there for mental illness, yet she orders people to get her more sugar from the kitchen or get stuff from vending machines. She sucks up to the ADON and gets her way while people are sitting in their own feces and bleeding out of their skin breakdowns because she sucks up to the ADON and tattles on everything. She once pressed the call bell and complained the her trash can was moved to the other side of the toilet when she could have moved it herself! I told her that she could move it herself without much effort, and got a tongue lashing from the ADON. This is reason #3958 why I am looking forward to the new ADON), but I'm not going to prevent everything by becoming an ice queen. However, I am a nursing assistant. It's my job to help with the workload and help the nurses. Also, if I had a problem, such as today when I couldn't get a blood pressure reading from a resident with severe contractures, I'd want a nurse to help me. Yes, she was doing what was assigned to me and going the extra mile, but was I trying to take advantage of her? No! Vital signs were due at a certain time, and I had aready wasted 10 minutes trying to find other sites to use the cuff, and I was trying to prevent all of us from being penalized. Are the nurses really trying to get you to do their work, or are they trying to redistribute their heavy workloads so you can all go home on time? Also, as for extra help, I hope that you don't get any residents who require multiple people to transfer because I've noticed that people are a lot less likely to help you when you refuse to help them. I also hope that you don't expect any extra help from others period.

Is it honestly worth having full time prophylactic defense mechanisms and having an entitlement complex that includes lashing out at people who also have to do their jobs? The whole rant of being offended by your job title reminds me of this one demented resident who gets hysterically angry at everyone who doesn't call her by her nickname, never mind the fact that only her real name is posted on her records, it's a nickname that does not remotely resemble her real name, and people would have no idea what her nickname is and that she wants to be called by it.

tiffanycmt · Mar 9, 2006

Very Well put.......

Working as a cna/aide whatever you wish to call it is hard stressful work. As far as dream's previous statement "i have no soiled beds" well consider yourself lucky b/c a soiled bed doesnt mean your NOT doing your job if that was the case i would of been fired a long time ago. But I do change my beds whenever i see that they are soiled and need it. Mirari made an excellent point what are you going to do if you get someone in that requires two ppl instead of one b/c i believe you said i don't help anyone and i don't need any help? I consider myself a good aide most days i do my best I do have days that i'm burnt out and probally could do better and always feel bad when i think about it later. But everyone needs help sometimes and if your not willing to help someone else that may not be as fast or as "average" as you they are going to be less likely to want to help you...Tiffany

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Mar 9, 2006

Let's not forget that just because a bed isn't soiled, doesn't mean it's really clean, either.

Icenurse · Mar 9, 2006

This is a real problem in my deparmtment. I work in a ER in iceland and the aides there are constantly trying to get out of doing there duties. Sometimes the sit in the nurses lounge and Knit!!!!! Nursing administration doesn´t really care, at least they don´t do anything about it. The RN´s are getting really mad og annoyed about this. I for one have resigned my job and won´t be coming back until this has been fixed.

sorry about any misspellings;)

MomRN20082b · Mar 9, 2006

I think it boils down to respect. You give respect, you get respect. There are certainly exceptions to the rule, but I think for the most part it's true.

nursemike, ASN, RN · Mar 9, 2006

Well there are always two sides to every story, and in my case as an aid on an extremely busy oncology unit and as a full time nursing student I am in the position of seeing both sides. I scoff when agency aides say "they make $35 an hour and we do just as much as we do" I now know through studying my orifice off that nurses are paid for their education. BUT as an aid, making $11 an hour it is really difficult to be at EVERYONE'S beck and call. I always chuckle (or cry or swear) when I see the 50+ year old nurses who hardly EVER EVER EVER ask me to do anything, unless it is dire or unless they want to teach me something, while the new grads always give me a ton of work and treat me like I'm their personal slave. I end up working harder than ever for the respectful older, smart-as-hell nurses, than the new, too good for me, can, uh-oh-now-she's almost a nurse so I may actually get off my ass from behind my computer to ask her something rather than hollar for her to "come here!" as she runs her ass off again to ask "what?" only to hear "Did you put the vitals in?" Yes, 3 hours ago, log on and check it out while I go take care of MY patients. But yes, it's all teamwork. Teamwork. Teamwork.
Now I have to get back to studying for that big test. Damn fluid and electrolytes and therapeutic communication!

There were a couple of times during my first six months that I had to lean a little more heavily on the aides than I wanted to, including one of the cardinal sins our aides report--calling one to toilet a patient you are just leaving.

I have never in my career felt too important to put someone on a bedpan, and luckily as an orderly, I was always available to help the aides with difficult turns, lifts, baths, etc., so I think my word was accepted when I told them, "This isn't the kind of nurse I intend to be, once I'm more able to keep up with my RN duties." It's just hard to stop for a bedpan when you're killing yourself trying to get meds passed.

Now that I'm more on top of my nurse-specific tasks, I do try to be a team player, and on the whole I think it's going okay. On the other hand, my mentor--and role model since I decided to become a nurse--has a rep among aides for working them harder than anyone else, but she's always right there with them, and it's always about the patient. I don't imagine I've reached that level of respect, yet, but I'm working on it.

elizabells, BSN, RN · Mar 9, 2006

I think it boils down to respect. You give respect, you get respect. There are certainly exceptions to the rule, but I think for the most part it's true.

DINGDINGDINGDING!!!! I think we have a winner, ladies and gentlemen!

Not to get too psychoanalytic here, but it seems as though the angry poster above who runs her floor her way is employing such a classic defense mechanism. Push everything away and expect the worst so you can't be disappointed. I used to be like this on a personal level, and all it does is fulfill your expectations. You're angry and high-handed bc you expect people to treat you badly and walk all over you, and you know what? People will treat you badly and try to walk all over you, and then it's like "see? I was right!"

And not changing beds everyday? Ick. Maybe you should get your facility to have some nursing students in for clinicals. Seems like that's all we did for the first semester. Learning to change an occupied bed.