I just got my first "real" CNA job, I have had my certification since last August, so it has been awhile and I have kind of forgotten a lot of stuff. I currently work as a Resident Assistant at an Independent Living facility. I love the facility,my co-workers and the residents. I honestly saw myself working there "forever" but the distance started to get to me since I have to travel two buses and it is pretty much an hour each way.
My new job is only a 10 minute train ride and it is full time and I love the hours I was offered. It was a hard decision but this new position had the most pros than cons.
I interviewed at a skilled nursing facility and got the job and I am really nervous since it is so different from what I am use to working in independent living. My job is really easy, I have so much down time but I have gotten so bored, I just feel like a babysitter(most of them still have cars and drive) I want to do actual CNA work.
So, my question..I know it sounds ridiculous, but...what am I expected to know? I still have my book and notes and I plan to go over them before my first day. I definitely need to practice doing vitals, but things like emptying a Foley bag? I have never done that, I am afraid I am expected to successfully know how to do stuff like that. I know I can ask for help and I'm not afraid to, I just don't want to be "that person" who needs help with everything.
I am starting to feel like this facility isn't for me. I am constantly texted and called about coming in on my days off and if I say no they get an attitude and ask why...it really bothers me, no one at any of my other jobs have ever asked me why, plus is it really any of their business? I have another job and most days I work as a CNA from 7am-3pm THEN I work my other job from 5pm-11pm..so I really appreciate any time I can get off and I now have to start avoiding their constant texts to me, you would think this person would get the hint after I didn't reply but she left two more messages.
Another thing happened that really bothered me. I was in the lunch room on my break and the DON saw me and said "Make sure you do your rounds before leaving" I just said ok. I really had no idea where that came from and as she was leaving her and another CNA smiled at each other and the CNA told her thank you... Then as I was leaving, this CNA came up to me and said "did you work yesterday?" (which obviously she is aware that I did) I said yes and she said you had my patients yesterday, one leaked through onto her sheets and there was dried pee all over it(bed ridden patient) and she had to change the sheets and another patient said he asked you to make his bed, but you didn't.
The first part I don't really understand. I left the previous day at 3pm....She didn't come back until 7am the next day, how does she know that happened when I was there? what about the 2nd and 3rd shift CNA? How is she for sure that was my fault? Maybe it was, I really don't know, but for her just to come up to me like that and accuse me?
The second part....that never happened, that patient never asked me to do it, obviously I would if I was asked. i kept telling her he never asked me to do that, but she kept on repeating it over and over.
I make my first noticeable mistake and she runs to the DON about it? Instead of discussing these issuses with me, the DON thinks it is appropriate to tell me this in front of everyone instead of in private, plus I had no idea what she was talking about until the CNA told me.
I really want to start looking for a new job, but I have only been here for a month and I don't wanna seem like a job hopper. I think CNA changing jobs often is pretty common, but I still hate the idea of doing it. I really love working on the floors with the rehab patients, I would love to find a facility that only has them.
The first day was horrible, it was on the floor that I did my first day orientation on..so I knew it would be bad. I went home really upset and hating my job (reading these boards that seems to be what usually happens the first day, but I survived!) The other floors aren't as bad, though.
Today two CNA's called off and it was just me and someone else for 25 patients. Then out of nowhere these CNA students come and the nurse tells me to give them easy patients to do and tell them what to do. I have no idea if this nurse is even aware that I am new and don't know what to do myself! They pretty much just helped pass trays and fed the patients who needed help. I had no real interaction with them at all.
I go to lunch and they are all in the dining room, I went in through a door that wasn't close to them, so they had no idea I was there...all of a sudden I hear this girl talking about me!! She told the other girls how she told me what to do and I listened because she "Takes control of situations" the real thing that happened was this certain patient is hard to get up, I haven't really learned how to be firm enough and if they want to sleep and not get dressed, I will let them, but I asked her about every 30 minutes and she said no, plus she doesn't eat breakfast anyways. So, this student comes up to me and says shouldn't ....... get up? I said she didn't want to and I went to ask her again and this time she was ready to be dressed. She also talked about how I left two breakfast trays in the rooms, it was just so busy, plus sometimes trays get left behind, it really wasn't the end of the world....
I know I shouldn't let this bother me but it really does. I was feeling so good about today and I thought I was doing a good job and this girl really ruined my mood. I really hope they will see once you are an actual CNA textbook situations are so different than real life. The nurse even thanked me after my shift for all my hard work today and even bought me and the other CNA Starbucks for working so hard, her opinion should mean more than that students to me. She really had something against me, she talked about me for at least 5 minutes, it was so odd. She even referred to me as "miss blondey" it was just so childish for her to talk about an employee at a place she is visiting so loudly that everyone else in the dining room could hear.
I can see how her criticism would sting. You did a really great job that day, even the nurse recognized that. On top of that you helped train students. You'd think they'd be grateful for the chance to learn from you. You were helping them out and so she shouldn't have criticized you.
I actually don't answer or respond to her, if that were me I would get the hint that this person doesn't want to be bothered, but within the last 3 days she has texted 3 times! I have only been here about 4 weeks and every week she is asking me to come in. It is really annoying. She has texted me at 12am once to work in the morning and she has texted me during work hours and when I didn't respond(i was busy working...) she would call me on the intercom. This is making me feel like such a bad employee because I refuse to come in on my days off, I know I don't have to, but still she expects me to.
I have been applying to tons of places, so we will see what happens. Other than that incident with that CNA I have had no problems with my co-workers, they have all been nice and helpful. I just don't really like how the management handles things here.
I'm sorry I keep coming to this thread to "complain" but I don't know anyone who works in this field in person, so maybe people here can understand my frustration with certain things!
The lady who keeps calling me finally found me in person, she asked if I got her messages, I just pretended that I didn't....Since I am so bad at saying no to peoples faces, I am now working 4 extra days these next two weeks that I was scheduled off. Oh, and she left the room, texted me, then came back to see if I received the text..I feel kind of stalked LOL.
The DON also made another comment about me. I had a patient who was refusing care, a CNA who knows him very well offered to help me (I made three of her beds during my downtime..we both helped each other a lot today) of course this happens while the DON is around and I hear her telling the nurse "she needs to learn how to clean him on her own" You would think she would like the idea of us using team work. I really don't know what I did to get on her bad side, she was semi nice to me in the beginning, now she will walk past me in the hallway and not even say hi or anything.
Today I received three calls for CNA interviews. I just hate the idea of going through interviews again, I enjoy being a CNA, but I just don't feel happy where I am at.
Today I received three calls for CNA interviews. I just hate the idea of going through interviews again, I enjoy being a CNA, but I just don't feel happy where I am at.
Go to the interviews. What kind of facilities or agencies are they with?
And yes, the staffing lady is nuts. But you need to learn to say no to people. It's a critical life skill.
If it isn't a good fit, then you need to get out while you can. I stayed at a facility long enough to get a good reputation and when they started showing how much they "appreciated" me, (e.g. punishing me for the transgressions of others), I took a risk and applied for another job. They hired me, I took a pay cut, but my mental health was worth more than a couple of dollars.
One is an Assisted living facility but it also has a memory unit and a rehab..so far this one of my favorites since it reminds me so much of my last facility that I loved.
The second one says it is a post hospital rehab, it has one unit for short term rehab/orthopedic and one for long term
The third one I think it is just Assisted living, they have their own apartments.
Just when I think things are going good, I end up having a terrible day!
I decided to just give this place one more chance and maybe get a few more months experience before I quit so soon.
I was on that floor I hate today, everything went wrong. As soon as I got there I was confronted by one of the regular CNA's on that floor for not showering her patient yesterday. I asked this woman a ton of times to take a shower she constantly said no and didn't wanna get up. I told the CNA this and she got a huge attitude and said she never refuses for me(probably because she has known you for years??) I had to walk away before I said something like "Was I suppose to drag her out of bed and into the shower?!" For awhile I heard her and her friends talk in her language and I kept hearing the word shower....
We were also one CNA short so I had five extra patients (this is a total care floor so 5 extra is a lot) I honestly did the best I could, I worked straight for eight hours, I had no time to take my required lunch or I would fall even more behind than I was. The restorative nursing assistant kept constantly harassing me about everything, she had me in tears multiple times.
Everytime I finished something and was finally able to go to the next patient I haven't visited yet, she calls me and says someone needs to be changed, someone needs to go to the bathroom. THEN she has the nerve to ask me why haven't you been to patient ...... yet. I am not brave enough to say I have been trying all day but you keep telling me to do other things. I have no idea what she even does, all the other RNA's are helpful but I have never seen her do anything except tell people what to do. I had a patient who took her diaper off, she goes into her room and tells me I didn't clean her good enough, thats why she keeps taking it off to scratch, then she says I bet you don't clean any of your patients good, so she washes this patient right after I did...and guess what? this patient takes it off 5 minutes later. I don't know what gives her the right to accuse me of not cleaning my patients good enough based off one person??? I am sure it is correct to assume she told her friend CNA's all about this so now they all probably think I am horrible/lazy at my job.
I had no chance to make my beds, I was planning to do it after I took care of everyone, I made sure to take all the sheets off the beds so it didn't look messy so I wouldn't have an incident like last time with the patients family, well guess who walks in? The same family member as my previous post. That didn't go well. Same as before, she was in the room screaming and throwing stuff around, some of it was the roommates stuff I almost told her I don't care how mad you are you have no right to throw other peoples things. I really should have learned my lesson from before, but I really had no time to waste making beds before I took care of everyone.
The other two floors are so great, every time I work them I think wow, this job isn't so bad...The patients are nice, the CNA's/nurses are nice and helpful. It is such a different world.
I'm sorry it is such a frustrating floor. Unfortunately, these types of people exist in all facilities. The best way to handle it is to say, "Thank you for sharing" and move on to your tasks. As far as the RNA? Simply say "Thank you for sharing. I will be there as soon as I finish what I am doing here." If everyone was clean, dry, and comfortable, don't worry about the other CNAs. Patient care is the most important task.
Angela89
35 Posts
I am starting to feel like this facility isn't for me. I am constantly texted and called about coming in on my days off and if I say no they get an attitude and ask why...it really bothers me, no one at any of my other jobs have ever asked me why, plus is it really any of their business? I have another job and most days I work as a CNA from 7am-3pm THEN I work my other job from 5pm-11pm..so I really appreciate any time I can get off and I now have to start avoiding their constant texts to me, you would think this person would get the hint after I didn't reply but she left two more messages.
Another thing happened that really bothered me. I was in the lunch room on my break and the DON saw me and said "Make sure you do your rounds before leaving" I just said ok. I really had no idea where that came from and as she was leaving her and another CNA smiled at each other and the CNA told her thank you... Then as I was leaving, this CNA came up to me and said "did you work yesterday?" (which obviously she is aware that I did) I said yes and she said you had my patients yesterday, one leaked through onto her sheets and there was dried pee all over it(bed ridden patient) and she had to change the sheets and another patient said he asked you to make his bed, but you didn't.
The first part I don't really understand. I left the previous day at 3pm....She didn't come back until 7am the next day, how does she know that happened when I was there? what about the 2nd and 3rd shift CNA? How is she for sure that was my fault? Maybe it was, I really don't know, but for her just to come up to me like that and accuse me?
The second part....that never happened, that patient never asked me to do it, obviously I would if I was asked. i kept telling her he never asked me to do that, but she kept on repeating it over and over.
I make my first noticeable mistake and she runs to the DON about it? Instead of discussing these issuses with me, the DON thinks it is appropriate to tell me this in front of everyone instead of in private, plus I had no idea what she was talking about until the CNA told me.
I really want to start looking for a new job, but I have only been here for a month and I don't wanna seem like a job hopper. I think CNA changing jobs often is pretty common, but I still hate the idea of doing it. I really love working on the floors with the rehab patients, I would love to find a facility that only has them.