I don't want to be a CNA anymore.

Nurses General Nursing

Published

After this experience, I don't want to be a CNA anymore. I do not have any luck in this field, I have the worst luck.

I recently spoke with the Nursing home who terminated me to get the real reason why I was let go and things got real ugly. The RN was rude, had me on speakerphone so other RNs/LPNs could chme in aganst me. I ended up crying after the conversation.

Apparently, they said that there were too many complaints against me before I even reached 90 days. One of them was being getting a write up for one diaper being soaking wet.

And then a major one that almost cost my certification being stripped away from me involving a resident and his "shoe". His shoe was put on wrong, and his toes were curled under or something like that. He has arthritis. His son came up there to visit him and said that his father was screaming in pain because of how his shoe was put on. He was so angry that he was going to call state on the Nursing home, and try to get my certification taken away from me. I was unaware that it was this serious when I was employed. I was just told that his shoe was put on wrong and that I was not allowed to get him dressed anymore.

Still, I do not see how that could have happened. He had hard leather sneakers that easily slid on his foot.

The RN who I talked to claim that I ignored the pain and agony he was in--I told her that he was not in any pain when I put his shoes on. Then she switched it up and said he was SCREAMING after I had left my shift.

Then I asked how was I supposed to know if something was wrong--his shoes were perfectly fine when I put them on, he was not in any pain.

She claimed that what I did was not intentional and it was a case of being careless. You cannot tell if something is wrong with his foot because it looks fine when you put them on. Well, I argued why is he wearing hard leather sneakers if he has arthritis then?? Why doesn't he have cloth slippers so this doesn't happen again?

She claims that I was the only person this has ever happened with and since it has not occured again with another CNA.

I really don't know what I could have done differently. What happened was the inevitable. I still assured her that if they continue to make him wear those shoes it WILL happen again, despite her claims.

The other complaint was that I was too rough with a female resident. She complained to a CNA that a girl was not very gentle with her and that she did not want her ever again.

That was the first time I had ever dealt with the woman and I had been working there for nearly 3 months. She was having major difficulty getting up so I did the best I could to help her. Maybe I was a bit too rough with her, but I don't see how I could have gotten her up if I didn't put all my strength into lifting her.

It's really hard being a CNA. It is NOT easy lifting people with a lot of dead weight, what else are we supposed to do? We can't lift them like they weight 1lbs. Just about everything we do to help these people can be classified as abuse. You try to roll patients who are very heavy and cannot help themselves and they are always going "ouch" or "you're too rough"...or if a RN/LPN walks in and sees something and is quick to say you are doing it wrong and abusing the resident.

The other complaint was getting them dressed too early. There was only one particular set that was very exhausting and stressful that I HAD to get them dressed early. They had to be up at 5am, and I would just dress them at 3:30am instead of 4am. If I hadn't of started early I would have been behind. And all the other CNAs are too preoccupied with their workload to give me a hand all the time. I specifically asked the RN if this was in the employee handbook that we were not allowed to dress them at 3:30am and she started dancing around the issue..I stressed that there was no policy in the Nursing Home that stated it was against rules to do this. As a new CNA, how are we supposed to know it's wrong?? Especially, if we have not been properly trained! When I started working there it was really up to everyone's own discretion as to what time they get their residents up. Not everyone got them up at 4am. When I told her this, she specifically asked me for names and was ready to fire other CNAs of course I refused. I am not malicious at all. And I really liked my fellows CNAs very well, and they work very hard.

Lastly, the RN claimed I had many other complaints against me, and when I asked her what they were she said, "I have many things to do right now and I don't have time to be on the phone with you all day". With persistance on my part she finally told me that the other complaints were about the way my 'sets' looked.

I asked why was I not made aware of all these issues. She said she called me but I was never picked up the phone.

I TRULY felt that I was doing the job to the best of my ability. Everyday, when I came to work I thought I was doing the RIGHT thing. I had no complaints from other CNAs, in fact I helped them dress some of their residents. Just to think that everyday I came to work I was doing EVERYTHING wrong. I am very hurt and dissappointed. My intentions were always to do a good job. I was doing what I thought was right.

Lastly, the whole confrontation between me and the LPN was such a set-up to get me fired. The confrontation was what got me written up and taken off the schedule, but when I get there it was not addressed at all!

I know this post is long but I really need to vent. But I have talked to my mother and father and told me that I do not want to work in a nursing home ever again. I still want to be a RN, but not a CNA. I truly feel like there is VERY little respect for what we do and its easy for us to make so many wrong mistakes. I don't want to go through this ever again. I might find a job in retail or something. This experience has really jaded me a bit.

Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.

[i would only get them dressed early.]

You are still waking them up at 3:30 though and to get them dressed requires them to get out of bed doesn't it? I mean for crying out loud these are elderly, frail patients who deserve to be treated humanly.

[it's really no different than the CNAs being instructed to go into their rooms at night every two hours to check and change their briefs.]

I'm going to be honest here. To even post something like this to justify the above comment shows that you need a lot more nursing experience and education than you have. Changing someones briefs/pads is important because of preventing skin breakdowns and excoriations, urinary tract infections and so on. This is a legitimate reason for waking someone up. You are waking them up just to dress them. See the difference?

I do sympathize that you were given an unrealistic schedule to get people up. However, it seemed that instead of being a patient advocate and questioning the time frame, asking for assistance, addressing your concerns with management you took it upon yourself to wake these poor patients up to make life easier for you. Bad idea and i hope that you find a job in a more supportive environment.

[i would only get them dressed early.]

You are still waking them up at 3:30 though and to get them dressed requires them to get out of bed doesn't it? I mean for crying out loud these are elderly, frail patients who deserve to be treated humanly.

No. I would dress them and leave them in bed. They did not have to get up until 5am.

There are other residents on the schedule who are "dress and leave" meaning you just dress them in bed and don't get them up.

[it's really no different than the CNAs being instructed to go into their rooms at night every two hours to check and change their briefs.]

I'm going to be honest here. To even post something like this to justify the above comment shows that you need a lot more nursing experience and education than you have. Changing someones briefs/pads is important because of preventing skin breakdowns and excoriations, urinary tract infections and so on. This is a legitimate reason for waking someone up. You are waking them up just to dress them. See the difference?

I do sympathize that you were given an unrealistic schedule to get people up. However, it seemed that instead of being a patient advocate and questioning the time frame, asking for assistance, addressing your concerns with management you took it upon yourself to wake these poor patients up to make life easier for you. Bad idea and i hope that you find a job in a more supportive environment.

You are saying this without realizing management didn't respect us enough to do anything about it. The CNAs complain all the time and management doesn't care. They do not always listen. This job is tough! That's why they hire and fire people all the time. When I first got there I was told how many CNAs they run through.

I was simply trying to work with what I was given. This facility had hired a lot of male CNAs but they were not of any help to us (the women) because many of the male and female residents didn't want a male assisting them. So, this really sucked. The women were stuck with all of the hard work. We had all this extra help, but couldn't use them.

The men have it by far much easier. They have less work, and less hassle.

Specializes in Telemetry.
I wouldn't worry too much about the poster who says you need further training. She is a nursing student according to her profile, and probably one who has never worked as a CNA in LTC or she would understand that the conditions you work under are the likely the main cause of your issues rather than a lack of training. What good is training if you do not have the time and resources to do your job properly. I have never worked LTC before, but I have spent some time in them in clinicals and whatnot, and my husband is a CNA who is in school. I also worked as a patient care tech through school. The work is incredibly difficult and under appreciated.It sounds to me like you had unrealistic demands like many who work at short staffed LTC facilities. While I think its ridiculous to get pt's up that early, if the nursing home dictates they be up by 4 am(which I would really question the facility on here) then you are just doing your job. 30 minutes is not going to make or break anyone if thats the time you need to do your job properly due to unrealistic assignments. The only advice I have to give you is that if you are thinking of RN, the problems are the same just about everywhere and the potential for harm is much greater. Be sure its what you want to put up with if that is your career choice.

ok, yes, I am a student, but I'm using common sense here in that its not ok to get people up at 330 am to make one's own job easier. Sorry, but its about the residents/pts not the people who work there. I threw out the 530 or 6 am thing because in my judgement that is a more appropriate time to get people up, and did say that I wasn't aware of what the schedule is. I don't care if its facility policy or not, its a load of crap that people are being forced up and awake so early. Would YOU want someone in your home forcing you to get up at 330, 4, 430 am if you didn't want to?

And no, I haven't worked LTC before, (and as you state neither have you, so how am I disqualified from participating in the thread?) but I have done clinicals there and the CNAs there weren't getting people up until 6. So it can be done.

I also suggested further training because with the shoe incident and the time management issues, and getting fired from each job she has had, it sounds like she needs more training. Geesh, a suggestion for more training isn't an insult. We all need further teaching and education from time to time. Its not at all the same thing as a RN student telling RNs how to do their job. And if you've ever read some of my past posts I'm all about keeping your mouth shut unless you are qualified to pass judgement.

Lastly, sorry to say, but the common denominator in all these problems she has had, at more than one facility, is her. I suggested that she try to be more open to criticism and be honest with herself so she could grow and be more successful in her future health care positions.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Has anyone ever heard of the "professional victims" of the workplace? You know, those individuals who are absolutely adament that their coworkers are out to get them?

The "professional victim" can do no wrong. He/she cannot accept personal responsibility for the things that he/she could have changed. Everyone else is wrong, and he/she is right. The "professional victim" will tune out the comments that are not conducive to his/her side of the story. The "professional victim" brings an overwhelming sense of defeatism to the workplace, as if nothing is within his/her control.

Sorry, but even a nursing aide has a certain level of control over his/her actions. I worked as an aide many moons ago, and it is not as powerless of a position as some would like us to believe!

Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.
Has anyone ever heard of the "professional victims" of the workplace? You know, those individuals who are absolutely adament that their coworkers are out to get them?

The "professional victim" can do no wrong. He/she cannot accept personal responsibility for the things that he/she could have changed. Everyone else is wrong, and he/she is right. The "professional victim" will tune out the comments that are not conducive to his/her side of the story. The "professional victim" brings an overwhelming sense of defeatism to the workplace, as if nothing is within his/her control.

I haven't worked with one, but I was married to a guy like that for eight years.:icon_roll

And no, I haven't worked LTC before, (and as you state neither have you, so how am I disqualified from participating in the thread?) but I have done clinicals there and the CNAs there weren't getting people up until 6. So it can be done.

actually, if the nurses are ordering these residents to get dressed, there is little the cna can do, unless s/he jeopordizes her job.

not all facilities require this, however.

there are some 'ethical' facilities that recognize a pt's rights.

leslie

ok, yes, I am a student, but I'm using common sense here in that its not ok to get people up at 330 am to make one's own job easier. Sorry, but its about the residents/pts not the people who work there. I threw out the 530 or 6 am thing because in my judgement that is a more appropriate time to get people up, and did say that I wasn't aware of what the schedule is. I don't care if its facility policy or not, its a load of crap that people are being forced up and awake so early. Would YOU want someone in your home forcing you to get up at 330, 4, 430 am if you didn't want to?

Quite frankly, I wouldn't want to be in a nursing home period. I would rather have a home health aide take care of me in the privacy of my own home. And many of the residents don't want to be there, which is why we run into the many problems that we do as CNAs.

Moving on, the policy in the nursing home (even though its not written anywhere) was to get them up at 4am. The nursing home wanted them up at 4am-4:30 am then placed in the dining room at 5am. That simply was not enough time for someone who would have to get up 4-6 residents up. It may not have been right to get them dressed early (I dress them at 3:30am), but it's also not right to expect someone to do so much with very little help and then penalize them for it.

And no, I haven't worked LTC before, (and as you state neither have you, so how am I disqualified from participating in the thread?) but I have done clinicals there and the CNAs there weren't getting people up until 6. So it can be done.

My nursing home wanted them up at 4am-4:30am. Many faciilities operate differently.

And there were other things about that place I found unfair. The residents would sit in the dining room, practically sleep in their wheelchairs for 3 hours or more before they were even served breakfast.

I also suggested further training because with the shoe incident and the time management issues, and getting fired from each job she has had, it sounds like she needs more training. Geesh, a suggestion for more training isn't an insult. We all need further teaching and education from time to time. Its not at all the same thing as a RN student telling RNs how to do their job. And if you've ever read some of my past posts I'm all about keeping your mouth shut unless you are qualified to pass judgement.

More training? I dont need training to know how to put a shoe on a person. Please explain to me, what could have been done differently in that situation? Nobody can even answer that. I was blamed for someting that is entirely out of my hands.

Lastly, sorry to say, but the common denominator in all these problems she has had, at more than one facility, is her. I suggested that she try to be more open to criticism and be honest with herself so she could grow and be more successful in her future health care positions.

No, it's the facilities who place unreasonable demands on the CNAs. And I will not forget to add how the nursing home has a repuation for hiring and firing people on a regular basis. The same people who are here today will not even be employed a year from now. That says a lot about them

This field can be very wicked. A group of nurses at that facility were getting together and trying to fire a older woman who was a CNA. They just didn't like her. One nurse said, "I tried to write her up so I can fire her but I can't find anything on her. All of her residents diapers are dry."

When things like this occur who do you go to? And will they even listen? I doubt it.

Specializes in Geriatrics/Family Practice.

I am a nurse in a LTC facility and let me tell you cooperate works us all like dogs. I usually have 2 CNA's to 35 residents..They are all incontinent, lots of feeders, showers, beds to make, water to pass, vitals to take(if time allows) and the list goes on. I do my best to help them and remember when I worked as a CNA and I know that it is a hard job and I would never write someone up for puting a shoe on the wrong foot. Somedays the residents are lucky if they even get shoes on or even get out of bed due to short staffing. If more nurses would get over there I'm to good to work LTC and try it, you would see it's hard work and you earn every penny you get. I've developed an excellent relationship with my CNA's and I know they and I do our best with what we are given. When there is only 3 employees with 35 residents (5 tubefeeders, 5 foley caths., 1 suprapic, 35 incontinent, appx. 15 feeders, charting, calling docs to get orders, transcribing the orders, setting up doctors appts, setting up transportation to those appts and on and on) you "DO YOUR BEST AND BLESS THE REST" One day we are all going to be old and may not have a family to take care of us or want to take care of us and I can only hope that you get nurses who want to be there and CNA's who are doing there best, because that is all you can expect with todays society being driven by $$$$$$$. I go home everyday thinking of 500 more things that could of been done during my shift, but I am only one person, but I as a nurse do everything I can so that I don't beat myself up to bad. The healthcare field would not survive without CNA's, so take the time to mentor them and say an occasional Thank You. I don't think any of us go to work and say "Gee, I think I'll intentionally neglect my patients and do a half a$$ job." Coorporate dictates what we can physically and emotionally handle. If you think burnout is bad with nurses, it's even worse for CNA's, and boy do I understand why. CNA's are my eyes and ears when I can't be everywhere and I know that I couldn't do my job without them.

No. I would dress them and leave them in bed. They did not have to get up until 5am.

You're not getting the point: to wake someone up at 0330 for anything other than necessary nursing care.....and dressing is NOT necessary nursing care.......is just plain mean. 0330 is an ungodly hour for most folks, and if someone tried to wake me up at that hour to dress me without good reason, I 'd be having a fit.

Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.

[No. I would dress them and leave them in bed. They did not have to get up until 5am.]

I don't know how to explain this any clearer than i have already. You are WAKING them up, DENYING them sleep to dress them to make YOUR job easier. How would you like being woken up, made to dress at 3:30 everyday?

From reading your posts you seem to make a lot of comments like 'it's hard for us CNA's, we're all abused' from management etc. I don't see much from you about how the policies impact on the patients, how they enjoy being dressed so ridiculously early. It's all me me me i'm reading from you.

You're not getting the point: to wake someone up at 0330 for anything other than necessary nursing care.....and dressing is NOT necessary nursing care.......is just plain mean. 0330 is an ungodly hour for most folks, and if someone tried to wake me up at that hour to dress me without good reason, I 'd be having a fit.

Okay, with so little help and short staffing what do you suggest I have done ? if I had done it later then I would have stayed over my shift and gotten written up and penalized for that.

[No. I would dress them and leave them in bed. They did not have to get up until 5am.]

I don't know how to explain this any clearer than i have already. You are WAKING them up, DENYING them sleep to dress them to make YOUR job easier. How would you like being woken up, made to dress at 3:30 everyday?

From reading your posts you seem to make a lot of comments like 'it's hard for us CNA's, we're all abused' from management etc. I don't see much from you about how the policies impact on the patients, how they enjoy being dressed so ridiculously early. It's all me me me i'm reading from you.

Management didn't care for CNAs at all, otherwise we would not have been so short staffed and expected to finish all of that work with so little help. They'll hire someone else and fire them for the same reasons. History is only going to repeat itself.

+ Add a Comment