Sick of it!!!

Specialties Geriatric

Published

:angryfire I am desperately trying to get a job in a hospital right now. I just can't stand the NH anymore! Every shift I work, I'm disgusted at the lack of care our residents get. If you get on to the CNA's, they go to the supervisor, who backs them up. I'm sorry, but if you had time to be on the phone every time I saw you during an 8 hour shift, you had time to get that brief out of the floor and/or at least return some of the 20+ resident trays that were left on the unit instead of going back to the kitchen after the meal like they were supposed to. Caked on dried up poop that I have to scrub off to change a dsg, residents left in the bed all weekend that normally are up in a chair qd, g tubes that obviously weren't flushed after meds given. Poop left in the shower floor until all showers are done, gracious the list goes on! Had a very lucid resident tell me that the cna's told him they couldn't put him back to bed because they were short. Excuse me? They were short the first 2 hours of the shift, not the whole thing. Not to mention one group of residents got no care at all for several hours because they had them broken up into 4 groups and the 4th person was coming in late. :angryfire Is it like this everywhere? I've considered applying at other LTC's, but I'm afraid it'll be the same.

Stuff like that makes me fuming mad:devil: These people deserve so much better, and if a person's sense of decency can't be appealed to, how about the fact that they pay more than three times my monthly income to get crappy care like that. I believe in the cattle prod for that kind of CNA.

But that's the way it goes in alot of NH's.

Why, I don't know.

Specializes in Family.

Ya know, pay rates and working conditions aside, I think that a major problem facing our workforce in general is the lack of pride. I know that a couple of generations ago, people seemed to take more pride in the work they did, and maybe they felt that their work performance defined them as a person more so than what you see now. I have made next to no money, and I've made pretty good, but the one thing I always placed a high value on was the quality of my work. If I wiped butts, they were squeaky clean, appropriate barrier cream applied. If I waited tables, I did the best I could to make sure the customer was happy. When I passed pills, I tried to make sure that things were done like they were supposed to be and that my residents didn't suffer due to my workload. No matter what I have done, I have always felt anything worth doing is worth my best efforts.

I saw "pulse" and just had to share this. Working in a hospital you think everyone would know how to take vitals with a bp machine and the old fashioned way. An aid walked into a room that had a month old infant with bronchitis. I figured she knew what she was doing since she was a nurse extern. Boy, was I wrong! The aide walked out and asked me what 60 times 4 was because that's the baby's pulse. I jumped out of my chair and on my way to the baby's room I yelled at her to get the charge nurse and peds crash cart. She stopped me and says "Ooops. I mean what's 60x2?" Better, but you still got to count for a whole minute. I cry everytime I see her. She can get into nsg. school and I can't:devil: . Hope she doesn't take care of me or someone I love someday!!! Scary.

you know what. that was an honest mistake she made you over-reacted.

people make mistakes. As far as the cna issue go. Most cna are overworked and underpaid. This is not their fault, this is the company fault.

two things---in the first post you said you saw the GTUBE hadn't been flushed. Certainly you don't expect your CNAs to do that?!?

Secondly-I work in a 142 bed facility...it's the 5th place I've worked, and without a doubt, we have the best CNAs around. Not all of them are good, but the majority of them works hard every day to take really good care of their residents. We had 2 of them "spoken to" by the head of laundry because they change the linen too many times!! Their answer:WE are taking care of these people and the sheets needed to be changed. There are good CNA's and there are quality homes.

Thanks for standing up for the CNA's. There is bad in everything including the RN's and Physicians but for the most part, most try to do their best.

Specializes in acute care and geriatric.

I cried when I read your post regarding the abuse and neglect that you described. We Jews have a saying "When you show mercy to the Cruel people among us, you will end up showing cruelty to the People among us who deserve Mercy" You have two choices (and I've been in your shoes) Either leave and find a better place (i.e.vote with your feet) or crack the whip on those "CNA"s, document their neglect and find a supervisor to back YOU up . LOL

Specializes in Family.
Thanks for standing up for the CNA's. There is bad in everything including the RN's and Physicians but for the most part, most try to do their best.

It's sad that the few who don't try their best usually overshadow the ones who do. I had several CNA's that I could count on, and they knew who they were. I always made sure to let everyone know how much I appreciated their work every shift I worked, even if things weren't as good as they could've been. No one here is slamming CNA's, LPN's, RN's, MD's, etc. Yes, I worked with several who weren't good, but I also worked with several who were, and I ALWAYS stood up for "my" CNA's if needed.

My last position was in a VA Medical Center Nrsg Home and what you experienced was commonplace on my floor(substandard care-the assts. had a practice I never saw before-they would, at the start of their tour, put double diapers on a patient so they would not have to change thier pt. until the end of their shift, sometimes these diapers would weigh TEN POUNDS-Soaked with Urine, ever see this one ??). I complained many times to administration about these NAs(don't have to be a cna in the va system) and usually I ended up the one in trouble. 2 other Nurse friends at this VA Center also wrote up the Nursing assts. for disciplnary action and ended up in HOT water as well !! In the VA, many times these Nursing Assts. were very well payed($35,000-$38000 yearly) as they were long time federal employees at the top of their GS Scale.Now they are up to $40,000 probably. Better money then some new Graduate Nurses make! I finally became tired of fighting these people and work in Home Health Care doing Visits(home), make more money, am happier and deal with only one patient at a time.I could never go back to Staff Nursing! They would carry me out in a straight jacket!:uhoh3:

Typical VA work ethics. And with all the OT these NA's pull in, they're probably making more than the supervisors! The double diapering is just now finally getting attention from management after the NA's were doing it for years. Why it wasn't addressed when it was first brought up years ago is beyond me. Now they're saying any pt found with double diapers is to be written up. :rolleyes: They still play hide 'n sleep at night. One NA sleeps so hard he snores louder than any pt and you always know where he is. When the supervisor comes around and asks where's so 'n so?, we ask her, "Can't you hear him?" She goes to him, wakes him up and says nothing about the sleeping, but asks him if he's available for OT for the day shift. What the ???? :stone He's the same NA that is a no call no show every payday night. :stone :stone :stone

Another night, another supervisor came to the unit and asked where everyone was. The nurse I was working with said to her, "They're all comatose! Would you like to see them? Come on, I'll show you." The supervisor walked out backwards waving her hand and shaking her head "no" and left. This was the same nurse who before she became a supervisor and worked the night shift always said, "If I have to be awake and alert, so must they!" Now that she's in the position to do something about it, she turns her head the other way. I don't get it. :uhoh3: Then there are the NA's that really care and for them I am so grateful and thankful and tell them how much they are appreciated not only by the residents, but by the staff they work with. They are far and few, but nonetheless, very much appreciated.

Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.
Ya know, pay rates and working conditions aside, I think that a major problem facing our workforce in general is the lack of pride. I know that a couple of generations ago, people seemed to take more pride in the work they did, and maybe they felt that their work performance defined them as a person more so than what you see now. I have made next to no money, and I've made pretty good, but the one thing I always placed a high value on was the quality of my work. If I wiped butts, they were squeaky clean, appropriate barrier cream applied. If I waited tables, I did the best I could to make sure the customer was happy. When I passed pills, I tried to make sure that things were done like they were supposed to be and that my residents didn't suffer due to my workload. No matter what I have done, I have always felt anything worth doing is worth my best efforts.

I agree. My generation (I'm 22) has had everything handed to us. We've never had to work hard for anything in our lives, and i think it's a tragedy. Then we grow up and get jobs and have no work ethic, no sense of commitment,(i.e., I'm scheduled, therefore I show up), no consideration for other people's time, (punctuality), I could go on forever. Very sad.

Since I have not experienced this I can't imagine how difficult it would be to deal with it. I am lucky to work for a small, very plain but extremely clean facility where decubitus rates are nearly zero (AND they use diapers!) We are stretched to the limit with CNA's but the ones we have to an excellent job overall. In fact, once in awhile a CNA will be hired who isn't worth a flip but the CNA's (yes, they do tend to run the floors) will have the one's unwilling to pull their weight run off before long. They simply will not put up with it.

But it sounds like the majority of CNA's where you work are duds. I feel for you.

I saw "pulse" and just had to share this. Working in a hospital you think everyone would know how to take vitals with a bp machine and the old fashioned way. An aid walked into a room that had a month old infant with bronchitis. I figured she knew what she was doing since she was a nurse extern. Boy, was I wrong! The aide walked out and asked me what 60 times 4 was because that's the baby's pulse. I jumped out of my chair and on my way to the baby's room I yelled at her to get the charge nurse and peds crash cart. She stopped me and says "Ooops. I mean what's 60x2?" Better, but you still got to count for a whole minute. I cry everytime I see her. She can get into nsg. school and I can't:devil: . Hope she doesn't take care of me or someone I love someday!!! Scary.

That was a very simple mistake, a slip of the tongue. You overreacted big time. I worked with a nurse who would leap out of her skin at ANYTHING. So I would try to speak to her very calmly about what was happening or if I needed assistance, because it drove me up the wall to see her jump up and start running around like chicken with its head cut off for no reason. It didn't help. I finally told her about herself. It still didn't help.

I don't know why she can't take a chill pill. I would hate to see her in a code.

Specializes in acute care and geriatric.
you know what. that was an honest mistake she made you over-reacted.

people make mistakes. As far as the cna issue go. Most cna are overworked and underpaid. This is not their fault, this is the company fault.

OK, regarding salaries for CNA"s, this is not an excuse to neglect and hurt their patients. I can't beleive the nitpicking I am reading in this forum. The issue is whether a nurse should sit back and watch her patients receive sub standard care that just hurts her. I have worked in SNF's for many years and learned that one staff nurse can't change a whole facility. Unless you are a supervisor with excellant motivating talents and a strong backbone, it will be hard to improve the care given to the patients. As nurses we are first and foremost Patient Advocates!! We must do everything in our power to provide quality care.

Does your facility have an Inservice Director? Can you refer the problem to her/him? I recently showed some professional movies to our CNA' s that really brought the message home and we saw a tremendous improvement on the units.

If a CNA refuses to provide quality care citing her low salary we must take the stand that we may not confuse the two issues and a raise in salary might come about if the administrator sees better care on the unit!!

Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.
OK, regarding salaries for CNA"s, this is not an excuse to neglect and hurt their patients. I can't beleive the nitpicking I am reading in this forum. The issue is whether a nurse should sit back and watch her patients receive sub standard care that just hurts her. I have worked in SNF's for many years and learned that one staff nurse can't change a whole facility. Unless you are a supervisor with excellant motivating talents and a strong backbone, it will be hard to improve the care given to the patients. As nurses we are first and foremost Patient Advocates!! We must do everything in our power to provide quality care.

Does your facility have an Inservice Director? Can you refer the problem to her/him? I recently showed some professional movies to our CNA' s that really brought the message home and we saw a tremendous improvement on the units.

If a CNA refuses to provide quality care citing her low salary we must take the stand that we may not confuse the two issues and a raise in salary might come about if the administrator sees better care on the unit!!

I don't recall anyone condoning substandard care for any reason. That was not even implied in the post you quoted.

+ Add a Comment