going to be fired from my CNA LTC job.....what's next?

[CNA1991, CNA]

I have been working at a LTC/rehab facility for 2 months now, and I am pretty sure I am going to be fired soon. The other day at work my suprivisor kept bringing up how my job is "at will, could end at any time" several times when she spoke to me. My main problem from what they tell me is body mechanics (leaning over instead of crouching, twisting, walking under things while leaning over, etc.); I try to do proper body mechanics, but I do slip up from time to time because these are my old habits. The real reason I think I will be fired is because my suprivisor keeps claiming to "remind" me of stuff that I had never been told before. Like, for example, the other day I was in a new dining area that I had never been in that has a different dining procedure than the rest of the facility, that I was never told of. I started doing the procedure that the rest of the facility has and I was scolded for the rest of the day about "not knowing" even though no one told me about the procedure. Also, when I was in training for the first two weeks, every trainer I had did something different for mostly everything, hoyer lifts, bed positions, what should be done at what time, etc. and when I did the procedures how I was taught to do them, my suprivisor told me that "I haven't learned anything" even though I did the procedures exactly how I was taught to do them by my last trainer.

I feel like I can't win because whenever I do something as I was told how to do it by a trainer, my suprivisor always claims it's wrong and she also claims she has to remind me of stuff I was "supposed" to know but was never informed of before. I would like to get a new CNA job but I feel like I would just be setting myself up for dissapointment because of how things went at this LTC facility. I hear ALF are better to work in, but there aren't a lot within 20 miles of me and I would most likely have to commute to work and I am not sure if it would be worth it since most of my money would go towards gas at that point. I am also aware of home health companies (I also have a second job in home care that's part-time) but I am not sure I can do that either because the hours are sparatic and can vary and I am looking for something more stable. I would love to work in a hospital, but there's no way of getting into one in california's bay area without either knowing someone or having experience (and homecare doesn't count, and sometimes ALF don't count either when I have looked at hospital job postings for CNAs); and that's the only reason I was working in a nursing home in the first place. I know about patient transporters, but those jobs also have a lot of people scrambiling for them as well and are far and few between in terms of avalability here.

My plans now are to try to get basically any job in a hospital and go from there or getting pharmacy tech training and going from there, since I don't think anything I could do with my CNA would get me to where I want to go. I just want a job in a hospital so I will be all set for a job when I graduate from nursing school, and I almost feel like I wasted my time and money to become a CNA because the reality is so much different from school and being a CNA might just not be for me. There's plenty of jobs in nursing homes, but there's about a million people all with the same/more experience than me applying to hospitals that even when I have the experienced required, I would still be out of my leauge.

I am at a stand still, not sure what's the next step I should take because all jobs are hard to get in the Bay Area right now and I am just looking for something that will give me good experience to put on a resume and for an "in" for when I reach my future goals of becoming a nurse and hopefully put me one step closer to landing a job I actually want.

Does anyone on here regret becoming a CNA? If so, what are you doing/what did you do after deciding that this may not be your route before nursing? Did you go on to get certified in something else and now are happy in that position? Did you try working at different places and found a job you are actually happy at?

Thanks for any ideas, I could really use some right now to help me make my decision in the next step.

[Darkstar1485, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

I don't love being a CNA, but I don't regret getting my cert. I now know exactly what I DON'T want to do. I know that my exp as CNA as will help me be a better nurse in the future. Some nurses have no respect for CNA' s and I know that will never be me.Your exp can help you when you take nursing fundamentals. You will know what its like to care for patients and how to communicate with nurses. My ex supervisor ( she was just demoted) used to pull that crap with me all the time. English is her second language and she would leave me notes explaining certain procedures. They would not not make sense at all. It was very difficult to communicate with her. She would say that she told me something, but she wouldn't say it correctly. Id do it wrong, and then id get in trouble. I'm really happy she's no longer my supervisor.Once I start school, I don't think ill continue working FT but I think ill do PRN to keep my skills fresh.

[somedaypeds]

I didn't love being a CNA either. Actually, I think it is one of the hardest jobs on the planet - it is physically and emotionally exhausting. Your are right about it not being anything like it was taught to us in school. But I wouldn't trade my experience as an aide for anything. It helped me reach my goals of becoming a nurse by interacting with nurses and patients, learning all the basic skills.

Learning how to deal with this supervisor will help you in the long run. In nursing school, they tell you that if you have a problem with someone, you go to them first. You could be direct and tell her you don't feel you had adequate training, could she please re-train you. You can also make sure that all of your verbal and non-verbal communication with her is pleasant and professional.

While you are doing all that, when you are off duty, you can look for other places to work. Leaving a place while you still have a job is always the best option.

[RedhairedNurse2Be]

When I worked as a CNA I loved my residents but not the management or coworkers. Everybody did things different. For certain things like cleaning house or dressing that is not bad, but for lifting and medical producers every staff member needs to be on the same page. It sounds like everybody needs a training review for the safety of the staff and the patients.

[Pat2012]

Do you let your supervisor know about the disparities of the trainers? Maybe there is one trainer you should stick with that this supervisor approves?If you have talked to the supervisor and gotten nothing, maybe you can go above the supervisor to bring up your concerns?

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

I worked in an SNF as a brand new CNA and faced similar problems with the disparity in trainers. I also could see the supervisor had favorites and that my concerns would be unheard.This was one of the reasons I quit that job. I dont regret becoming a CNA because it enabled me to work in the medical field, something I'd never done before as a prenursing student.I will also earn points on my applications to at least 3 nursing schools because of my experience as a CNA.The option to work graveyards aa a CNA has allowed me to continue going to school while working.I am more satisfied working for less money thru a registry at a hospital perc diem as a CNA.

[KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN]

I didn't love being a CNA either. Actually, I think it is one of the hardest jobs on the planet - it is physically and emotionally exhausting. Your are right about it not being anything like it was taught to us in school. But I wouldn't trade my experience as an aide for anything. It helped me reach my goals of becoming a nurse by interacting with nurses and patients, learning all the basic skills.

Learning how to deal with this supervisor will help you in the long run. In nursing school, they tell you that if you have a problem with someone, you go to them first. You could be direct and tell her you don't feel you had adequate training, could she please re-train you. You can also make sure that all of your verbal and non-verbal communication with her is pleasant and professional.

While you are doing all that, when you are off duty, you can look for other places to work. Leaving a place while you still have a job is always the best option.

I couldn't have said it better. I feel the same way. I liked interacting with the residents(and sometimes their families LOL) but the staffing..the co-workers..and the management..that's what I hated. Not to mention the crappy pay!

[CNA1991, CNA]

Do you let your supervisor know about the disparities of the trainers? Maybe there is one trainer you should stick with that this supervisor approves?If you have talked to the supervisor and gotten nothing, maybe you can go above the supervisor to bring up your concerns?

I did try telling my suprivisor, but it seemed to go in one ear and out the other. I am somewhat afraid to go to the DON because she seems to be someone who picks favorites.

[CNA1991, CNA]

I worked in an SNF as a brand new CNA and faced similar problems with the disparity in trainers. I also could see the supervisor had favorites and that my concerns would be unheard.This was one of the reasons I quit that job. I dont regret becoming a CNA because it enabled me to work in the medical field, something I'd never done before as a prenursing student.I will also earn points on my applications to at least 3 nursing schools because of my experience as a CNA.The option to work graveyards aa a CNA has allowed me to continue going to school while working.I am more satisfied working for less money thru a registry at a hospital perc diem as a CNA.

I wish I could find a registry to work through, but even those require experience over here. It's either LTC,ALF, or homehealth with limited experience.

[KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN]

The sad fact is that these facilities really don't care too much when it comes to the staff. There will always be another fresh crop of CNA's or nurses that will fill the positions.

[CNA1991, CNA]

The sad fact is that these facilities really don't care too much when it comes to the staff. There will always be another fresh crop of CNA's or nurses that will fill the positions.

sad but true

[HopeOnTheRocks]

I can completely relate. I have been a CNA for over a year now. That being said, I've had THREE different jobs...

The first one, I was employed for not even 3 months. I WAS a little slow, this being my first job, and I elected to be on evening and NOC shift so I could start to get the feel of things. My first day there, I got a taste of the bad politics and turnover rate when my assigned trainer (We'll call him "Josh") refused to train me. Josh told me that it was pretty much pointless to train me because the facility is CONSTANTLY training new people and they don't keep them more than a month. What I didn't realize, was that they can fire you if a coworker makes ANY negative statement about you. This can be anything from not answering a call light in a timely manner, to them not liking you as a person. My supervisor was an LVN (We'll call her Sheryl). From the minute I was on the unit, she was a bully. Sheryl was significantly overweight, and I have been extremely underweight all my life. She required herself of someone else to watch me do all my transfers because "I am too small and weak, and I am an accident waiting to happen." To this day, I have NEVER let ANYONE fall. Throughout the night, the rude comments continued from Sheryl, Josh, and others. I answered a call light where an otherwise healthy resident told me he was feeling dizzy and having chest pains. For obvious reasons, I took this seriously. When I went to tell Sheryl, she told me that I was "NEVER to talk to her during her med-pass." False accusations causing my termination (within 90 days) were made about how I "left a resident soaking wet in bed the entire night", "transferred without a gait belt" "Used a restraint and was rough on a resident" (I held her hand down while I was changing her brief because the night before she had literally given me a black eye).