Help with Major CNA Problems

[JSBoston]

The facility I work with has a big problem with CNA laziness and bad attitudes. They refuse to work together for the most part, neglect the patients, lie in their charting, and if they do decide to wash a patient up it's with the help of the nurses and because we asked them to. They won't do anything without us holding their hands and leading them around for each task. This is not every CNA, but definitely the majority. They talk a good talk and rarely get in trouble for their actions.

I HATE asking every two hours "Did you turn this patient?", "Can we go wash this patient up?" and force them off of their butts to go do something while they glare at me. They have read and reread their job description and signed off that they understand what it is they are supposed to do at work. Patient care as a team with the help of the nurse and OTHER CNA's. But that never happens.

Our supervisors say WE (the nurses) are supposed to make them accountable. But all we get is backlash and bad attitude. I don't want to feel like a slave driver. I have very sick patients to monitor and at times critical issues to deal with. Of course I will help wash up patients, even by myself if things are busy, and be dripping with sweat in effort to help the team and have things go smoothly. But when I'm killing myself on the floor, not getting a break so the CNA's have their 2,3,4+ hrs of internet/social time, it really makes me upset. Especially when it's at the expense of the patient. NOT to mention I am not getting paid for doing two jobs.

My question is... HOW do the nurses make the CNA's accountable for their jobs without treating them like children and holding their hands? They really have no motivation to complete their jobs because they know they can get away with it. My complaints usually only go as far as the nursing supervisor, but I think I am going to start writing many emails to our nurse manager, HR person and our CEO.

This has been a problem for years, but I've recently reached my very limit when a CNA made me go cry in the bathroom because I was so frustrated with the bad attitude and being treated basically like dirt.

If anyone has any help or ideas to offer it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[Crush]

I just got my cna license. I was working in a hospital and got fired for doing things that the nurse should have done. All I got was thank you and when I reduced the sound of the iv and notified the nurse because it was going on for 15 minutes, the nurse reported me to hr, who let me go. So not sure if it's ok to be too helpful. I got along well with 99.9 % of the nurses and they were ok with me. No mercy for trying to be too helpful!

Hmm, in your original January post; you emptied a drain you weren't supposed to, were playing music on your cell phone (even if it was "for the pt"), and you turned down the alarm on an IV pump.

That is quite a bit different than "I turned down the sound". Doing things far out of your scope and against policy, is not "trying to be too helpful".

I thought this sounded familiar too. Yeah, working outside one's scope of practice is not acceptable ever. It is not that you were "too helpful" but you took it upon yourself to do tasks that you per policy and scope of practice should not have done. Your heart may have been in the right place but you cannot work outside your scope of practice.