How do you deal ith mouthy rude CNAs?

[Katie5]

:angryfire

[Angels_wearScrubs]

:trout:

I keep a trout in my back pocket.....

just kidding

First of all....specifics please? What did they say to you and how did they say it and what are the circumstances? If they were in the bathrrom stall taking a **** and you asked them to get a glass of water for the patient in room 546, I'd be rude and mouthy too

That being said....

Talk to them. Pull them aside and have a private conversation. Tell them that you are a team that has to work together for the benefit of the patient. That you feel taken aback by their rudeness and if when they are rude to you it's going to cause discord, and the patient suffers. If they have a problem with you personally, maybe you said something to p!ss them off even though you didn't mean too. Maybe they are just unhappy and an all around sour grape. If that's the case, don't take it personal. Try and resolve the problem on your own first, and if the CNA continues to be rude then talk to your supervisor.

[Katie5]

She generally has this rude demeanour. Very touchy and irritable when you ask her to do something. See it is not a one time thing- she's just evil*shudders*

[whichone'spink, BSN, RN]

:trout:

I keep a trout in my back pocket.....

A giant Halibut also works, right?

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[cop2bnurse41]

First make sure you are not the problem. This will be difficult being that it is hard to take a step back and judge your own behavior. We always want to place the blame eslwhere. If you are sure it is not you then you have to be the Professional and try to resolve the problem. Talk to the CNA like a person not a servant the way many but not all nurses do!!! This in it self may go along way. Find out what her problem is if its somethig you can fix then do so if not you have no choice but to start working up the chain of comand. I personally would use this as a last resort.

[newtress, LPN]

I had one today as a matter of fact. I am a brand new nurse to a ortho/neuro floor. A patient needed to be moved to a new room right in front of the station. The CNA and I were to do the move. As I was pulling the electical plugs out of the wall to the bed she said "you need to learn how to pick up speed and be faster at this." Then comensed to show me and tell me "don't ever let the foley tubing get underneath a patient's leg." Mouthy, rude AND bossy. I licked my lips in the hopes that my saliva would turn into super glue and keep my mouth sealed shut. I was p*ssed off and knew I was turning red. I noticed the rest of the shift she was talking to patients in a loud controlling manner like they were children. I know she doesn't have the cred to perform legal nursing duties, but man I am sure she wants to.

[Lacie, BSN, RN]

Keep in mind also the CNA may have endured the "I know it all" attitude from some new nurses also. It may be a situation in which she and others may need to take the time to learn to trust you in your new situation. Remember many of the CNA's have been at this and probably on that floor a very long time. Especially if you have one that was doing this when you were in diapers. As a manager I have seen new nurses throw thier new status around such as "I'm the RN and I'm in charge" attitude or certain work they feel if for the CNA's and above them to drop down to do. I've picked up many mops in my time so the CNA could complete what she was doing. I'm not saying this is your attitude but like a previous poster stated check into yourself first and maybe just give it alittle time. If the CNA has been on that floor along time they can become very protective of their "territory" and thier patients. Just a thought. Give it time and say "Thank you for reminding me" once in awhile. Be surprised how far a little sugar will go over salt.

[Reigen]

I am professionally responsible for how the CNAs care for the Patients, during my assigned shift. I show up for my scheduled shifts, not knowing what challenges I might encounter. My job requires me to be in the moment at all times, and to make split second decisions on the run. What I do or don’t do can mean the difference between life and death. I often work under extreme stress, yet must remain calm and in control. Although there are others who function in a supportive capacity, I am the one on the frontline.

I do not think CNAs always realize that what they do and do not do reflects on me and the image of the whole facility. When the aide ignores their role or does not understand prioritizing to fit the nursing plan, they undermine good nursing care and jepordize a nurses' license.

While it is true that I might have workplace encounters that lead to personality conflicts- I still have the right to be treated with dignity, respect and

professionalism when an instance of conflict occurs, and have a right to a working environment that is free from discrimination, harassment and bullying.

I have to trust the CNAs to do their job.

I always let them do their job, and until they prove otherwise, I tell them what I expect of them in a non threatening way. I try to inspire, teach, and guide them not just “supervise” them, and I also try to provide a clear vision, clear expectations, and an environment that fosters teamwork.

For example: I tell them to let me know when they leave the unit and in turn I let them know when I leave the unit.

I tell them that the Patients are the priority -- so lets try to keep them fed, dry and clean.

I also tell them when I want the vitals signs and weights. etc., and to report any abnormal finds ASAP.

Anytime I get a chance, I help them out, answer lights, pass food trays, assist with feeding at meals, make beds, clean up incontient Patients, help toilet when asked, ambulate, perform transfers, do restorative theraphies, take phone calls, call and meet with families, chart, pass meds, ... you name it, I think I do it.

A good leader doesn't ask the rest of the staff to do anything he or she wouldn't do himself or herself, but the leader can't do everything, that is why there is delegation.

When I cannot use my own two hands to care for a Patient, because I have to deal with tasks that cannot be delegated, the CNA will be those hands... and eyes, ears and nose. It takes a team to make things happen but more than that it takes people who care enough to go and do the extra effort needed.

When THIS fails then I make a written complaint to "our" supervisor (copy to self) and I continue to make written complaints.

While this long post dosen't have a "trick" up my sleeve to help you in a quick fix way, I hope it shows that you are not alone and that others have also been in that uncomfortable place.

[sasha2lady]

Just the other day I had an aide who had volunteered over a week ago to work a shift and then waited til the boss left and us nurses were not around.....to mark herself off and leave those other aides short. I called her out on it and she lied..like she always does and said the MDS nurse told her she could take that day off...I told her that the only one who ok's that is the DON. Soooo.....the DON told me to put her down as a call in and she would be written up. This aide has lied since she started working there.....I have a hard time tolerating her...and on top of that she is sooooooo lazy. She tries to go in rooms and hide so that she dont have to answer her call lights etc. She dramatizes every single minute of work. She is also rude to the patients as well as her coworkers. I also told her not to volunteer for any more shifts since she cant be a team player...in actuality she should have been fired last year. but they keep giving her chance after chance. I dont get it. If I had done like she does when I was an aide I would have been fired for it. Another issue on my shift is that the aides hate our DON...which given....she isnt the best by any means...she never helps anybody do anything and she is the queen of passing the buck to everybody else no matter how small it is. 8 out of 10 of our aides on my shift happen to be african american....when the boss said that one of them could not leave early..she got mad and they all started saying the DON is a racist...which is absolutely NOT true at all. If she was racist she wouldnt have hired them ...any of them in the first place. They took her as picking on this aide when she wouldnt let her leave early as being racist. Now...that realllllllly got on my nerves.

[newtress, LPN]

Well, from my recent experience I was sharing something I had not ever had happen in the past. I have been a CNA myself, a nursing student and now a new grad nurse. My "complaint" regarding the thread title of "mouthy rude CNA's" was in reference to being so new on this floor that I most certainly did not have a know it all attitude with any of my new co workers (CNA's and nurses) being there all of 4 days. I had not said a word to the CNA, and just had never had one tell me what to do or how to do something. I was there to help her. Simply pulling some electrical plugs from the wall was an easy enough task and I was gathering up the five of them when she told me in a condesending tone to learn how to speed it up, was offensive to me. There was no slow motion lolly gagging going on, and she came off to me like I was a numb skull who had never moved a bed before. And the foley drain tube, she was whipping that bed from the wall and out of the room as I was trying to re- situate the tube that she had rolled him onto. That's all I was expressing in my previous post about the bossy behavior toward me. A sporting chance for her to push around a new nurse over a bed transfer and extremely irritating. It had nothing to do with CNA vs nursing duties or years of experience.

[psalm, RN]

Some people, no matter what their position, just have no class.

[Coragl]

You have a right as a person to voice when someone is being rude. You gave a thorough explanation and should not be discounted. 
There are simply rude CNA's who are unhappy in their roles as a CNA.