How do you feel about your CNA's?

I THINK THERE HARD WORKING DEDICATED PEOPLE AND I HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING WITH SOME REALLY EXCELLENT CNA'S WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT THEM.........:balloons: :)

Love 95% of my gals. Its the ones you have to supervise, remind and hunt down. The other ones just about run the unit on their own and will some times ask for supervision or some help :chuckle . I actully enjoy working when I work with a good crew.

I work with some excellent CNA's! I use to be one, before I became a LPN, I totally understand how hard their work is and help them out when I can.

For the most part, the CNAs I work with are wonderful! I also work in acute care and wish they would pay the CNAs more for the hard work they do.

In 10 mos we have gone from having some of the best most talented CNAs to having the worse. Management didn't listen to their concerns and treated them with indifference, so the good ones left. Only when they figured out they didn't have enough aides to cover the shifts did they make a bs speech about how they appreciated their work and commitment. Sadly, we now have only about half a dozen good ones carrying the bad ones. The bad ones now take extended lunch breaks and extra smoke breaks without reprisal because the facility can't afford to lose any more aides. Having good aides is like having extra eyes and ears that alert you to problems or situations. I make it a point to always commend my good ones and take them out for dinner every three months. Ultimately, the buck stops with me and I want to avoid any situations where my license is at stake.

I work with some really good people. This facility is pretty lenient with the CNA's but most of them don't abuse it. If we get any lazy ones who won't carry their weight the other CNA's generally will make sure they are run out on a rail.

There was this one CNA, and older lady, who was not very nice to be around. She would roll her eyes when you asked her to do anything and most of the she time she wouldn't do what you asked her to. She would argue with the nurses and anyone else who asked for her help. She actually had worked there for years and was fired over another issue, but I'm glad she is gone.

I think the CNA abuse registry is a touchy issue because I do not believe that every person accused of abuse deserves to be branded as an abuser, but I have also seen some CNA's that needed to be reported. When I was a CNA myself I had the misfortune to be paired up with this woman who was a nightmare. She was in my CNA class and I thought she was nice but when we got on the floor with the patients she turned into a monster and was very mean to them. She would curse at them and jerk them around. Several people complained to the DON about her (including me) and when they were able to prove that the bruises they were finding on the residents came from her she was fired. It made me so angry though, to have to put up with her for any length of time.

Just like any other group of people. They are just that - people - and there will be some you love and some you don't. The ones I work with, they all have their strengths and their weaknesses, just as we RNs do. One thing I have learned very quickly though is never trust them with YOUR license. Just a week ago I caught one faking every single vital sign and every single blood sugar on our acute care (surgical) floor. Who knows what else...urine, intake, etc. Turns out she had been doing it for months and no one caught on...

I am in the same boat as NurseeTee, we have an CNA that lies about outputs, VS, you name it. She is very nice to the pts, but is dangerous because she makes things up. I think CNA's are VERY valuable to the healthcare field and there are some that obviously love their job and do it well. Others are doing it just as a job and do not give quality care. Right now I work at a hospital and we have a heck of a time finding good CNAs. Keep in mind everything I have just said about CNA's could also be said about nurses so I am not bashing anyone here:)

i am in the same boat as nurseetee, we have an cna that lies about outputs, vs, you name it. she is very nice to the pts, but is dangerous because she makes things up. i think cna's are very valuable to the healthcare field and there are some that obviously love their job and do it well. others are doing it just as a job and do not give quality care. right now i work at a hospital and we have a heck of a time finding good cnas. keep in mind everything i have just said about cna's could also be said about nurses so i am not bashing anyone here:)

to tooteria & nurseetee:

these particular cna's - was it determined that they just didn't know how to take vital signs, record outputs, etc., or were they just vicious, etc?

i am taking a cna course starting next week and hopefully will be working as a cna shortly, while finishing lpn courses. then working as an lpn while i finish rn courses. you and the previous posters were nice enough, but i see condescending attitudes toward cna's in the posts (i.e. my gals), but mainly based on the stories i've heard from fellow students who are/were cna's. i am going to look at my future jobs as a learning experience, but i'm already wondering how i am going to deal with condescening attitudes. because of my personality, people usually respect me and don't talk down to me. i always attempt to be very respectful and cooperative with everyone in all circumstances, but i don't "click" too well with those who display airs of superiority. oh well, i guess i'll just do what i always do, be the best worker and ignore attitudes.

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Drysolong I do not have a condescending attitude towards our CNA's and none of the other nurses I work with do either. It is just pure frustration that some tend not to do their jobs when they know what they are supposed to do. So I dont think you have to worry about being talked down to ever as a CNA. You sound like you want to try hard and I did the same path you are, CNA, LPN, RN and it is a great way to learn. Let it be known to your coworkers that you are in school and any oppurtunities you have to watch them do neat stuff wouold be great. As long as you do your duties and are polite, nurses will love you!