I just started at a LTC facility as a CNA. I must say, I really do enjoy the work, but since I just started, I'm being oriented and I have been working with other CNA's the past two days. I get this for a week and then I'm on my own.
I find it overwhelming that there are nine patients for every CNA. That's nine people that must be woken up, cleaned, dressed, bed made, room cleaned, in time for breakfast. We only have an hour to get them up, so that's about six minutes a person. Yesterday, my second day, I managed to get two people up on my own, because I like to take the time to talk with them and make them as comfortable as possible. Also, I only managed to get two fed (for the residents who cannot feed themselves at all), because I just couldn't bring myself to shovel the food down their throats like the other CNA's (I wouldn't want the food shoved in my mouth like that, so I wasn't going to do it with them. Plus I spent a lot of time talking to them, even though they couldn't respond back).
How am I ever going to get all of this stuff done quickly? Are there any tips? I don't know how to get nine patients up and give them the care that I want. Heck, I don't even know if I could manage it in that time frame if I rushed. What should I do? I feel very overwhelmed!
I know how frustrating it can be as I was a CNA for many years before becoming a LPN. You sound like a CNA I would love to have on my team. I know that the work is incredibly hard and no matter how long you have been there, everything is never all done, (always something else that needs to be done), but when you realize how much your little resident's appreciate you, it makes it all worthwhile. It takes a special person to do your job and do it well, and I am not talking about how fast you do it. Just remember to do the best that you can do and continue to talk to your residents and let them know that you care about them and how they feel. You will learn much from them and although exhausted and frustrated, you will go home knowing that YOU have made someone smile and made someones day a little brighter, just by being there. It is amazing what a little hug or touch can give them. They deserve all the kindness and love that you have to give.
I just started at a LTC facility as a CNA. I must say, I really do enjoy the work, but since I just started, I'm being oriented and I have been working with other CNA's the past two days. I get this for a week and then I'm on my own.
I find it overwhelming that there are nine patients for every CNA. That's nine people that must be woken up, cleaned, dressed, bed made, room cleaned, in time for breakfast. We only have an hour to get them up, so that's about six minutes a person. Yesterday, my second day, I managed to get two people up on my own, because I like to take the time to talk with them and make them as comfortable as possible. Also, I only managed to get two fed (for the residents who cannot feed themselves at all), because I just couldn't bring myself to shovel the food down their throats like the other CNA's (I wouldn't want the food shoved in my mouth like that, so I wasn't going to do it with them. Plus I spent a lot of time talking to them, even though they couldn't respond back).
How am I ever going to get all of this stuff done quickly? Are there any tips? I don't know how to get nine patients up and give them the care that I want. Heck, I don't even know if I could manage it in that time frame if I rushed. What should I do? I feel very overwhelmed!
I felt SO good today! One of the residents said to me as I gave them their lunch, "Oh, it makes my day so much brighter when you walk by because you always have a beautiful smile on your face for me!"
I'm getting better. I worked with someone new in a different area today, and we didn't get every single resident up. We fed a few in their rooms, which does take more time, but I think is the way to go. Not everyone wants to be up and dressed at 7:00am. I think the other CNA I was working with just wanted to have the rest of his shift free after breakfast. It was a lot busier throughout the entire shift, getting everyone ready on their own schedule, rather than rushing to get all nine residents up and in the dining halls, but I felt it was better for the residents, and it made me feel better because I could take the extra few minutes to talk with them in their rooms, as I fed them or as they ate.
Anyway, thank you all for the advice! Being a CNA is tough. I come home really tired. Sometimes I can't stop thinking about the residents. But I honestly feel so good about what I'm doing that I'm happier right now in life than I have been in so long!
work at a facility where this isnt happening? i dont know where that is.. but all the LTC places i have been to are like what you describe. its sad. as a nursing student i was only given one patient and they got a ton of care and some people dramatically improved (mood-depression) after getting one person to care for them 5 hours a day.. but sadly its unrealistic.. i wish you the best. i love the geriatic patients, but alot of people dont like it because of how you have to treat them in most places (rush rush). i think its a system problem...
:uhoh21: Please give me the name of a facility where it isn't happening. I can't imagine or even dream of a facility where you have less than 9 pts. to a nurse or cna. I've worked at places where it is more than that. Sad but true. I worked under the identical circumstances as the original poster for 6 weeks while waiting for my LPN nclex results. To tell you the truth, I wouldn't do it for another 6 weeks unless my children were starving to death. A good cna is worth double heror his weight in gold. :)And a bad cna(and there are a few) canmake an8 hour day seem like an unbearable eternity. I always brag on my great cna's bring in cookies or buy them a drink(coca cola) as a little token of appreciation and always brag about them to the DON and other supervisors. :p Thanks to you cna's that truly are in it for the welfare of the pts. it shows in your work.. and makes the day of us nurses a little easier.
Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.
My reasoning on this issue goes back to my days at in home care: You get people dressed and up for meals. Too many people get the boost in bed and get left alone. Next time you "boost" someone up, take a look at their tray afterward. Did they eat? Did they get any attention? 'Did they feel alive? People need help, incentive and that feeling they are a part of things. That's why we dress, pay attention and get them up in the morning.
Think about yourself. If you spend days and days on end in your jammies, how's that feel? Sorry. Sensitive on this issue and I do wish more people could stay at home with their family instead of being at a facility.
I have to disagree. I would much rather have a leisurely breakfast in bed in my jammies than to be hauled out at an early hour, whisked off to the bathroom and dressed for the day at 7....bad enough that I've gotten up at 5:30 my entire working life....please don't wake me up early when I'm old...and by the way, we do look at the trays...we go back to make sure the person is eating...we reheat the food if we need to...and the residents don't spend 10 hours in their wheel chairs.
AND, our residents don't all wear johnnies....most of them have PJ's from home.
I wish you the best, December. You're lucky that you only have nine patients. Most CNAs I know have twice that amount to take care of! The problem isn't the lack of time management; it's the fact that most nursing homes are horribly understaffed, which causes CNAs to cut out things in order to provide care. How do nursing home managers expect three CNAs to feed 20 residents during a 45 minute meal time, or get 60 residents to bed in two hours? It's impossible, unless the CNAs skip some things in their care. The top complaint of CNAs is the lack of pay. I also know of places where they don't pay CNAs any extra for weekends, holidays, and nights. And they (management) wonder why they get so many call outs during those times! If more nursing homes did a few things, such as: pay CNAs more (they can earn the same or more at fast food joints); offer extra pay for unpopular shifts; offer some job benefits, such as health insurance and paid days off, these things would make CNAs feel more appreciated by their employer, which they should be.
The pay is a problem, but for me, I'd rather have less patients (and a lot of the CNA's I work with would agree). More pay isn't going to give me extra time with the patients.
I've gotten more experience, so I'm better at the time management. I also have some downtime I can spend making small talk with the residents and helping them with tasks that otherwise would be ignored. I also will sometimes forgo one of my two breaks for the residents, when I can handle doing so, but some times I just need to relax and have something cold to drink during those fifteen minutes.
Being a CNA is valuable experience and I find it to truly be rewarding. Unfortunately, I think being a CNA also magnifies all the problems with nursing: short-staffed, little respect, and low pay.
The pay is a problem, but for me, I'd rather have less patients (and a lot of the CNA's I work with would agree). More pay isn't going to give me extra time with the patients.
I've gotten more experience, so I'm better at the time management. I also have some downtime I can spend making small talk with the residents and helping them with tasks that otherwise would be ignored. I also will sometimes forgo one of my two breaks for the residents, when I can handle doing so, but some times I just need to relax and have something cold to drink during those fifteen minutes.
Being a CNA is valuable experience and I find it to truly be rewarding. Unfortunately, I think being a CNA also magnifies all the problems with nursing: short-staffed, little respect, and low pay.
Pay and # of residents go hand in hand. Think about it. IF a LTC Facility pays what a CNA is worth then there would be more than enough CNA's in that facility. Enough employees that the facility could afford to lose the warm bodies and have caring dedicated CNA's there are so many wonderful CNA's out there if the pay was right then we could get them back from McDonalds and factories where pay is in some instances almost double ie. in my town the factory my sister works at starts employee's at 10.36 or something like that. IN our LTC Facility up until about 1 year ago starting pay was 5.98. McDonalds hires in at 7.50 and wendys hires at 8. Now say the LTCF paid 10.50 an hour then we would have more good CNA's and could get rid of the riff raff. Quality does get quantaty. I don't care how you put it.. 10.50 in my area with out a college education is making bank. of course the nurses pay would go up just as if not more dramatically and same with nurses we would have more than enough good nurses RN, LPN, and CMA's that we could get rid of and not have to hire just whatever walks in with a heart beat.
Do not be afraid to tell the NOC CNA to fix or re-do something. Always do walking rounds. Make sure they did their work, i.e., that the residents are dry, that the rooms are clean, etc. Walking rounds means there will be no surprises at the busiest time of day, like a soaked resident or misplaced items.
This kills me. Here comes the incontinent police! If things were perfect for the next shift when they came on duty, there would be nothing for the next shift to do. So if a noc CNA has a total of 12-18 residents to care for starting at the time they come on duty and finally gets finished at 0700-0730, the last thing he/she needs to hear is day CNAs saying and I quote from our day CNAs, "I'm sick and tired of coming in here every day and finding residents soaked or FOS!" Whoooe Nellie! EXCUSE ME, but aren't you on duty now? Are these your assigned residents we're talking about here? Well then if you're on duty now, then get moving. The noc CNA is ready to go home and she's very tired. Don't stand around waiting for your assignment until 0900 or sitting down and eating your takeout breakfast you bought on your way to work when there are a few residents that still still need to be fed. If pts are changed at 0500 and you finally check them at 8 or whenever after they or you have eaten, what do you expect them to be? Clean and dry??? Get a grip. Do the job you were hired to do. It's called continuity of pt care and guess what? Now it's your turn. Why do people think the night shift does absolutely nothing all night long? I'll never understand the mentality nor do I even want to try.
Nicely letting the noc shift that a resident is soaked from their knees to their shoulders in urine at the beginning of your shift is the way to go instead of ragging on them. As someone who works noc shift, we like to try and let those who sleep, sleep. Sometimes if there is an increase in incontence we don't catch it. By nicely letting us know we can up checks or toiletings.
I don't work in LTC, but instead a small memory care unit in Assisted Living, so how you do checks may vary, but the goos aides will always try to get in to check someone a little more if they know there maybe some issues.
For the girl who wants to know about time management. I completely feel your pain. It's so hard to figure out your residents routines and how to get them through that routine in a way to hasty way. Doesn't your noc shift help out a little bit? Saddly on my unit the noc shift is getting up more people than day in less time it seems. But for those hard to get up residents that need a little extra care double team them. It goes a lot faster if there are two aides doing cares.
:p 
Why do people think the night shift does absolutely nothing all night long? I'll never understand the mentality nor do I even want to try. 
nsnan_2000
6 Posts
I know how frustrating it can be as I was a CNA for many years before becoming a LPN. You sound like a CNA I would love to have on my team. I know that the work is incredibly hard and no matter how long you have been there, everything is never all done, (always something else that needs to be done), but when you realize how much your little resident's appreciate you, it makes it all worthwhile. It takes a special person to do your job and do it well, and I am not talking about how fast you do it. Just remember to do the best that you can do and continue to talk to your residents and let them know that you care about them and how they feel. You will learn much from them and although exhausted and frustrated, you will go home knowing that YOU have made someone smile and made someones day a little brighter, just by being there. It is amazing what a little hug or touch can give them. They deserve all the kindness and love that you have to give.