I don't want to be a CNA anymore.

[Ms. Nurse Assistant]

After this experience, I don't want to be a CNA anymore. I do not have any luck in this field, I have the worst luck.

I recently spoke with the Nursing home who terminated me to get the real reason why I was let go and things got real ugly. The RN was rude, had me on speakerphone so other RNs/LPNs could chme in aganst me. I ended up crying after the conversation.

Apparently, they said that there were too many complaints against me before I even reached 90 days. One of them was being getting a write up for one diaper being soaking wet.

And then a major one that almost cost my certification being stripped away from me involving a resident and his "shoe". His shoe was put on wrong, and his toes were curled under or something like that. He has arthritis. His son came up there to visit him and said that his father was screaming in pain because of how his shoe was put on. He was so angry that he was going to call state on the Nursing home, and try to get my certification taken away from me. I was unaware that it was this serious when I was employed. I was just told that his shoe was put on wrong and that I was not allowed to get him dressed anymore.

Still, I do not see how that could have happened. He had hard leather sneakers that easily slid on his foot.

The RN who I talked to claim that I ignored the pain and agony he was in--I told her that he was not in any pain when I put his shoes on. Then she switched it up and said he was SCREAMING after I had left my shift.

Then I asked how was I supposed to know if something was wrong--his shoes were perfectly fine when I put them on, he was not in any pain.

She claimed that what I did was not intentional and it was a case of being careless. You cannot tell if something is wrong with his foot because it looks fine when you put them on. Well, I argued why is he wearing hard leather sneakers if he has arthritis then?? Why doesn't he have cloth slippers so this doesn't happen again?

She claims that I was the only person this has ever happened with and since it has not occured again with another CNA.

I really don't know what I could have done differently. What happened was the inevitable. I still assured her that if they continue to make him wear those shoes it WILL happen again, despite her claims.

The other complaint was that I was too rough with a female resident. She complained to a CNA that a girl was not very gentle with her and that she did not want her ever again.

That was the first time I had ever dealt with the woman and I had been working there for nearly 3 months. She was having major difficulty getting up so I did the best I could to help her. Maybe I was a bit too rough with her, but I don't see how I could have gotten her up if I didn't put all my strength into lifting her.

It's really hard being a CNA. It is NOT easy lifting people with a lot of dead weight, what else are we supposed to do? We can't lift them like they weight 1lbs. Just about everything we do to help these people can be classified as abuse. You try to roll patients who are very heavy and cannot help themselves and they are always going "ouch" or "you're too rough"...or if a RN/LPN walks in and sees something and is quick to say you are doing it wrong and abusing the resident.

The other complaint was getting them dressed too early. There was only one particular set that was very exhausting and stressful that I HAD to get them dressed early. They had to be up at 5am, and I would just dress them at 3:30am instead of 4am. If I hadn't of started early I would have been behind. And all the other CNAs are too preoccupied with their workload to give me a hand all the time. I specifically asked the RN if this was in the employee handbook that we were not allowed to dress them at 3:30am and she started dancing around the issue..I stressed that there was no policy in the Nursing Home that stated it was against rules to do this. As a new CNA, how are we supposed to know it's wrong?? Especially, if we have not been properly trained! When I started working there it was really up to everyone's own discretion as to what time they get their residents up. Not everyone got them up at 4am. When I told her this, she specifically asked me for names and was ready to fire other CNAs of course I refused. I am not malicious at all. And I really liked my fellows CNAs very well, and they work very hard.

Lastly, the RN claimed I had many other complaints against me, and when I asked her what they were she said, "I have many things to do right now and I don't have time to be on the phone with you all day". With persistance on my part she finally told me that the other complaints were about the way my 'sets' looked.

I asked why was I not made aware of all these issues. She said she called me but I was never picked up the phone.

I TRULY felt that I was doing the job to the best of my ability. Everyday, when I came to work I thought I was doing the RIGHT thing. I had no complaints from other CNAs, in fact I helped them dress some of their residents. Just to think that everyday I came to work I was doing EVERYTHING wrong. I am very hurt and dissappointed. My intentions were always to do a good job. I was doing what I thought was right.

Lastly, the whole confrontation between me and the LPN was such a set-up to get me fired. The confrontation was what got me written up and taken off the schedule, but when I get there it was not addressed at all!

I know this post is long but I really need to vent. But I have talked to my mother and father and told me that I do not want to work in a nursing home ever again. I still want to be a RN, but not a CNA. I truly feel like there is VERY little respect for what we do and its easy for us to make so many wrong mistakes. I don't want to go through this ever again. I might find a job in retail or something. This experience has really jaded me a bit.

[Ms. Nurse Assistant, LPN]

I have been a LTC nurse for the past couple of years, and I was also an aide at one time. To be quite frank with you, getting residents dressed at 3:30am is something that would make the management at any LTC facility horribly displeased, because the state considers it 'abuse.' No facility, in their right mind, would risk fines and being tagged with state deficiencies over an aide who wants to get people up extremely early.

I currently work night shift (10pm to 6am) at a nursing home. The aides at my workplace do not start getting residents up before 5am.

My only suggestion is to learn and practice better time management strategies.

That is not abuse. And I think the term 'abuse' is over-used in facilities anyway.

The nursing home wanted them dressed and out of the bed at 4AM-4:30AM. I started at 3:30AM, so how is that abuse?

What people are failing to realize is that I was only getting them dressed. I was not getting them out of their bed early. And I would do this when I did my rounds. I figured if I got a few of them dressed after I changed their briefs, then it would make it easier for me to care for other residents and not get behind in work.

[leslie :-D]

That is not abuse. And I think the term 'abuse' is over-used in facilities anyway.

The nursing home wanted them dressed and out of the bed at 4AM-4:30AM. I started at 3:30AM, so how is that abuse?

we're not calling it abuse- the state surveyors would DEFINITELY, UNDOUBTEDLY, call it abuse:

and the facility would be tagged with a very serious deficiency.

the state has very clear parameters on what constitutes abuse.

it doesn't matter what we think.

employees must adhere to a set of guidelines, whether it is the state or jcaho.

if the state ever found out the nsg home was getting these residents out of bed by 4:30am, they would undeniably, be in a boatload of trouble.

that's all we're trying to say.

leslie

[AngelfireRN, MSN, RN, APRN]

What you are not getting is the resounding theme here: Me, me, me. It was hard on me, it made it easier for me. I can guaran-dang-tee you Mamaw was bothered when you got her dressed at 3 in the morning, whether you got her up or not! I don't really think Grandad cared what time the facility expected him to be up, either. If someone cam in my room at 3 a.m. and had the gall to try to dress me to make it easier on themselves down the road, we would be having problems, I can assure you.

It does not seem to filter through that this is not about you, it is about those poor residents. Even dressing them required waking them up, and that borders on inhumane. Yes, "abuse" maight be a tad overused, but that was what this was, whether you choose to think so or not.

Best of luck to you in your future education. I hope you find what you're looking for.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

That is not abuse. And I think the term 'abuse' is over-used in facilities anyway.

You might not consider it abuse. I might not consider it abuse.

However, be assured that the state considers it 'abuse'. What you or I define as 'abuse' does not matter one bit. As long as the state deems it to be abuse, it's 'abuse.' Therefore, you are never to do things that the state considers 'abusive,' such as dressing residents at 3:30 in the morning.

No nurse manager or nursing home administrator will risk being fined by the state or being tagged with a deficiency over a nursing aide who wishes to do things her way.

[CNAinNeb]

And no, I haven't worked LTC before, (and as you state neither have you, so how am I disqualified from participating in the thread?) but I have done clinicals there and the CNAs there weren't getting people up until 6. So it can be done.

So, you are assuming that because the CNA's at ONE FACILITY were able to get residents up at 6, it is the same everywhere? Clinicals are very different than the real world. The poor girl is oviously overworked, and she is only human.

She may need more education/training, possibly the facility needs a longer oreintation period for new CNA's. Its really hard to tell what is actually needed without actually seeing the situation in person.

Ms. Nurse assistant- Don't take this the wrong way, but I actually took a CNA course twice. I was really bad at transfers and turns after taking it the first time, and initially blamed it on my small size. My second school was at a tech school, and provided better training. We had to be checked off on every last skill before we even got to clinical, my instructors drilled and drilled me, and could do a transfer in my sleep when I was done. I realized that transfers have more to do with body mechanics than physical size/strength- its tough to get down!! The whole experience was a really good personal growth experience for me.

[Ms. Nurse Assistant, LPN]

What you are not getting is the resounding theme here: Me, me, me. It was hard on me, it made it easier for me. I can guaran-dang-tee you Mamaw was bothered when you got her dressed at 3 in the morning, whether you got her up or not! I don't really think Grandad cared what time the facility expected him to be up, either. If someone cam in my room at 3 a.m. and had the gall to try to dress me to make it easier on themselves down the road, we would be having problems, I can assure you.

It does not seem to filter through that this is not about you, it is about those poor residents. Even dressing them required waking them up, and that borders on inhumane. Yes, "abuse" maight be a tad overused, but that was what this was, whether you choose to think so or not.

Best of luck to you in your future education. I hope you find what you're looking for.

It is VERY challenging trying to get residents up and dressed. It's not as simple as putting someone's shirt and pants on--sometimes they DON'T want to get dressed regardless of what time it is. And you have to spend 15-20 minutes trying to coach Mr. Johnson JUST to put his shirt on--we haven't talked him into putting on his pants, to brush his teeth, yet etc. Or spend 40 minutes in another residents room trying to dodge several right & left punches to your face, neck, and chest because Mr. Wilson has dementia and likes to sucker punch anyone who touches him. Okay, let's not forget the other two residents who call lights are going off because they both have to use the bathroom at the same time. Perhaps another CNA or if I'm lucky an RN will be kind enough to answer those call lights and actually take them to the bathroom for me? LOL I think not.

I find you saying that I am only thinking about "me me me" extremely insensitive just because I want to make an already stressful job less stressful.

Many of the remarks are some of the reasons why I often second guess my decision to be a CNA anymore. It's the fact that many of the RNs above us expect us to take on an almost slave-like role.

Next, I feel as though you are twisting things around a bit, and making it seem as if I came into the residents room, woke them up and caused them emotional distress. I would dress the residents during my rounds--when they got their briefs changed. They had already been awake because of this, and more than likely were expecting to get up in the near future anyway.

Let's be frank here, when you are a nursing home resident you have to compromise a whole lot. If Mamaw doesn't want to be awaken at 3:30Am or 4AM, then perhaps she should get a Private Caregiver outside of the Nursing home to dress her at a specific time, or a Home health Aide to take care of her in the privacy of her own home so she can call all the shots.

No one wants to be in a nursing home anyway, and you can't have too many high expectations from a facility that employs one person to take care of 10-15 people all by themselves. This is just how a nursing home works.

When I do become an RN, I will be much more supportive of the CNAs and far less critical.

[leslie :-D]

When I do become an RN, I will be much more supportive of the CNAs and far less critical.

good.

i'm glad to hear that.

if not more important, make sure you are practicing within all of the LEGAL limitations as well.

and btw?

when a pt consistently refuses to cooperate/comply?

that means no.

patient refuses.

and that is also, their right.

their LEGAL right.

leslie

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

God love anyone who can be a CNA in a nursing home with demented patients.

You should be allowed to vent your frustrations here and feel comfortable doing so. If you read a lot of the posts in this forum people are venting about their job and it's usually "me me me........"

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

LOL That was the problem I was having when I started working at the nursing home..when I asked for help suddenly the other cnas would disappear for almost an hour and then come into view when it's almost time to leave. Not to mention, an Aide that had been there much longer than me NEVER wanted a particular set, she would always find a clever and deceptive way to make it so that I had it. That set was VERY challenging, and it ended up sealing my fate.

To the poster who said that I did not acknowledge getting the residents dressed early was wrong, it wasn't wrong. And, no one seemed to empahtize with me WHY I got them dressed early. we were clearly under-staffed and I had to find a solution so that I could effectively care for other residents as well. I was a new CNA, and I had only once voiced my concerns about the heavy workload..but do you really think they were going to do something about it just because some employee that has barely been there for 90 days thinks it's too hard?? if they hadn't listened to the employees that's been there for months, they surely were not going to listen to me. which they didn't. also, when you're new on a job, you cannot come up in there with too many suggestions or complaints, you're on probation and they will defintely consider you not right for the job. You have to be there long enough to earn the right to suggest or complain about something.

Those were major issues; people are not octopusses who had several tentacles to reach out and do several things safely at the same time. And, what I also noticed is that at many nursing homes, doing SOMETHING earlier was basically the norm...it is just that it was either not discovered or not spoken about.

I remember plenty of tricks I had to do in order to get my work in order so I could avoid being written up, and (try) not to disturb the patients but so much. It was horrible.

But, keep in mind, it is true. What you and I do may not consider to be abuse, the state does. And, even for the patient, one may not mind that these things are done, another may be outraged...and what about the ones that have no voice at all? Some who wish they can yell to leave them alone one more hour, please do not open the window while washing me; please use warm water, please brush my teeth...etc... Many of these things kept me conflicted, which was the reason why I had to leave it. I saw no way around it.

[kstec, LPN]

I cannot believe some of the negative responses to the original thread person. Maybe some or all of you have worked LTC, maybe even as a CNA, but some of you are just not being nice. LTC is the place families drop of their family members because they can no longer care for them or won't care for them. Most LTC facilities are primarily Medicare and Medcaid reimbursed. Most are owned by for profit coorporations. Now do you think for one minute that they are going to staff most of these facilities sufficiently? Not, money is the bottom line. I'm a nurse in LTC and I run my a$$ off all day and hardly ever have my med pass done on time, to some I guess that is elder abuse, but I'm behind because we are short CNA's and I help them in between passing meds. Why because aside from the maintence drugs (insuling, B/P, cardiac) the rest can wait. If they get a folic acid scheduled at 8am and don't get it until noon, the resident will not die, again another form of elder abuse, right? I'm not sure but I do my best to avoid the humility these residents are put through by being wet and poopy by cleaning them or helping to clean them. It's a matter of priority. I've told the DON what I do, and if she wants to fire me or report me to the state, go ahead, because I would LOVE to have me as a nurse if someone drops me off in a LTC facility. If the worst that happens to me when I'm old is that someone gets me up early and put a shoe on my wrong foot, considering how most LTC facilities are run, I'll take it. Instead of judging her, make a difference in why LTC is run the way it is rather than blaming her. She did what she had to do to comply with that specific LTC's rules. Shortcuts are taken only because the geriatric poplulation are not cash paying or insurance paying customers. Money makes the world go round, the more you have, the better quality of care you will receive. So lets stop beating her up and go and personally work LTC (not the beautiful rare ones) but the realistic short staffed ones.

[leslie :-D]

God love anyone who can be a CNA in a nursing home with demented patients.

You should be allowed to vent your frustrations here and feel comfortable doing so. If you read a lot of the posts in this forum people are venting about their job and it's usually "me me me........"

in all fairness tweety, i don't get the impression people mind her venting, or a "me me me" type of woe.

but i do find it frustrating when someone isn't hearing the legal implications- that it's not about what she thinks is fair, or what the nurses are demanding:

bottom line, it's illegal.

and if she (or a nurse) tried to explain their rationales to a state surveyor, they'd still be handed a big, fat citation.

we really are a reasonable bunch.

leslie

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

So lets stop beating her up and go and personally work LTC (not the beautiful rare ones) but the realistic short staffed ones.

I've personally worked LTC for the past couple of years. I've switched to the night shift, where I must provide care to nearly 70 residents.