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.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

:lol2:

[TazziRN, RN]

And while we're thinking outside the box: Every LTC worker should be wondering if at least some of the difficult behaviors we attribute to dementia could be reduced, or even eliminated, if we would just let the residents SLEEP!

:clphnds:

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

I know that when I worked as a CNA, we had no voice, and basically, the nurses didn't, either. I remember trying to do all that I could in order to do both, comply with the insane demands of the facility, the dignity of the clients, and my own conscience. When I saw that I could not balance all of them without losing my mind, being threatened or further reducing the dignity of the patients, I ran for the hills.

I would rather try and find a solution to the problem constructively. I do see where the OP may not be able to realize that the powers that be do in fact, view this as abuse, but I also understand her frustration. The nursing homes in my area were nightmares...all of them. I used to leave there feeling so weighted down that I could no longer remain an employee of any capacity.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

That was why I left LTC too, for several years. Now I'm in a position where I can actually affect changes in the way the sacred routines are performed.......it CAN be done, but only if management is willing to work with the staff. In far too many places, it seems, they are too removed from the 'floor' to even notice that the staff is drowning. I hope someday that it will be different.

[egglady, LPN]

Well, I have been a cna, now a nurse all in LTC. I think what the whole dang world needs to realize is that these old people we take care of werent always old. We take these jobs because we CARE. If all a person cares about is getting things done the easy way, then nursing is not for them. These old people were little kids playing once. They were young adults falling in love once. They were brand new parents once. They raised families, became loving grandparents. Some were veterans (and deserve our thanks) All are still human beings that deserve respect- no matter how demented they are. If the OP feels she cant go to her nursing supervisor with her concerns, perhaps she should try the social worker, or even call state herself. My honest opinion is that there is a certain level of maturity that one needs to work in healthcare- whether it is LTC or hospital or clinic, and the OP is lacking it. Maybe she should go back to retail work for awhile. That is NOT meant as an insult, just a suggestion.

[Ms. Nurse Assistant, LPN]

I've worked LTC in many capacities---as an aide, as a student, as a volunteer, as an RN, and as a manager. I've also worked all three shifts. And I have NEVER awakened and dressed residents at 0330, either for the facility's or my own convenience. Nor have I ever found it acceptable to force them into lockstep routines when they are individuals with their own timetables. Having lived nearly half a century myself, I can all too easily identify with the elderly---after all, in 20 years or so it could be ME lying in that narrow nursing home bed---and Lord help anyone who tries to slip me a "silver bullet" at 0500 so I can have my BM on some administrator's precious schedule!!:angryfire

Yes, I've taken a lot of flak from management in the past for my stance, and yes, I've left a couple of jobs over it. No matter. I am a firm believer in personal choice, dignity and individualized care planning, and I too consider it "abuse" when residents' rights are violated for the convenience of the facility. I've fired people for less than the OP has admitted to---especially when the attitude is defensive and the blame is always laid at someone else's feet.

I agree that the facility she works for sounds terrible, and I'm sure there's not enough help. There rarely is in LTC. However, there is still NO excuse for waking residents up in the middle of the night and getting them dressed for a day that doesn't start for another three hours or more. Put yourself in the resident's shoes for just a moment: how could you possibly be comfortable lying in bed fully clothed? And think of the work you've created for the next shift, who has to come in and change the resident yet again because they've soaked through their clothes.

And while we're thinking outside the box: Every LTC worker should be wondering if at least some of the difficult behaviors we attribute to dementia could be reduced, or even eliminated, if we would just let the residents SLEEP!

OK, I'll climb down off my soapbox now. Everyone has made valid points here, and having worked in so many areas of LTC, I can relate to all of it. But for me, what it boils down to is this: You have to love the frail elderly to survive the working conditions and the petty political nonsense inherent in LTC. If you're in it for the paycheck, if you are going to treat the residents like so many widgets on an assembly line, PLEASE leave and go flip burgers for a living. LTC has a bad reputation, in no small part, because of the perception that only those who can't hack it anywhere else work there. It is only with time and the delivery of quality care that we can begin to change that and make LTC more attractive to the best and brightest workers.

Just my worth.

Why is all this judgement being passed on me while the nursing home goes virtually unscathed in the process?

The problem is not with me, but with management--THEY wanted them up at 4AM-4:30 which was not enough time to get everyone dressed while caring for other residents in the process.

The reason why 3:30AM sounds so early is because MANAGEMENT wanted them up at 4AM in the morning, that's why. It's not like they had to be up at 6AM or 7AM and I decided to dress them at 3AM. They already had to be up at very early hours to begin with.

And I doubt the residents know the difference between 3:30AM and 4AM, so they wouldn't cause a fit.

Lastly, if you don't want to be awakened at the particular time in the morning then get a private caregiver that way you can dictate what time you want to be up! This is a nursing home, where they set rules in what time they want their residents to get up--you don't have control over that. Sorry, but that's just how it is.

Put yourself in the resident's shoes for just a moment: how could you possibly be comfortable lying in bed fully clothed? And think of the work you've created for the next shift, who has to come in and change the resident yet again because they've soaked through their clothes.

The nursing home wanted them up and dressed, where they sit in the dining room fully clothed for HOURS before they are even served breakfast and before the next shift comes in. This is the kind of work MANAGEMENT is giving the CNAs.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

You are speaking from the perspective of an RN--not from a powerless position as a CNA.

The CNA position is not powerless.

[withasmilelpn]

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.

Having worked in this field for 16 years as a CNA and an Lpn, I can assure you there are in fact people who are completely unaware or even trying to get themselves dressed at that hour! (Like the other night I left at 1 am, and "Mr. Jones" was up, fully dressed, sitting in our dining room, waiting for breakfast. ):wink2:

That aside, the state does in fact describe this as abuse, when staff get residents up or dressed that early. There are many, many, rules the state has regarding resident care. I AM NOT SAYING THE STATE IS WRONG, however; given the fact that they will not address safe reasonable staff ratios to provide this care, they are unrealistic. Shortcuts abound, and the provider is the scapegoat when caught. Frankly, the nurses should not be allowing their patients to get up at 4am. They are the ones in charge! But many nurses (and CNAs) are unwilling (and ineffective anyway) to be the loan voice speaking up. I would put money down that many of the CNAs getting their patients up timely are not in fact giving good care. (Like skipping oral care, etc.) Plus this CNA is new. It can be very hard to be fast when you are new. I want to be clear that this CNA can learn from others posts here. But, many LTC facilities are absolutely to blame for tying providers hands behind their backs. Look at how many posts there are about no staff, no supplies, no help there are in this forum!:angryfire

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Closed for time out and moderator review.