If I hear that one more time I swear I am going to stop wherever I am and scream. Literally. I will stand there and scream until The People come to take me away for evaluation. :uhoh21:
I haven't worked staff at a facility for a very long time so I haven't had to deal with this issue personally in eons but it still chaps my hide every time I hear it.
Today I was supposed to meet my sister for lunch. I arrived at her facility and waited in the car at the designated spot. She didn't come down after 15 min so I called up to the unit (I used to work there). The secretary told me she said to meet her on the unit and we could eat in the staff cafeteria instead. I didn't understand why but when I went up to the floor I saw a huge semi-circle around Nursing Station B comprised of nurses, aides, administrative big-wigs, and family members of a particular resident. Particular as in picky. I hear, from the ENTRANCE of the unit the man of the family (father, uncle, whatever?) yelling "I want her fired!" He is pointing at this poor aide slinked low against the nursing station half crying, half yelling something about new bed linens. The rest of the staff, my sister included, are trying to calm down the man and his female companion, meanwhile he is still yelling "I want her fired. If this is the type of trash you hire in this facility then you should be closed down and I'm going to call State."
:nono:Oh, no, not those words. That's a bad threat.
So now this poor girl may lose her job. I don't know for sure because obviously my sis didn't get a lunch, or rather, I had to leave before I even spoke to her, so I don't know if she got a lunch or not. But she missed OUR lunch date because some layman read somewhere or heard somewhere that if you threaten to call State you can get anything you want. That is an abuse of power and it peeves me to no end. Further, I feel it is highly improper and rude that a family member can dictate who is or isn't employed at a facility.
This is not to say that she didn't deserve to be reprimanded. I don't know what she did, but I highly doubt it is worthy of being fired and even if it IS, that should be at the discretion of the facility not a family member.
Last Monday, the family of one of our patients tried similar intimidation tactics. All because the RN didn't bring pain meds as soon as the family (not the patient) asked for it. According to the RN, she was slow in getting it because she had a low 70's SBP in another room.
Our facility has an abuse policy that states clearly that abusive behavior, whether physical or verbal, will not be tolerated. It's posted on a framed 8 1/2 x 11 plaque in every room.
When the pain med patient's family pulled the plaque from the wall, threw it on the floor, then and used some rather colorful expletives to describe his thoughts about the RN and the hospital policy, we called a code green (manpower) overhead and had some 30 staff show up along with 4 security guards. The patient's family was escorted off the premises and lost visitation privileges indefinitely. The hospital is encouraging the RN to file assault charges, don't think she will though.
Specializes in med-surg, psych, ER, school nurse-CRNP.
Last Monday, the family of one of our patients tried similar intimidation tactics. All because the RN didn't bring pain meds as soon as the family (not the patient) asked for it. According to the RN, she was slow in getting it because she had a low 70's SBP in another room.
Our facility has an abuse policy that states clearly that abusive behavior, whether physical or verbal, will not be tolerated. It's posted on a framed 8 1/2 x 11 plaque in every room.
When the pain med patient's family pulled the plaque from the wall, threw it on the floor, then and used some rather colorful expletives to describe his thoughts about the RN and the hospital policy, we called a code green (manpower) overhead and had some 30 staff show up along with 4 security guards. The patient's family was escorted off the premises and lost visitation privileges indefinitely. The hospital is encouraging the RN to file assault charges, don't think she will though.
Our hospital doesn't stand for crap like that.
See? If more healthcare facilities would follow suit instead of kissing tookus, things just might get better.
On the phone with Denise now. She says that the resident's daughter-in-law (wife of screaming jerk) saw the CNA use the same wash cloth on her MIL that she had just used on the resident's roommate. Then, she was irrate because the CNA did not change the resident's bed linens and the family has expressly requested that the linens get changed twice a day (in the morning and at HS) because resident is incontinent and has always had fresh linens each night when she lived at home.
OK, first of all, I HIGHLY doubt a CNA would use the same wash cloth on one resident that she would on another. That's entirely gross and it violates everything we are taught on the most basic medical level. Secondly, even if CNA HAD done that, when would she have had a chance to change the bed linens? I am pretty sure DIL would have stopped CNA in her tracks with her rants and allegations, completely impeding the CNAs ability to continue her duties. This is JMHO but I know I wouldn't want a PCT/CNA to continue to care for my relative ANY FURTHER if I saw that type of substandard care. Judging from the fiasco I witness at Station B I am pretty sure that family feels the same.
My sister then told me that CNA is certainly going to be fired and I think the whole situation is ludicrous. It's absolutely insane. It's an injustice. I am peeved right now and I don't even work there.:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire
Our facility has an abuse policy that states clearly that abusive behavior, whether physical or verbal, will not be tolerated. It's posted on a framed 8 1/2 x 11 plaque in every room.
i'm sure you know how blessed you are to be working at such a facility.
this kind of support means everything to the bedside nurse.
i'm sure you know how blessed you are to be working at such a facility.
this kind of support means everything to the bedside nurse.
bravo to you and 'yours'.:)
leslie
Yep, our facility looks after us. They realize that the staff are what make the hospital work and go to some pretty extraordinary lengths to protect us.
i bet this man gets his way everywhere by being LOUD AND MEAN
loud doesn't mean right but some people do this all the time and when they get their way the little light bulb goes on
'HEY THAT WORKS, I WILL DO IT NEXT TIME
I blame this on those in positions of authority who reward this type of behavior with a knee-jerk reaction rather than reason and rational conflict mediation.
Being a supervisor or a manager is a far more challenging job than many may think, if it is done right.
Sadly, these days, whether they realize it or not, most managers do far more following than they do leading. And employee morale and trust in those up the food chain suffers as a result.
On the phone with Denise now. She says that the resident's daughter-in-law (wife of screaming jerk) saw the CNA use the same wash cloth on her MIL that she had just used on the resident's roommate. Then, she was irrate because the CNA did not change the resident's bed linens and the family has expressly requested that the linens get changed twice a day (in the morning and at HS) because resident is incontinent and has always had fresh linens each night when she lived at home.
OK, first of all, I HIGHLY doubt a CNA would use the same wash cloth on one resident that she would on another. That's entirely gross and it violates everything we are taught on the most basic medical level. Secondly, even if CNA HAD done that, when would she have had a chance to change the bed linens? I am pretty sure DIL would have stopped CNA in her tracks with her rants and allegations, completely impeding the CNAs ability to continue her duties. This is JMHO but I know I wouldn't want a PCT/CNA to continue to care for my relative ANY FURTHER if I saw that type of substandard care. Judging from the fiasco I witness at Station B I am pretty sure that family feels the same.
My sister then told me that CNA is certainly going to be fired and I think the whole situation is ludicrous. It's absolutely insane. It's an injustice. I am peeved right now and I don't even work there.:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire
Ok, now I am going to play the devil's advocate, not because I want to inflame things in this thread, but because I have seen far too many situations like the one you describe in which the CNA was negligent when it comes to basic patient care.
I am a CNA (we're called techs here, but the job description is basically the same with a few added responsibilities), and I want to be held accountable for the care I give my patients. I want other CNA/techs held accountable. Once upon a time, it was me in that patient bed unable to do for myself. One day in the not to distant future, it will be my mother or my father or someone else close to me. I do not expect them to be treated as if they are staying at the Hilton, but I do expect that they are given good, basic care. And if they are not, I expect those who are negligent to be called on it.
If someone is incontinent, I don't think it is unreasonable at all to expect that bed linens be changed at least twice a day. Hell, I've changed patient beds twice an hour for 12 hours at a time on occasion. I hated it, but they needed it, and my job is take care of the patients, the people, assigned to me. Period.
CNA pay is abysmal considering it is a job that literally can mean life or death for patients in many situations. There are official standards for nurse to patient ratios, but few, if any, similar standards for CNA to patient ratios. This, despite the fact that at least half of the call lights that light up in any given facility, on any given floor, on any given shift, are often requests for CNA assistance. Those of you nurses who help with bedpans and water pitcher refills are saints. It helps, but in most places, CNAs are still stretched far too thin.
CNAs routinely work with patient numbers and related workloads that are patently unsafe, for pay not much higher than minimum wage, with little hope of change in the future. It shouldn't be any surprise that a decline in morale is inevitable and in some cases, a decline in care follows.
It sounds as though the family members handled the situation poorly, but I wouldn't judge them just yet. It sounds as though the CNA may have handled things poorly as well.
Far too often, family members such as this expect that if the squeaky wheel gets the grease, they'll whine and complain and get the most care possible. They tie up the staff for hours in the patient's room.
What they do not ever seem to realize is that the patient doesn't necessarily get any better care, because all the available staff is busy placating the nasty, rude relatives.
I have seen patients' families c/o things such as you mention and having witnessed the behavior as well as the care, there's no way that I believe them any more. Most of them, I have found, are out-and-out liars. I simply have no respect at all for that kind of behavior and that patient will be shortchanged because I will do my job, but I will not spend one second more in that room than absolutely necessary. Which means, they get a very rudimentary teaching as opposed to the deluxe version that the other patients/families get.
I've seen a tech do a complete bed bath on a patient (where I've helped), change linens, and spend a lot of time fluffing and puffing, and then the family comes in and c/o "nothing" has been done for the patient "all day."
I've seen patients and families put the call light on during the absolutely busiest times in the shift "just to see how fast the nurses answer."
So in this scenario, I'd be way more inclined to believe the aide than the family and I would tend to believe that the aide was responsible and did not use the same washcloth for two patients, nor would I believe that she failed to change the resident when it was necessary.
Don't get me wrong, I'd be completely professional to the family member and the patient, and the patient would get the appropriate care. But a lot of families need to learn that you can catch more bees with honey....
Don't get me wrong, I'd be completely professional to the family member and the patient, and the patient would get the appropriate care. But a lot of families need to learn that you can catch more bees with honey....
Well said. I agree.
May all of our supervisors promote honey in our halls so that those of us in the trenches don't have to suffer so many stupid bee stings!
Ok, now I am going to play the devil's advocate, not because I want to inflame things in this thread, but because I have seen far too many situations like the one you describe in which the CNA was negligent when it comes to basic patient care.
I am a CNA (we're called techs here, but the job description is basically the same with a few added responsibilities), and I want to be held accountable for the care I give my patients. I want other CNA/techs held accountable. Once upon a time, it was me in that patient bed unable to do for myself. One day in the not to distant future, it will be my mother or my father or someone else close to me. I do not expect them to be treated as if they are staying at the Hilton, but I do expect that they are given good, basic care. And if they are not, I expect those who are negligent to be called on it.
If someone is incontinent, I don't think it is unreasonable at all to expect that bed linens be changed at least twice a day. Hell, I've changed patient beds twice an hour for 12 hours at a time on occasion. I hated it, but they needed it, and my job is take care of the patients, the people, assigned to me. Period.
CNA pay is abysmal considering it is a job that literally can mean life or death for patients in many situations. There are official standards for nurse to patient ratios, but few, if any, similar standards for CNA to patient ratios. This, despite the fact that at least half of the call lights that light up in any given facility, on any given floor, on any given shift, are often requests for CNA assistance. Those of you nurses who help with bedpans and water pitcher refills are saints. It helps, but in most places, CNAs are still stretched far too thin.
CNAs routinely work with patient numbers and related workloads that are patently unsafe, for pay not much higher than minimum wage, with little hope of change in the future. It shouldn't be any surprise that a decline in morale is inevitable and in some cases, a decline in care follows.
It sounds as though the family members handled the situation poorly, but I wouldn't judge them just yet. It sounds as though the CNA may have handled things poorly as well.
JMHO.
You raise a valid point. I certainly believe that if the aide is guilty of the alleged offenses she should be reprimanded. I don't know if she did or not provide insufficient or subpar care to the resident but the whole thing seems hard for me to believe. Especially after listening to my sister go on and on about how dedicated this aide is, working overtime, taking on extra/the hardest residents when floats or agency aides are on the unit, etc. Then again, the skeptical side of me says that if she is so eager to work harder and longer than everyone else maybe she is short-cutting it some. Who knows?
I certainly don't think she should be fired, especially since it looks like she's being fired because of that @ss rather than perceived or actual policy. I also don't like how her side of the story wasn't heard. As she stammered her side everyone, him especially, was over talking her disregarding her words. I saw that with my own eyes. If they took her statement afterwards...well, that just loses something in translation, doesn't it? Too little, too late perhaps?
Substandard care is NEVER acceptable and I do believe if she is guilty of providing such care then she should be counseled and disciplined. Maybe she deserves a write up or retraining. Maybe suspension or probation. Maybe she's innocent. I don't know that we will ever know. But fired for it? Flame on, but I don't think so.
, FWIW
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suejara
32 Posts
Let's fire crazy family members instead