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.
Well, the bully got his way as usual... and a good aide lost her job... Sad. *Shaking my head*
I hope she can find another job where she is appreciated.
that really sucks because this ***hole will certainly do this the next time around. one can only hope justice will nail his *** to the wall somewhere along the line.
in the meantime, he's been rewarded. this sort of crap is the most miserable part of healthcare.
:angryfire Even if she did what they said, it was not just cause for termination, IMO.
However, for that aide, it may be a blessing in disguise. I would hope that you would give her a good recommendation in writing to offset what the management said, and I would also hope that she moves on to a better facility with better pay.
If I worked there, I would definitely start looking for another position, because if they can do this, who'll be next?
It happens in the UK as well. It seems to me that visitors and relatives often grasp the opportunity of this context to assert power that they lack elsewhere. It is mostly people who are not capable of understanding the nature of the work we do that complain in this way.
It happens in the UK as well. It seems to me that visitors and relatives often grasp the opportunity of this context to assert power that they lack elsewhere. It is mostly people who are not capable of understanding the nature of the work we do that complain in this way.
Welcome to allnurses from another UK nurse
I think difference about nursing and manageing healthcare in the UK is that the relatives can shout as loud as they like it is almost impossible to get anyone fired. There is a lengthy and difficult process to go through to terminate anyone and you have to prove that retraining and re-evaluation is offered. We have strict emplyment laws and policies and staff are always encouraged to be a member of a union.
Complaints are recieved and dealt with but staff are rarely fired because of them
Specializes in Med-Surg, Neuroscience, Home Health Care.
This whole thing just doesn't make sense. Bed baths are supposed to be given behind closed curtains, and the soiled towels/washcloths are to be bagged up/put into the dirty linens immediately. Was the pt's family looking behind the curtain watching the aide give the other roommate her hygiene care to see what she did with the washcloths? Like Judge Judy says, "If it doesn't make sense, then it's probably not true!" I don't believe that she was using the same wash cloths for both patients.
I hope the aide has some legal remedies on her side to fight the mistreatment she received and, IMO the hostile work environment and abuse she endured from the pts family members as well as the humiliation she suffered in front of all her co-workers/other residents/visitors. Completely inappropriate. I smell a potential lawsuit.
And yes, the screaming family members should have been escorted out by security. That is complete nonsense to permit someone to be out of control and allowed to abuse an employee in front of everyone.
Management needs to be replaced.
All of this could have been handled properly and professionally, behind closed doors, with the aide and management, WITHOUT the presence of the family members. The rest of the employees should now be wondering when it will be their turn to be terminated. No doubt in my mind these family members will do this again, now that they've been empowered.
Unfortunately, not all aides close curtains when giving care to residents. I don't work in facilities very often any more unless it's through agency but that was a constant battle at my first LTC job. Reminding *some* of the aides to remain conscious of the resident's privacy. Close the door, pull the curtain...it almost became a mantra at HS.
I have never been in the situation, but I truely feel if I were a nurse at that facility, witnessed that scene, and the offender was granted his wish because he was an ass that could yell the loudest, I would turn in my notice.
Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd..... we go back to my psych job.....
The job that I left because I was getting bored, losing my skills, and my pay and benefits were pitiful....
Yet there were also MANY things that I loved about the job....
one of those things... the fact that there were **NEVER** family members around, EXCEPT for very specific, short visiting hours that were highly enforced!!!
And even then, the family members were always too busy trying to talk the nonsense out of their loved ones' heads, to worry about talking to or bothering us.
I agree with most of the posts that this situation is by far not a reason of firing the CNA, what happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'? It is unbelievable how much power the family of a pt has over the nursing staff, and they do not have to sit through a whole course about oppression, power, horizontal power etc. This is clearly a misuse of power. It also would be desirable of the facility to take a stance and stand behind their staff as many of the posters before me pointed out.
I start my nursing career next month and hope that I can handle situation like this one in a fair and professional manner! Thanks for all the posts here; they were truly eye-opening.
I think difference about nursing and manageing healthcare in the UK is that the relatives can shout as loud as they like it is almost impossible to get anyone fired. There is a lengthy and difficult process to go through to terminate anyone and you have to prove that retraining and re-evaluation is offered. We have strict emplyment laws and policies and staff are always encouraged to be a member of a union.
Complaints are recieved and dealt with but staff are rarely fired because of them
Yes but this does not stop relatives shouting. There was a time when there was more respect for nurses. Of course a genuine complaint needs attention but I've encountered 'difficult personalities' who (in my opinion) are seeking to fill a need for attention or are 'working-out' their feelings around the admission of their sick relative. Whichever way, they are a demoralising influence and not enough support is given to the staff in question.
Oh I agree with everyone else his @ss would have been hauled of by security if it was on my unit and Im the supervisor so I kind of have control over my desk and no one and I mean no one is going to get away with treating my staff like that, which all the visitors know anyways I have it typed on a pamphlet I give everyone and there families upon welcoming them to there unit, and I see everyone of the new patients and there families on there first day at least I try to.
It's so easy to be an unreasonable family member. When my (vented, G-tubed, nonverbal, bed-bound) stepson went into the LTC facility he was in now, my wife & I were. And she was an RN who had sent pts there when she was a discharge planner, because it's the best place on LI. She'd never worked LTC, though. We, of course, wanted everything to be just as it was at home. And expected it, because this was the *Best* place. Within six months we became sane.
Just last week i heard another family member complaining loudly in the hall and could appreciate his feelings, but knew he didn't understand. Everyone is working hard. They could use another LPN and 3 more CNAs on this unit.
If someone had the time to orient family members (monthly group?), or give out a brilliantly written pamphlet and somehow get us all to read it, it might save some trouble.
Of course the guy in the OP would most likely still have been as abusive and disruptive. He should have been immediately invited into an office or, if he didn't cooperate, outside.
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traumahawk99
596 Posts
that really sucks because this ***hole will certainly do this the next time around. one can only hope justice will nail his *** to the wall somewhere along the line.
in the meantime, he's been rewarded. this sort of crap is the most miserable part of healthcare.