I'm a CNA, not a MAID.

MedChica · Nov 23, 2012

I've been looking for jobs, and these places want CNA's to cook, do laundry, clean, and drive people places. Um.. maybe I got this wrong, but I dont remember learning any of these things during my CNA training. I REFUSE to clean your house, cook, or be your driver. If you want a cook, get a chef. If you want you house cleaned, get a housekeeper. If you want a driver.. well, you get where I'm going.. LOL.... just had to vent about that... i just get sick of people expecting CNA's to be servants.
What do you think?

Well, when I did homehealth (aide), I did.

I ran the vaccum and washed the dishes and cooked and such.

In a way, it IS taking advantage, but I didn't completely mind. The elders needed help and I used to get bored out of my skull watching them sleep. It was fun and they were so pleasant and appreciative. The only field assignments that I do now are hospice. But if I did straight homecare while providing clinical services? I'd do the same thing as a nurse.

I don't want to be anyone's driver, though. No. Don't like that.

That's the only thing that ever really ****** me off? Being a chauffer.

With one client, I was not informed that he did the whole 'errand' thing. Had I known? Wouldn't have taken the assignment.

So, I have this big old 6'2 man in my little Eclipse. He wanted to go and what could I say? No?

I took him to the bank to do this, that and the other.

He became tired. So, I took him back home and he couldn't get out of the car.

Got the wife, who was mad. She popped an attitude and I popped one right back. It surprised her and she stammered an apology.

Guess I was supposed to sit there and take it, huh?

She knew that he was wanting to go out. Why didn't she let me use her SUV? No - she allows me to squeeze and manuever this man into my car. Watched me struggle to get his w/c AND his walker in my little car and didn't help or say a thing.

Yet, when we returned? She wanted to give me an attitude because I called her off her perch to help me lift her husband whose legs were too tired to transfer to the WC safely?

Oh, no. She had 'the right one' that day!

See - we'd already had a falling out earlier about her dogs. She told me to let him out and whatnot. Yeah: 'Told' me.

O...k?

So, I let the dogs out in the front. The dogs that I know of are trained to come back and these people were well-off. So, why wouldn't the animals have gone to obedience school? At that time, I didn't have a dog and didn't know better.

Well, one came back and the other didn't. He was brought back, eventually. But...she got all flustered when I told her. That was understandable -- until...

She became disrespectful. Something about me not having common sense.

I said, "No, ma'am. Common sense... would entail you taking care of your own dogs and not expecting that someone who doesn't own dogs -- whose job it is to, first and foremost, provide care to your Alzheimer stricken husband has all the time in the world to be looking after a bunch of animals...."

BRING IT!

She was still p/o, but she shut the hell up and went outside...I know that!

Again, I'm not going to be talked down to. I don't give a d*mn who you are. It's not going to happen. I am respectful. I am the nicest nurse ever until you cross that line. I'm not ugly to you? Don't be ugly to me.

Her problem, in a nutshell, revolved around the fact that...she thought that I was 'The Help'. LOL

The dogs? I take no responsibility for. I was a caregiver for her husband. Feeding and bladder training her damned animals was not in my job description. If there were stipulations? She should've voiced them. If she wanted them watched and let out, she should've brought her lazy a--s downstairs and did it herself. Common sense.

Worky Quirky, BSN, RN · Nov 27, 2012

I completely agree with you! People get the idea that since the CNA course is typically so sort that you can't possibly learn that many thing but it is most deffinatly a crash course of the basics of nursing. In my course I learned WAY more than I thought I would, not to mention I paid almost $1000 for the entire costs of the course and would hope to make more than $7.25, I work at Subway now and make more than that! I just passed my state exam yesterday and I think I only want to apply in facilities or hospitals. And on top of all of that, my mother works for an at home care group and she isn't certified and she makes $10 an hour and her boss told me when I became certified that she would offer me a job, but it is the same work and then some for the same pay! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! If I take the time and money to become certified and develop my skills I hope I would get paid more than just some average joe off the street with no training. We all went through the course to learn how to safely care for people who can't care for themselves, not to drive you to the grocery store, vaccum your living room, and cook dinner for you and your family. I even know a CNA who had to provide care for an elderly person and this person lived with their son, and this guy would take his wife out when my friend would go to work and she would have to babysit their kids too! A CNA is a trained professional, not a taxi/chef/maid/babysitter.

Sorry, it is everywhere. Unfortunately. The demand is soaring for caregivers, the pay should folllow like any business. Show me the money! There are many write ups all of a sudden with a warning of some kind. How about recognize role models instead of punishing those who don't know they are doing something wrong.

RunnerRN2015, ASN, RN · Nov 28, 2012

I love my job however I now understand the significance of being able to provide 1-on-1 care. You don't get to spend much time with one patient as you would like when you have 5 others to attend to. Some nursing homes assign 1 CNA to more than 6 patients.
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A ratio of 1:6 would be heaven for CNAs! I work at a pediatric hospital and have 12 patients when we have 2 techs; otherwise, I'd have all 24. I used to work at a LTC facility and we each had 8-10 residents.

sjbrk · Nov 30, 2012

A ratio of 1:6 would be heaven for CNAs! I work at a pediatric hospital and have 12 patients when we have 2 techs; otherwise, I'd have all 24. I used to work at a LTC facility and we each had 8-10 residents.

I have two jobs in LTC. One in the Midwest where I go to school, one in AK where I'm from (and work on breaks). Midwest job? 12 patients at least but more and more it's 18 because of working short staffed. AK job? Max number of residents is 6, and my average is 4. It's living a dream.