So I work for a home health agency and I've been doing this for a few weeks. I see two clients, 9-1 and 1:15-4. One is hoarder, keeps her house dark at all times, kitchen infested with ants, dolls everywhere, trash is emptied on the daily. She is a nice lady when she's in a good mood. My second client, a lady that I have only met with twice. She's particular about how she wants things done and her house is nice and tidy. We got along pretty well, I thought. She told me I was going to make a good nurse one day and that I was patient. Today, I arrived 2 minutes early to my second client's house. It was my second time meeting with her. I called her to tell her I arrived, like I did on the first day. She was mad that I was late, I explained to her that I had a client before her and am given 15 minutes for commute. She kept on fussing over it, saying that no one had told her anything, even though I did tell her on the first day that I see a lady before her... She was agitated that I called her instead of knock on the door. "Normal people knock on the door. Why would anyone call when they can knock on the door?" "Okay," I said, "Next time I will knock on the door." "Well go on, knock on the door." "You mean, right now, as we are on the phone?"
Seriously?
She gave me attitude as she let me in. Went on and on about how other people knock. I became annoyed very fast. I started in the bathroom and worked my way to the kitchen. I remember her husband telling me that's what their CNA of 4 years would do. They had a routine. Her kitchen is brightly lit up with natural lighting. She insisted I turned the light on so I can see what I was doing. I said it was alright and I would prefer to have the light off. She flipped the switch on. I told her again I could see just fine and flipped it off. She flips it back on. Okay, whatever. She watches me mop and sweep from the other room, the whole time. After I finish I go into the backyard to dump the water, hose the mop, set it out to dry, took the bucket bath in. She said I needed to mop the bathroom. Annoyed that she didn't say a word as she watched do all of that, I asked her if I could just clean the floor with a rag with a cleaning agent. She said she would like it mopped and that it has always been mopped and that she told me from day one it needed to be done. Which I honestly don't recall. I was flustered. I told her I will next time, and that I need to get started on other things. She says nothing for a while, sits down, and says, "I don't know how you're gonna make it." I ignore it and go to the bathroom to set up for her bath. She got mad that I didn't take the trash out first thing before I did anything. Like I said, she is particular about things. The whole time I was there, she kept on fussing and complaining about how I don't do anything right, I don't understand or speak english, I'm the worst CNA she's ever had, etc. Okay, lady. I am not a child, I am a good worker, and I am fast. I have a bad temper sometimes and I try to keep cool when I'm at work, but when she was speaking to me like that, the whole entire time I was there, I had to give her a piece of my mind, too. But I was not mean. I would just said she didn't need to talk to me like that and I was here to help her, she just needs to explain things once instead of going on and on about things (like knocking on the door), and that she didn't need to be mean to me. She said she wasn't mean and everyone loves her, because she is a good Christian. Okay.. After a while, it became kind of humorous that she would follow me around and insult me. I would just agree with her and say "Yeah, I'm the worst CNA ever. You got really unlucky there." "Yep, I don't know how to speak english." "I'll never make it in life." She tells me to be quiet and that if I were her kid she'd beat the **** out of me. This whole time I'm just cleaning. I ignore her again. She tells me she doesn't want me there. She called the agency to complain about me while I was in the same room, told them I didn't know anything, I don't do anything, I'm the worst, etc. I go into the guest room and start cleaning there. Off of the phone now, she says more stuff about not wanting me there, complaining about me, to me, some more. I step into another room and called the agency myself and told them she really didn't want me there, and they said it was okay for me to go. I use her telephone to clock out and she's yelling at me telling me to get off of her phone. That entire hour was a nightmare.
I came home and was never more happy to be greeted by my awesome, loving corgi. Maybe I should just look into working with animals, I thought.
I'm not sure what to think right now. I know I will have to deal with some pretty difficult people. Other than being a smart aleck as I was being insulted, I don't know how I could have handled the situation differently. I really don't. I can't just take all of her insults as I am on my knees scrubbing her toilet. I understand that clients will get annoyed and impatient with CNA's they haven't worked with before. Before I started working as a CNA I knew there would be times where I would be discouraged from pursuing a career in nursing. But I wanted to get my experience for nursing school. So far I just feel like a maid. I wanted to avoid LTC because of the running around, not having time to do stuff for patients, and the lack of interaction with them, and just the drama with co-workers. I know nursing is a difficult job, but in a different way. What I really want to do is neonatal or peds. I'm really hoping that along the way I don't get more and more discouraged from my goal. I'm not sure if I have a question, or really know what to do, or how to feel right now. I guess I'm just ranting.
As I begin, I would like to preface this with THIS IS JUST MY OPINION. If your first meeting with this client was a cordial one, something may have changed in her personal life that had her reacting as you stated. As a nurse or healthcare professional, I think it is important to look beneath the surface in order to elucidate the real situation or cause of another's behavior especially when it is in great contrast to prior behavior. I do not recall you stating why the "other CNA" left and it is not important except maybe she had a strong rapport with that person and was missing her. Other than getting into a verbal confrontation with her, I do not see anything you did wrong. Do not get discouraged, take it as a lesson. In the healthcare industry, one must have a very thick skin as we see people at their most vulnerable and frustrating moments yet we must provide great care. Best of luck to you!
I had a patient that scolded me for laying the blanket over her with the fringe on the right instead of the left. Told me I have a long way to go in nursing school and I'll never make it. Over a blanket.
Specializes in Critical Care Transport, Cardiac ICU, Rapid.
Young CNA checking in. Little background about myself I am freshly 21 years of age, have worked as a CNA for 2 years. Experience working full time, while being in school, in a 100% memory care facility as well as skilled nursing. With a strong resume, fantastic reccommendations, and a great interview i was able to land a job as an ICU tech at a very nationally renowned Pediatric care hospital just last month. Having worked in dementia and memory care as well as a very demanding skilled nursing facility i have dealt with many gripes from "tough" patients and residents almost daily. It was very disappointing to read about your problem solving skills regarding this ordeal OP. Coming home with multiple wounds as a result of combative residents 5-6 days every week is certainly not my cup of tea but despite those daily ordeals not once did i ever provide lip towards these residents. Providing excellent care & customer service are parts of the job that should always be employed no matter the situation (i also posess a background in retail as well).
Is this standard for home health? I didn't realize housekeeping and a CNA were the same thing. I don't recall any training in my course on maid duties. It definitely was not on the state board exam.
No house keeping is not on state boards because it is set up mainly for those that work in a ltc setting. However we CNAs that work home care are in a more unique setting.
We provide a service were people can get personal one on one care that they need while still being able to stay home instead of being in a ltc facility. Now part of that also means that the house needs to be taken care of too. There is laundry that needs to be done. Meals that need to be prepared. House work that needs to be done because you want your clients to be living in a clean healthy environment.
There ate some home care CNA that do provide personal care only. But those visits are maybe an hour at the very most and they see many people in one day. While other home care CNAs provide round the clock care which then yes we need to make sure the home is running smoothly for our clients
I would just be careful in how you respond. It sounds like the client was very particular and may have had some psych issues underlying her reactions. However, depending on how you respond you can make the situation worse.
I used to work in home care as well before I started working in assisted living. I felt that I was mainly being paid for being a maid instead of being a CNA. I was mostly helping them get up, dressed, showered, meals, ADLs, and getting to bed at night. Those were the ones with the short shifts in the morning and the evening. The minimum shift was 2 hours, so the rest of that time was spent with housework. With the longer shifts (like the 12 hour shifts), a good portion of my day was spent doing housework, since most of my clients would sleep throughout the day. There was also a good amount of down time, especially at the end of the 12 hour shift when the dinner dishes are cleaned and the client is in bed. That was part of the reason I left home care for assisted living, in addition to the fact that I had to travel all over the place to different homes (sometimes as many as 3 or 4 homes in one day).
Well you'll need a thicker skin for working with the elderly home dwellers . You may be the only person they talk too all day so their social skills are bit diminished. Then of course the synapse could be faulty in their brain due to whatever.
My advice is to do the work because you make a positive difference in your life not hers . It does help if she appreciates it too though.
I've always enjoyed seeing people get better because of me. Its what I do and why I do it!
Keep your head up, she sounds like a miserable, mean old lady. If I were you I would try to get a job at hospital, but entering people's homes to clean sounds terrible. I'm sorry you had a bad day, but don't let it define you.
Specializes in Med/ Surg/ Telemetry, Public Health.
I think you handled yourself well provided the situation. It seems as though you are doing maid duties not CNA duties. When the client was getting out of hand you should have just stepped outside and called the agency and explained to them what happened and tell them that the client is out of control and request to leave immediately. Some older people are set in their ways and are grouchy. Never let anyone treat you this way, always call your supervisor first if you feel like things are getting out of hand. I'd rather walk away from a client than to stand there and let an argument escalate back and forth. In the end just be professional about the situation and let the higher ups deal with the BS. Don't let this incident discourage you from becoming a nurse.
I disagree...nursing is the only profession that seems to accept doormat treatment.
The client in the original post would have been kicked off the airplane if she was verbally abusing the American Airlines pilot. She would have been asked to leave the doctors office if she was berating her primary care physician. She would have been escorted out of the bank by security if she attempted to stand there and badmouth the bank teller.
Sorry, but other professions have a zero-tolerance policy to abusive clients. The nursing profession needs to get with the program and set these people straight.
I absolutely agree with you. Why is this the only profession that has to accept abuse? Sounds to me like this lady just wanted a maid/house keeper. If she was able to follow her around the house complaining and insulting her about everything, then seems like she is able to do it herself. Now I know that home health does require some light house cleaning but those who really can't do it themselves would not be following you around while your doing your job, that's just crazy. Yes I would've left the light on but getting mad just because she called her instead of knocking on the door is retarded. Just tell her you prefer she knocks and keep it moving. I've done home health before but if all they want is cleaning and there is not some kind of care involved, then i'm not doing it because I am not a maid. My supervisor was talking about stuff that may need to be added to the care plan if they are requesting something that is not in it. He said "if they want you to go clean out the attic then that's not gonna get added to the care plan because we don't do that."
The minute she started the insults I would've called the office and told them I was leaving. In the hospital where I work, we had a patient that was being very beligerant to the nursing staff. He was using profanity, threatening and even scratched one of the nurses on her arm and she started bleeding. They called security, who sat with him until they got his behind out of there for good. He wasn't even there a full 24 hours. Nobody HAS to put up with that foolishness.
nrseduk8ter
18 Posts
As I begin, I would like to preface this with THIS IS JUST MY OPINION. If your first meeting with this client was a cordial one, something may have changed in her personal life that had her reacting as you stated. As a nurse or healthcare professional, I think it is important to look beneath the surface in order to elucidate the real situation or cause of another's behavior especially when it is in great contrast to prior behavior. I do not recall you stating why the "other CNA" left and it is not important except maybe she had a strong rapport with that person and was missing her. Other than getting into a verbal confrontation with her, I do not see anything you did wrong. Do not get discouraged, take it as a lesson. In the healthcare industry, one must have a very thick skin as we see people at their most vulnerable and frustrating moments yet we must provide great care. Best of luck to you!