lazy cnas

monicanurse · Mar 11, 2010

With lazy CNAs, you have to be a leader and say loud and clear what you expect but also be willing to help them. Dont ever divide yourself between nurse and CNA roles. I find that when I help them, they recipricate. This might not apply to your situation though. I know it is frustrating. At the end of the day, if there is no teamwork, you feel alone and frustrated.

Have you raised this issues with your boss? Maybe they need to sit down with this person and let them know what their expectations are.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Mar 11, 2010

i have the same issues with cnas at my job. i do change pts. and always lend a hand. i think ive earned their respect by simply helping. then there are some that are stuck in their ways.

marielina85 · Mar 11, 2010

yea believe me i have no issue in helping im not one of those nurses that feels like i dont need to help i help when im able to but i am also new so im slow in doing alotta things.its just a shame that adult people cant do their job without having to be babysitted.o well today when i go in ima have a long talk with my cna because i know at the end of the day im ultimately responsible for everything.also cnas what time does oral care get done?before the patients are in bed or after?

chinadollie · Mar 11, 2010

omg i know in ltc facility i did clinicals in it hurt me so bad that the patients were deprived of good care, the cnas would always hide ll together in one room and watch tv, talk, and they were just horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but if anything it didnt make me wanna leave, it made me feel like i had to do something, its up to you to change things around and ensure the cnas are providing proper patient care

rsalas558 · Mar 11, 2010

I honestly believe that it is a growing trend acrosss the states that CNAs/PCTs are becoming lazier & lazier. Many hate that someone of similar or younger age have some authority over them. Many have no since of what task takes priority over another, only which is the easiest to do. I work with some GREAT and some LAZY CNAs on a regular basis and ultimatey I have decided to leave my current employer and work somewhere where people still have great work ethic & integrity....life will be so much sweeter

juliaann · Mar 11, 2010

There are lazy CNAs. There are also lazy nurses. Make sure you appreciate your good CNAs and let them know, and make sure you work as hard as you can to provide awesome care for your patients, so no one can turn this complaint around on you.

Sorry if that sounds harsh (realize I'm coming from a CNA prospective), but I don't know you and your CNAs and your situation, so that may already all be true for you, in which case: awesome. But patient care is all about teamwork. While I agree cleaning someone up needs to take priority over drinks, maybe your CNA was so overwhelmed they just felt like they needed to finish a task they had started in order to feel like they accomplished *something.* Maybe you could have offered the help the CNA change the resident so it would get done twice as fast, or offer to continue passing drinks for a few minutes so the CNA could clean the patient up without being even more behind. There was probably a better way to deal with the situation. If you're super swamped too, maybe you could have found someone who wasn't (another CNA or nurse) to clean up the patient or help the CNA clean up the patient. As an authority figure over the CNA, you have to make sure they do their jobs, but you have to also be a team with them, and not just command they stop what they're doing and go do this other thing immediately (even if it IS more important!). It's all about how you approach them, tone, and willingness to help when you can. CNAs begin to resent nurses who just order them around, but can be fantastic healthcare partners for nurses who work with them and understand their stress level.

I don't meant to sound like I'm advocating for laziness - but based on the information you gave, the CNA was *busy* (the opposite of lazy) doing patient care. Maybe he needs some addition training in priorities? Maybe he needs a lower patient-to-CNA ratio? While I don't excuse refusing to clean someone up at all - maybe laziness wasn't the reason for his actions.

Don't write him off so quick - especially if he is otherwise a good aide. Being a CNA is a da.mn hard job, and sometimes CNAs just need to know the nurses realize that. It will go a long way.

If you can prove he is otherwise neglecting/abusing patients or being lazy (long/extra breaks, socializing waaay too much), by all means bring it up with him, and if there's no change bring it up with management.

This CNA/nurse antagonism that I've seen all too frequently is such a shame. We can all work harder, and all work together more, to provide the best care possible. And it requires extra effort from *everyone.*

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Mar 11, 2010

also cnas what time does oral care get done?before the patients are in bed or after?

I did oral care at all different times. Sometimes during HS care, and then with others I was in such a hurry I didn't have time, and I knew they had a drink coming to them later or they'd wake up for the bedpan, that I'd put it off and do their teeth in bed later. If that happened I would put the bag with the toothbrush at the foot of the bed so I'd remember. Then of course there are those residents who won't let you do anything. The most you can get is their 2 front teeth. But I know a lot of CNAs who don't do it at all. The one who trained me didn't do it. She didn't turn people either, didn't wipe them off with something after they were incontinent... so, so lazy. I was so overwhelmed being new that I didn't even occur to me to do that stuff until I'd worked for a couple months. Then there are other CNAs who aren't *lazy* but they're stuck in their routines.

I'm not saying you do this, but some nurses want everything done perfectly 5 minutes ago. I can think of one or 2 nurses where I work who would tell someone who was busy passing drinks to change a resident, so you'd stop and do that, and then she'd yell at you for not passing the rest of the drinks fast enough. There's a tone too. There's a difference between someone who tells you in a naggy tone that someone needs to be changed and they make it sound like it's your fault and that you should have known already; and someone who says, "Hey, So-and-so's gotta go to the bathroom" and you can say, "Okay I'm doing her next" without feeling like you're going to get your head bitten off no matter how you respond.

Crux1024 · Mar 12, 2010

Passing drinks does not take priority over toileting a patient. This is how people fall. Most on their way to the bathroom b/c they have felt (whether or not its true) that people were taking too long to answer the call bell. If the OP was busy and couldnt do it herself, then she was right in delegating. The CNA response was not a very good one. Yes they may be frustrated that they were being interrupted in the middle of a task (passing drinks) to do another one. But wouldnt the LPN also have been interrupted in whatever she was doing? I doubt she was doing nothing and just decided to ask out of sheer laziness. Maybe the right response would have been for both to jump in there real fast and do it so work would continue.

That being said. It is important that you are a teamplayer, regardless of job title. If you tend to lend a hand, people usually are easier to work with and are more willing to share the load.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2010

There are some lazy CNAs. There are also lazy nurses, computer programmers, and garbagemen.

I think that you need to realize that aides are taught to be very task-oriented and deviation from the set of duties they have been assigned really screws up their ability to accomplish the impossible work loads set for them.

I would have passed the drinks so that he could change the patient. Or vice versa. My relationship with the aides was forever cemented when I grabbed a gown and gloves and jumped in on a code brown. They've seen me change colostomy bags and literally catch poop. Pitch in.

imintrouble, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2010

Lazy is the last word I want used to describe me. NO job in the hospital is "not my job". I work with awesome CNAs except one. This CNA must be told to turn pts every two hours when it's obvious they can't turn themselves. Then, he/she must be TOLD every two hours to turn the pt. Then the pt has to be checked to make sure the turn was done. It is exhausting. I dread when I have to work with this particular CNA. Management knows, has slapped a wrist, but nothing changes.

ok2bme · Mar 12, 2010

I think many of the lazy CNA's are lazy because they are not respected..when a person does not feel valued they will not be motivated to do optimal work. Good managers know to celebrate and recognize each person as a team member, involve them all in creating shared goals they will want to work towards.