New way of working in the care home where I work

luvbug · May 14, 2003

Wow, I really have to agree with you on this one!! Isn't part of the healthcare profession to CARE for the patients? if they are timing you and you take "too long" then what? What if you are hurrying so much to meet the time requirements that you or one of the other assistants forgets something important? Is it because there is a budget crunch at your facility? Even so, how would the patients' families feel about this? I think it is asking alot. :eek: Care assistants, or CMA's have an awful lot to think about and remember with their residents/patients the way it is, why add any extra pressure? I think if I were you, I would start checking out other job options :confused: In this profession, there is always a job out there. Good luck! I saw a quote in a different thread on this site-something along the lines of 'we are only given as much crap as we take' or something, but I think it is fitting here. Keep smiling!!:roll

Care Assistant · May 14, 2003

Thankyou. I didn't expect a reply so fast on this topic. I agree with the statement about what if we forget something.

To be truthfull The job is good but BEFORE this NEW RULE was applied we were racing around to get things done as it was let alone this new STUPID RULE.

pickledpepperRN · May 14, 2003

We had a time management consulting group called West- Hudson once. They used a stop watch.

One actually said in the elevator, "The nurse wasted seven minutes talking to the patient!

WASTED? This was an oncology floor.

Please let me have a caregiver who will talk to me when and if I am a patient!

Pooh to them. I could not work like that either. What about the patients privacy?

BadBird, BSN, RN · May 14, 2003

It sounds like there are care givers that are not doing their jobs and this will be managements way of writing them up to effectively fire them. You will learn in the nursing field if you don't like something wait a week it will change, there are so many changes it is hard to keep up sometimes. I wouldn't worry, if you do you job as you should then you won't have a problem, but the ones who take hour breaks, abuse smoke breaks, don't answer call lights and perform their duties as expected better worry.

zudy · May 14, 2003

I have also had experience with a time management consulant that walked around with a stopwatch and timed us. I told him in no uncertain terms that he was not to follow me or time me doing any thing or he could time me clocking out and going to my car. This guy was too clueless. My sister was NM of the PACU in the same hospital at that time, he asked her why every pt in PACU had to have a nurse with them(DUH!!) When she tried to explain keeping a pts airway open he said"Oh, so they are doing CPR on them?" They were standing in the middle of PACU at the time looking at the pts and staff. And these people make more money than us. I would vote with my feet.

luvbug · May 14, 2003

I do also have to agree with the person who wrote the thing about people who abuse breaks and things like that, too. Especially because there seem to be more of those people than good workers in a lot of places. But for those of use who are there to work and not socialize so much, I think the timing thing is ridiculous. I did work in a Long Term Care Facility where they had inside break rooms-one for non-smokers, and the other for smokers. Also, there were smoking rooms for the residents, and since they had to be with someone at all times, our lovely 'I don't want to be here anyway' people would "go with" the resident and sit in there for half an hour :angryfire :smokin:

shelleybelle · May 14, 2003

wow... sounds like a relay race :idea: that is crazy

capgirl · May 14, 2003

hmmm, the supervisor doesn't have any responsibilites other than to time those caring for the pts????? Sounds like wasting a valuable resource there!!!

As if you could ever JUSTIFY that 4 CNAs can give good QUALITY CARE to 40 residents.

Good luck to you, I would not stand for it.

azgirl · May 14, 2003

I have seen that too. Pull one staff member from an already understaffed unit to watch the other people. And guess who they picked. A girl who would take report at 2:15p sit and smoke in the smoking area until 4p when the trays were delivered. That was their idea of a good employee. I rode it out as my spouse was FT nursing school at the time and eventually that whole idea changed and they actually caught on to her but not before they lost a lot of good employees.

beachbaby · May 15, 2003

Any facility that wants to "time" patient care needs to be reminded that not all patients are the same, needs are different, and if they want quality care, not assembly line get-ups, then maybe they need to rethink the whole idea of what a caregiver is. If you can't have an open discussion time at your next employee meeting, can you write a letter to the administration? And have everyone sign it. Some of the decisions the unit manager at our facility have made have not been in the best interest of the patient, and when brought to the attention of the administrator, he's straightened things out for us.

That said, if you've done all you can do, and nothing has changed, then look for employment where your skills and your caring will be valued.

I think STNA's, CNA's, whatever they're called in any area have to be the least appreciated, least compensated, and least listened to employees in the health care field.

Take care, listen to your heart, and thanks for all you do,

Linda

Disablednurse · May 15, 2003

OKay, Have any of you thought about it from this angle, maybe they want to determine if they need more staff to care for the number of residents on the unit? This is sometimes done to determine if staff has enough time to do everything they are supposed to do. Give it a day or two before you get really upset about it and decide to quit. Now if after a day or two they start telling you goofy stuff, like you shouldn't take so much time to do this or that, then you have good reason to get mad. It may be being done to help you instead of hurting you.