CNAKim2009

I just spent about an hour browsing around the Eden website. For those of you that haven't looked at it...I highly recommend it. It's uplifting and heartening, and it gave me a lot of hope for the nursing homes of the future. I found an Eden Alternative Nursing VILLAGE about two hours from my home in North Carolina, and I think I will be visiting it very soon, probably this weekend. From what I've seen, I'd LOVE to work in the facility, and I'd relocate in a heartbeat to work there. Ever since clinicals during my CNA 1 class, I've said that I would NEVER put my parents into a nursing home, because I've seen the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on, and seen the CNAs who are simply there for the money, not because they care about the residents. But I believe that I'd be able to put my parents in an Eden Alternative facility and not have to worry about them (Are they being forced to get up at 4am? Are they being left sitting out in the hall with no way to get around?) I'm also going to be printing out as much information as I can about the Eden Alternative and delivering it to my local nursing homes (not just the one where I work). Maybe reading the material will help the owners consider changing their policies and making their facility more like a home....

It appalls me that you're being told on the posts here to find somewhere else to work. What does this solve? Yes, it may make your life easier, but what about the residents who are being verbally and physically abused? Leaving a facility because this isn't being addressed is no way to fix the problem. If the facility won't take action against abusive CNAs, then go higher. Go to the State, talk to a social worker, talk to the ombudsman. At some point someone has to address the problem. As far as the CNA who's been there for forever, I would take her aside and explain to her that you respect the fact that she has been doing her job for a long time, but that by telling the other CNAs what they should be doing, etc, that she is disrespecting you and your authority as their nurse, and that you would appreciate it if she would respect you as a nurse. Kill her with kindness....she may have had a bad experience with a younger nurse who was just a pain in the a$$ and made her job harder than it usually is. And if she continues to disrespect you, have the DON speak to her about the issue. If she wants to be the boss...maybe she should become a nurse herself!

In the facility where I work, there is usually one CNA per hall (with 20-25 residents on each hall) on third shift. There is sometimes a floater or two that helps out with the 3 halls, but generally the CNA is by herself to work the entire hall. Each hall has a list of up to 10 residents who have to be up by 7am, either because they are "restorative" or because "they usually want to get up early", or because the family requested it. Sometimes there is a 5:30 person who comes in to help get people up, but in order to get everyone up so you don't get written up, we have to start getting people dressed at 4am. Believe me, I hate doing it. I care about my residents and hate waking them up so early to get them dressed. Those that want to get up, that's fine, I'll help them get up and generally try to help them begin their day on a positive note. Those that are restorative I will dress while I'm doing my last round, and then let them lie in bed until my 5:30 person comes in to help get them up. Personally, I find it appalling that these poor people are forced to get up so early. When I've floated halls, I've seen CNA's who just rolled the residents around, yanking shirts over their heads and yanking their pants up and generally just treating them like sacks of potatoes. Every morning the "yellers" are having at it because some CNA is rushing to get them ready. Yet when I get the "yellers" up, I talk to them, wake them up before pulling the covers off them, let them chose their outfit for the day, help them get dressed, and there is no yelling, no screaming. It's a good start to the day. It may take longer to get people up, and most of the time I don't get out of work until 8 or 8:30 am, but I've gotten everyone up and most of the residents are smiling and have started their day out on a happy note. When I'm walking out the door, I have several residents who say goodbye and tell me they love me; to a few, I'm their angel. This makes my day, and that's the reason I stay in that facility, because I know that as long as I do my best to make my residents comfortable and happy and keep them smiling, I'm enriching their lives just a little bit. I wish every facility would adopt the "open kitchen" (it's open 8am to whenever at night), and let these residents sleep. Most of them don't sleep well, and on top of that we're waking them up every two hours when we do our rounds....let's let them get at least a little bit of sleep! Those that need therapy...don't start therapy at 8am...let these people get up later. Most of them have spent their entire lives getting up early and working their butts off...now they're in their later years and they're having to get up by 4,5,6 am just to sit in the hall or the dining room and wait for 7:30 or 8 for breakfast to be served. You know, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to open my own LTC...hire good, caring CNAs who aren't there just for the paycheck, and nurses who care about their CNAs and patients. Ahhhh if only. There's a perfect place for it where I live (an old hospital that closed years ago), but there's a monetary issue...

Learned this one through experience....never talk to a patient while changing their colostomy bag....if he farts, that's going STRAIGHT into your mouth and you'll taste it for the rest of the night. Gross gross and GROSS!

I work third shift in a nursing home, and of course have several "favorite" residents. One woman in particular seems to say or do something to crack me up nearly every night. One night I walked into her room and she asked me to get her a cigarette, and told me she'd sneak into the bathroom and smoke it if I got her one. Last night was by far the funniest we've had in a while. She was given a suppository around 10 pm, and at about 11:15, I walked past her room and saw that she was nearly out of the bed. I walked in and asked her if she needed to go to the bathroom, and her reply? "Yeah. I gotta get up before my gut explodes!" So we made it to the bathroom, where she proceeded to completely clog up the toilet. She laughed for a good five minutes about that (the entire time I was unclogging it, actually). When I had gotten her back in the bed and relatively comfortable, I asked if she needed anything....and of course she wanted a pimento cheese sandwich. Just what I'd want after having a massive blowout like she did.... Then, she said the funniest thing I'd ever heard her say: "Kim, my butthole burns!! Why does it burn so bad?!" HAHAHAHA :yeah:She was grinning the whole time she said it, and I knew she was looking for a laugh... We all got a kick out of that last night...I'm glad there's those few residents who have no shame or just don't care what others think of them, and speak their mind, and love to cut up and have a good time. This woman is just one on my round that keeps me laughing, and I love her dearly for it! :heartbeat

I've been working in a nursing home for just over a month on 3rd shift. As everyone knows, there usually isn't enough coverage during this shift, and at the home where I work, we generally tend to help each other out with our larger residents (turning, changing, dressing, etc). On Tuesday I had a larger resident that went weak and I managed to have her slide down my leg to the floor. She was fine, she just had a cold butt from being on the floor. Another CNA and I managed to get her into the bed (using correct body mechanics) and went about the rest of our morning (it was almost time to get going anyway). Once I got home and out of the car, I realized that I was hurting more than usual. I spent the day in bed with ice on my back, and last night I went to work and reported it. First of all, they treated me like I was lying to them and like they didn't want to help me out. The DON even had the gall to ask me if I'd forego seeing a doctor. I told her no, that I'd like to see a doctor and make sure my back was okay, because back problems DO run in my family, and I'd like to take care of my back. She seemed VERY irritated, told me I'd have to go through a body mechanics and transfer class because OBVIOUSLY I was doing something wrong (let's not take into account the fact that the resident outweighed me and the other other CNA put together) and they finally set me up to go see a doctor through workman's comp. The secretary was supposed to get me set up with an insurance card for any medication I would be given, and she lied to me and told me that they hadn't gotten back to her about a claim number and that I just needed to go home and wait. I went to the occupational therapist, and he diagnosed me with a lumbar sprain. I've been put on light duty, no lifting anything over 10 pounds, no pushing, pulling, squatting, kneeling, or prolonged sitting or standing. Okay. Should I have been given exercises to do to strengthen my back, or just some muscle relaxers and ibuprofen? Anyway, so I called the secretary to see if she'd gotten my claim number, and she said no. It was getting to be toward the end of the pharmacy's workday, and I was in severe pain to the point that I could hardly stand up or sit down, and I wasn't looking forward to a sleepless night after working third shift and then being awake all day. I called the number on the insurance card, and the woman told me that they'd called my job with my claim number THIS MORNING at about 9:45 am. I was livid. Now, my DON is saying that there is not enough to keep me busy on third shift and that I'm going to have to go to first shift or they won't be able to put me on the schedule at all. I've got my son during the day; he doesn't go to daycare, and I told them that, and she just gave me this look and said "Well, then you won't be working until you get better." She said she would call me with my new schedule, and never did. Now I'm going to lose days of work because of her attitude and unwillingness to cooperate. She knows full well that if I was to float the halls at night, I could get the mundane tasks out of the way so that the other CNAs could get their jobs done more quickly and efficiently, and maybe spend more time on the care of the residents, instead of rushing through like we always seem to do. It may seem small, but passing ice and filling carts and getting supplies for all the halls would save them time and keep me busy for most of the night. Should I say something? I really can't afford to put my son in daycare (he stays with my mother at night, me during the day), and yet if I don't change shifts, it seems that I'll be taken off the schedule until my back is healed...whenever that may be (could be a week....could be a month, who knows?) Do I have any sorts of rights as to keeping my shift??? Actually, what are my rights when it comes to Workman's Comp???

One night I decided to weigh myself before and after my 8-hour shift, 11pm-7am. I was 4.5 pounds lighter in the morning than when I went into work....and I didn't skip "dinner" or anything....I just did what I normally do: energy drink before work, lunch at 3:30am. Granted, it may have just been water weight or something, because I fluctuate about 5 pounds daily now, but it's pretty interesting that in less than 12 hours I'd had an almost 5-pound change in weight!

Personally, I wouldn't even bother with Bayada. I was hired by the Statesville branch and have gotten no work beyond filling in for call-outs. :smackingf I suppose it would be okay if I didn't have a child, but working a few hours here and a few hours there just adds up to higher daycare costs for me. On top of the lack of hours, they seem to be very disorganized, and I've heard that from several people in several different offices. It's just not worth the time. I've heard that Interim Health Care is good, but I've never worked with them. Hope you found something! ------------------------------ Kim :stdnrsrck:

I missed taking the TEAS test in time, so I too am going to be going in in Fall 2011. Possibly even later, depending on how my prereqs go. I was told by several people to take as many classes beforehand as you can...once you get into the actual nursing courses, it gets really hard. I'm going to Mitchell Community College in Statesville, North Carolina, and I love the atmosphere there. :redbeathe Hopefully I'll get to stay there, but that all depends on how my current relationship goes :loveya: If it goes...I may be moving back down to Atlanta, and then I've got to transfer and stuff...not looking forward to that, but he has an awesome job, and I don't...guess who gets to move? Sooo, anyone who goes to Mitchell, or went to Mitchell in the past, please contact me! I'd love to know what your experiences are/were...and which teachers to avoid! That's a whole topic in itself! lol

Hi all! I live in Taylorsville, NC, and I'm going to Mitchell Community College for Nursing. I'm a CNA, and have been looking for a job since September. At this point I'm willing to relocate for a job, it's that bad! I'm a single mom to a 4-year-old little boy, and he keeps me on my toes. We currently live with my parents, a result of losing my job. Thus the willingness to relocate...parents and grown children sometimes get on each others' nerves! Let's see, I'm from the Atlanta area, and moved here in 2006. I worked at Dillard's in Hickory for almost 2 years. One of my customers is actually the reason I decided to get into nursing. He would come in and talk to me, and he was always telling me how much he needed nurses, yadda yadda yadda, and he gave me a lot of information about nursing. And bada bing bada bang, I signed up for CVCC's CNA1 class. And the rest, as they say, is history! Anyone else here going to Mitchell? I don't know many people there and would love to get to know some people. I'm taking all my prereqs right now, and I missed the date for taking the TEAS test, so I'll be taking that NEXT year and then hopefully getting into the 2011 nursing program. Assuming, that is, that I'm still in the Taylorsville/Statesville area. It may depend on how things go with the boyfriend...hopefully things will go well :) Anyway, feel free to contact me if you're in the area. I'm always happy to meet new people (a good trait for this profession, don't you think?) Hope everyone has a great day!