ijh6890

You can make the alarm to where she can't reach it. Or you could also leave it alone, if she knows how to take it off and turn her bed alarm off and remembers how to do it everyday then she must not be that demented, as pp's have said. It's her right to take the alarm, you really aren't supposed to tell them that they "are not to do so..." You're not her boss. You're there to help her. Just like you are there to help her if her falls. She has a right to get up and walk. :) We have a few in my facility that are like that, they are all either on 15-30 minute report, or they are in our alzheimers unit which each resident has 24 hour supervision.

I had a resident tell me stop throwing her around like a sack of potatoes & then there was one woman who started patting me on the chest & when I asked what she was doing she said "Playing patty cakes!" & the same woman also asked me "Have you ever had a good F******?"... it was bad enough she asked that question.. even worse that her son was standing in the doorway...

I find 20 an hour in a hospital hard to believe. Sorry. Maybe you are thinking of another job or heard wrong.

Briefs for night shift. They always forget to pass them out. Usually someone has the key to supply, but even then I usually end up having to use other residents briefs on residents they aren't assigned to. Family provides briefs for my facility and they all have names. I just think it's tacky to have someone wearing a brief with another name on it... I don't have to time to search through boxes and boxes of briefs to find a certain residents diaper. They need to keep up with it better.

It's hard to get a CNA job in a hospital with no experience. If you change your mind about working in a nursing home try finding one with an alzheimers unit or wanderers unit. It's a lot easier because there is little to no lifting involved and usually all patients are continent and require little assistance.

I started out working double weekends, so it took me 2 weekends to get the hang of it. I wasn't familiar with my residents yet either. Don't worry about being slow, it's expected. My first day, my partner came in a room while I was doing patient care to brag about how many people she had already got up and saying that I was too slow... I turned to her and told her that I am new and to never speak to me like that again, especially not in front of a resident. She has yet to make another comment, in fact she avoids me... Just try to stay calm... make sure that your not in such a hurry that you forget to do things such hook a resident up to their chair alarm or put down a floor mat. As long as everything is efficient, your speed will become quicker over time. Good luck

It's extremely easy where I'm from (Tyler, Texas) to find a job. I could walk into ANY LTC in my area, and I literally mean every single one.... and immediately get a job with only my 6 months experience. The medical help wanted ads in our newspaper is chalk full of CNA ads. I can't imagine it being that hard... but I'm sorry that it is :/ and I wish you luck in finding a job soon. If I were you I'd consider working out of the SF area.

We have some combative residents in our facility. I think it is uncommon for a nursing home to have none that are like that. The dementia and alzheimers will cause fear and confusion. We have one woman with neither that is combative just because she wants to be. We just deal with it the best we can, file an incident report, and if it comes to it we will send them to a behavioral clinic for a few days to a month depending on the situation. Some of my favorite residents will hit on a bad day.... it doesn't change the way I treat them. :)

It's better to over wash your hands then to fail by not washing your hands enough. You won't fail for washing your hands more than you are supposed to. You are supposed to wash your hands at least between each task.

I think you should use the bedside commode since the bathroom is small, and ask for another cna to help.

The experience is good. I know a lot of people in LVN school (we call it LVN in Texas) that work weekend doubles as CNA's to get them by. Usually weekend doubles is 4 shifts, on Saturday and Sunday. And as a bonus for working those shifts, MOST nursing homes will pay you for an unworked 5th shift. So pay for 40 hours, and only working 32. It is hard work and often people say it kind of takes a special person to do it. But good luck and hope it all works out for you.

I think you should give it a little more time. But if you still feel the same way in a few weeks, then maybe it's time to switch fields. CNA is pretty much the bottom of the totem pole (as well as the back bone of nursing, especially LTC's). From a CNA you can work your way up to Med Aide, LVN, Rn... whatever you want to do. Just follow your gut. Good luck

We get paid bi-weekly. Every shift is 8 hours, and that includes a paid 30 minute lunch, and 2 paid 15 minute breaks. Any time after 40 hours is overtime pay (time and a half). There are holiday differentials and if you cover a night shift and you work day shifts there are differentials for that too, and with doubles and weekends. It should cover everything in your employee handbook.

Watch with a second hand, pens, highlighters, a 1 inch binder, and spiral is all we needed. Everything else was provided. You could get your own stethoscope and bp moniter but I doubt they'd make you buy that.

Check for any workforce programs in your area. The way I found my class though was just calling every nursing home in my town and all surrounding towns. I probably called about 50 places and found 3 that offered a 2 or 3 week class, for free, in their facility. It worked out too because I got into one 20 minutes away. I would suggest calling and asking. I just would ask to talk with staffing, then ask "are you hiring cna's" they will always say "yes", and then you ask "Do you offer CNA training?"... and usually they say no but like I said 3 times there actually was a training class. Had I not called around, I'd have paid over $500 dollars at my local college, and would've had to wait 3 months. So get your phone book out. :) Good luck.