interceptinglight

Hello ShaynaSmart -- I'm really glad you shared this experience with allnurses. It really caught my attention because I just completed a certification program called 'Mental Health First Aid'...and one of the experiences that we discussed was the incidence of panic attacks in people, which often occur for the first time in a person's life from around age 18 until they are in their late 20's. The symptoms you describe are very common. First of all, don't be hard on yourself about this. From what you describe, it doesn't sound like it occurred because you were dreading your job or had anxiety about going to work. Secondly, I'm not trying to imply that you have a problem or a disorder - I am not a medical professional and this forum is not the place to be offering medical advice. What I'd like to offer is that you may want to share this with someone you can talk to who can help you understand what happened, perhaps a counselor or a family physician. A little support from someone who understands is very empowering thing and can give you the tools you need to prevent a no call/no show from happening again, which mom2banurse has already stated can keep you from being successful in the career you've chosen. Your partner cares about you but may not know how to really help you with this, so the best thing to do is to discuss it with someone who does. Best wishes!!

Sometimes CNAs don't realize how difficult a nurse's job really is. The pressure on nurses today is incredible with the unreasonable amount of responsibility that they usually have to shoulder. I'm sure this nurse just lost it with me because of how it was going to reflect on her. Nevertheless, you just should never yell at or reprimand an employee in front of their co-workers, discussions like that should be done in private and hopefully without raising voices. Any time there is an incident or a new development or something going on with a resident in LTC, whenever you report it to a nurse they just get that look, like....oh my god, damn!! Now I have an extra hour of paperwork and documentation and crap to fill out because of this....thanks a lot!! Since this was the second fall that I got written up for in which I wasn't the only person responsible for it happening, I decided that there just wasn't going to be a third. I've never worked so hard in my life, sweated so much, cared so deeply, or suffered such humiliation for such paltry pay that I was getting. At the end of the day, I didn't have anything left to give to my busy family. That's what did it for me. The home care job was fine, but I wasn't making enough money at that either. Some weeks I only worked 12 hours!! Plus they never gave me enough hours to qualify for health care. Fortunately I got a job at the University where i live, and I've been there over a year now. I'm grateful for the time I spent as a CNA, but I'm also grateful that I'm not doing that anymore......

I've never seen a CNA that I worked with ever kiss a resident that we were caring for -- except for one. There was this cutest little gentleman, a dementia-ridden fellow who tended to give the staff a lot of heck all the time with his defiant combative behavior. One night it took two of us to get him all settled into bed, at which time he fell asleep instantly. I remarked, 'Ahhhh......they look so cute when they're sleeping!'......at which time my partner gave him a little peck on the head as she tucked him in. I'll never forget that.

I worked in a special Alzheimer's unit at the LTC facility that I was employed by. Two of the residents there were men and only one of those two was ever inappropriate with any of the female CNA's, mostly they were totally harmless and not at all aggressive. Actually, the dementia residents were always my favorite people to take care of, even the ones who often resisted care or were combative. You seem like such a compassionate person with a real heart for the elderly. Do you know how wonderful that is??!! A lot of CNA's and nurses seem to want to avoid LTC like the plague. I encourage you to enter the nursing field...it really needs people like YOU!

Take the class. We had 2 guys in our CNA class and I preferred to work with them because they were just nice without any of the 'female politics' and competitiveness that I sometimes felt from my classmates who were women. Sometimes they were also better at practicing the skills than the women were, I'm not really sure why that was the case.

That's something you will find in most health care facilities. They have an almost hostile attitude toward students, because they know the student is going to put schooling first and their slave-wage job will most likely take a back seat. Wishing you luck to find something more compatible with your school schedule!

I especially loved this: "When I push you away when you are trying to help me--a wash perhaps, or getting dressed, maybe it's because I have forgotten what you have said. Keep telling me what you are doing--over and over and over--Maybe others will think YOU are the one that needs help!" That's what I found most helpful when dealing with combative dementia patients, to just talk talk talk, very gently and say exactly what you are doing and why...and to keep repeating it as you provide the care, over and over. The softness of your voice is sometimes all you need to calm and comfort them enough to stop them pushing you away. What beautiful words, thanks for sharing!!

^^^That comment there by student forever is great!! It's wonderful to get such a personal reward out of knowing you are helping people in such a personal way -- however, CNA's are only able to give help that's very temporary in nature and that is what is depressing. They know all too well that they're mostly powerless to make a real difference and effect the quality of life of the people they serve in any kind of lasting way. You, zara ray, may use the experience and knowledge you are gaining right now in a position you could find yourself in the future in which you can advocate for change and really be able to do something about what you learned at the ground level. Maybe getting this job was just what you needed and you'll be glad you went through it. Best wishes to you!!! :redbeathe

You mean slapping the monkey?

I'm not much of a Morality Nazi, so if it had been me on the other side of that locked door, I would have knocked loudly and addressed the hospitalist to tell him he was needed and that I would come back shortly...then I would have walked away to give him a chance to finish whatever he was doing that I didn't even want to know about. Unless there was a crime being committed, I would have allowed him the privacy to at least put his drawers back on. Personally, I would be completely MORTIFIED to walk in on some hospital hanky-panky, especially if it involved a scandalous affair. Incidentally, some people like to try and get it on in a semi-public place where there's the danger of being discovered. Yeah, some people like that. Yeah. 'Course I'd never do that.....certainly not. *ahem*

Yeah, I thought of that, too. Sheesh the noises could have been him taking care of some very private business.

Dear Lady will you PUUH-LEEEASE just swallow that mouthful of food you've been chewing for the last 5 full minutes so when I assist you with another spoonful it won't just slip-slide out your mouth and onto your lap again. To the people I work with I'd LOOOOVE to say: NO! A THOUSAND TIMES NO!! No, fellow CNA co-worker, I don't want to give up my day off to take your stinkin' shift!!! NO!! Ms. New Administrator Lady -- I don't think you should get rid of the Special Care Unit for the dementia residents and turn it into a Medicare/Medicaid facility for the poorest residents because you're tired of the high cost of adequate staffing for an Alzheimer's Unit!!! That idea is just asinine!!!!! NO!! I DO NOT want to sign that report admitting what a totally incompetent useless piece-a-crap I am for calling out of a shift because I have bronchitis and I'm coughing all over the freakin' place. Just shove that report where the sun don't shine!!!! Oh, and one more thing: WILL YOU PLEASE JUST FIRE ME!!! PLEASE!!! I'M BEGGING YOU!!! I WANT OUT OF HERE!!!!!!

Aaaagghhh...anybody who grumbles so much about you sucking probably forgot how much they sucked when they first started out, as we all did at one time. Don't let it get to you!! :loveya:

Quote from ShelbyRN1: "To all those who have attacked her based on an honest inquiry you must surely be the one's who are the nasty, mean nurses she is speaking of." And... "If you are offended by this, you are part of the problem." Excellent. Just what I was thinking -- I'm glad somebody said it.

Did I hear right? '...the poor techs...' Really? Someone actually acknowledging that the patient care techs/CNA's sometimes get dumped on with tasks that the nurses just don't want to do? I may faint. **swoons**

Thank you very much for this sensible response to HouTx. You properly cited your source of information and effectively defended your post and the motivation for writing it without saying anything in an offensive way, even though you may have been offended by the tone of HouTx's post. You're asking a very pertinent question and seeking honest answers from people who've been there long enough to know the truth. Take heart from knowing that the 'hardening' and toughing up that happens when faced daily with the harshness of a nurse's work environment will not make YOU become a hard, cold person....IF you don't want it to make you that way. You can be tough as nails when necessary yet never, not ever, lose your compassion as a human being for your fellow suffering human beings. I can tell by the things you say that you already have what it takes to make it in this field, and the fact that you're asking such a hard-hitting and poignant question, that says a lot about your character.

I was sick with a sinus infection and bronchitis for nearly 3 months when I first became a CNA in a LTC facility. Much of that time I was too sick to work, yet I couldn't afford not to and I had no medical insurance at the time so I couldn't afford to go to Quick Care. Because I was already sick I wasn't able to get the offered free flu shot. Furthermore, each time you call out for a shift you get written up even if it's because you have a fever and a communicable illness. Too many call-outs and you get fired, so I had no choice. It felt terrible exposing all those vulnerable residents to my bronchitis but what was I to do? Apparently my workplace was where I contracted the sickness in the first place, so it's not like I introduced it to the place. After months of laboring there my immune system seemed to catch up with the place and I didn't get sick anymore. It sure was embarrassing for a while, I had to duck into corners so I could cough my guts out and honk my nose loudly, then go wash my hands before I continued taking care of people. Even the nurses overlooked my hacking and expectorating because they hated having to try and find someone to cover my shift. It was nuts.

The ER scribe job sounds fascinating!! With that position you would definitely learn a lot about the ER environment and the medical experience would be invaluable for your career. It is more of an administrative position rather than a direct-care position and may be somewhat less stressful than direct care, plus you would learn a lot more medical terminology than a CNA. The CNA position would also provide good experience, however med/surg can be a real pressure-cooker and the medical experience in that position would be somewhat limited other than providing bedside care. Perhaps being a pre-nursing student you wouldn't feel as suppressed as I always felt as a CNA working in LTC. I was hungry to expand my medical knowledge that would help me do my job better...such as residents' medical histories and what meds they were on -- but no!!! All they wanted me to know about each person I was caring for was how they transfer, do they have dentures or a hearing aid, and just the most basic need-to-know information about how to help them with activities of daily living, not to mention the fact that there wasn't enough hours on my shift to learn more than the basics because of the volume of people I was assigned to. You should make the decision based on the type of experience you want to gain from the position. Good luck to you!!

Any employee within earshot of an alarm should run for it as soon as they hear it and not wait for someone else to get it; at least they may be able to stop someone from falling and just let them know the aide will be with them shortly. You should never leave one fall risk alone to try and help another one. That way if someone falls while you are helping an alarmed resident, you have an obvious valid excuse for not running after another alarm. Anyone who hears an alarm and does not respond immediately, seeing that the aide on duty is busy helping someone, they're the ones who should get written up. When are LTC facilities going to learn that alarms make very poor babysitters for confused dementia residents?? And that's another thing I find really bizarre about that facility -- they count receptionists as aides even though they don't do any aide work? Sounds like they're trying to stack the numbers so that their aide-to-patient ratio looks good. I agree with IEDave, this sounds like a no-win situation. I'd be saying 'adios' right about now....

Nurse_Wretched, I just love your screen name. It has such an 'Eeyore'-kinda feeling to it.

Christ was the ultimate example of self-sacrificing love, nursing is most certainly a career in which one could express such values every day without even being religious.

We didn't study any Anatomy at all in my CNA class, mostly just "the knee bone's connected to the foot bone" and stuff. Piece a cake.

Trolls are good for comic relief.

"or how about "I feel a kill coming on tonight..." What a horrible inappropriate thing to say!!!!!!!!! I like it.

In this 'no shortage of nurses' world, you'd think the hospital would have gotten rid of her before she had a chance to re-offend and replaced her with someone more caring and competent. A nurse like that is going to be a very bad reflection on what may actually be a good facility. Yes, you're right it's hard to imagine why any facility would put up with that, unless they don't want to shell out for having to hire someone else.