gorideaquad

I have been working for 4 months at an LTC swapping from the Alzheimer's unit to the long term unit to the hospital rehab floor which is where i work on most nights. Most of the patients I tend to come from the hospital I am interviewing with . I am wondering does anyone here work as a neuro step down CNA at a hospital??' I went for an interview at the same hospital for the orthopedics wing and never did get the job after 3 interviews but I think it is because I was fresh out of school. Now that I have 4 months CNA work experience, I know for a fact that an LTC facility like the one I work for is not for me. It is many things and none that I like. Understaffed (one person for a 22 rehab hall, 2 if the other gal shows up), dirty, dangerous, moldy and the morale is very very low. I get paid $10.25 right now and the hospital is only 50 cents more however it is only 3 twelves rathe than 5 eight hour shifts. Also I am going back to school to finish my Bachelor's degree for teaching so this schedule would be way better ANY GOOD ADVICE, I AM INTERVIEWING WITH THE UNIT MANAGER> I NEED a way not to come off as having negative feelings for where I work. Is it all right to admit that LTC is not for me or not? I just feel I was too "green" for the other position I had applied for 4 months ago there. Please give me any good advice for tomorrow thannks sophie

OK SO I WORK AT a LTC . ONly there for a month. Certified a month. Learned a lot there. Don't enjoy the setting the one CNA per 30 residents the hundreds poopy briefs each shift. Just a regular nursing home but the pace is wearing me out rapidly and breaking my back due to the old school cranks beds. There is some great staff there and great learning opportunities. Anyhow I got the interview I really really wanted with the local hospital. I passed the interview with the HR lady just fine. Boy it was super long about and hour, I did not put my foot in my mouth. She seemed to like me and what I could bring to the company. She understood nursing homes were not a fit for all CNA's To continue my short story, last night I did my "shadow" with another CNA at the hospital for several hours. He was cool, leaving to be a fire fighter. Real informative and seemed to think I fit in. Met several other co workers who also said I fit right in, easy going, mature, hard worker. Some CNA's just thought I was filling in for another one that was off that day! Anyways my question to you all is : have YOU EVER DONE A PEER INTERVIEW? ARE YOU REALLY NOT HIRED UNTIL YOU PASS THIS STAGE OF THE INTERVIEW OR IS THAT JUST SOMETHING THEY SAY IN HR? The reasoning the other CNA"s told me they do this is cause no one person should make the decision to hire an employee. There are scenarios played out and you are asked :"what if you were in this situation what would you do" and so on. They said it really is not bad, just don't come off as a know it all and snooty. Any good advice? I really really want this position.:) plus it's $10.75 instead of $10.25 and all people are weight bearing, mostly vitals and simple bathroom trips. Please advise

My advice is do way more listening than talking. Listen listen listen. And don't come off as rude. Just be yourself and learn what you can from the people that have been there. Don't say "in school they taught it like this" etc that is annoying. I have only been on my job two weeks at an LTC in the dementia unit and I like most of my co workers. BUT don't excpect to click with everyone, just learn what you can and be respectful. Don't gossip at break time. Lot of that going on at my work. I never talk about my personal life at all and never about others Other than that, have a good attitude, be on time and just relax, you will do just fine. Everyone was new once, that's what I tell my co workers and they smiles and say "yeah isn't that the truth". That one little sentence brings barriers down because they think back to their first day, week, month.

oh i forgot you will be making $17 as a CNA? where abouts Anyways I did not mean to scare you but for myself I had 10 lb babies LOL so maybe this is why I would never think of working while pregnant.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND it at all. First, it is all grunt work, wiping bottoms, messes and such. The most important thing is you will be exposed and your fetus to many things you wnat to be nowhere around while pregnant. That being said where I work there are many pregnant CNA"s but it's like being a man down and not fair to the pregnant CNA or the rest of the work crew. I would say no please don't work and be a CNA for your safety and your fetus' as well

fuzzy I did what you said and it went off without a hitch I was done at 6 am!. But I have to say that it was just me and not me and another orientee. Some people say it's easier to work alone at my facility. That is true until you need to lift a resident. There is one resident I can't lift and one that uses a hoyer but he did not have to use the bathroom, I have not yet been trained on those. I heard you are really not suppose to operate those on your own. So I had 20 residents, 3 rounds, 5 get ups and did fine. The only boo boo I did was I got a brief on backwards on a get up LOL. It was also easier becuause this very needy resident was in the hopstial and the one that poops 7 times a night in her brief was given a sleeping pill LOL. But yeah it went way better, The only thing that got to me is the person who was supposed to train me was out for like the second day in a row (never met her) so it was just me The other two cna's are related and have this bad rep. Well let me tell you that they were great and asked me several times if I needed help, I did ask twice with residents I could not push over to change on my own. I answered some of their call lights and did not make a bib deal out of it, you give some you take some. Anyways I am much more hopeful now thanks again for the good advice

I will actually try this tonight and report on it tomorrow to see how it went. The residents always ask what time it is though LOL. I guess I can lie yeah it's 4:30 am not 3 am how would they know anyways as long as I leave them in their rooms. The nurse really does not want to see them earlier then necessary cause you know how they are all gathered around the nurses station and chat. Thanks again you are giving me hope I will probably have 30 people and 5 get ups minimum

fuzzy thanks!

one day. I actually started looking for work a month after i became certified. I applied at night online, that morning I was hired at a LTC. Not ideal but a job

dang man I guess i will have to get used to it Hey you know they say once you have done the hardest job, it can only get easier somewhere else right? There are CNA's that have been there 5 years and stick together and when you ask for help they don't come maybe they forget or who knows. I know for 56 people it will be 3 CNA's I am still not getting how I am supposed to do my last round at 4:30 am and get my get ups in time by 7am because I have to be out the door at 7 sharp for my kids. I will endure this facility for the experience and learn from it. But love it? no. I do love some of the residents already though, just not the ones that punch me and hit me LOL

I feel as if there is no way I can give quality care to 20 plus residents being new. How can i get all the 5 people up and to the nurse's station and dressed and doing my last round at 4:30 am while changing sheets, briefs etc. Yes they use those wheelchair and bed alarms for the wanderers who have dementia as babysitters there as well. I am having the hardest time realizing I can't waste a second and while I have 2 call lights going and am doing my last rounds the other CNA sitting at the nurse's station or smoking her 15th smoke won't even think of helping the newbie I guess the facility looks clean and fancy but even the residents in the middle of the night will ask me " have you been very busy, is there just one of you" they know we are way understaffed for that hall. Anyways my plan is to start getting people up earlier than 4:30 am and dressed until I am used to it because I HAVE TO BE OUT the door at 7am sharp to be home for my husband to go to work on time (can't leave the kids alone). Anyways I guess this is how a lot of these places are run they probably only get so much from the state or insurance and another CNA on the hall giving good care would kill the budget.

ok so basically i started on the wing I will be working on. It was crazy busy. As a test, they put a new orientee (who was very good, male) with me. We had our own hall. did the charting, call lights, two rounds, emptied garbage and 5 morning get ups to the nurses station. We worked as a team Some of the residents are very heavy. Some don't talk and fight and hit hard. Some wet the whole bed. I think the previous shift did no rounds at all. We had one resident do 8 BM's and large ones plus she called 10 other times. Four other residents had BM's that came out of their briefs and onto the bed. Long story short, we got out at 7:20 which was good considering quitting time is 7. But I HAVE NO IDEA HOW I WILL EVEN DO THIS ON MY OWN. It was cool because there were two people and we could do stuff as a team. It is going to be very very hard to get people up and on time at the nurse's station unless I start before 4:30 am. I have no idea. Plus people just say stuff that is so sweet and others call you names and stuff. I mean I think I can do it easier. Just some of the men that can't move and dirty the whole bed with poop that is hard to deal with by myself Any advice Oh and the other two CNA's were cool but they are sisters in law that live together and basically just stick together the whole time

Drew thanks for the answer I just did my 2nd training day in rehab and will work the LTC wing. I have been told scary stories about the staff. Mostly scared of doing a 2 person lift if no one is willing to help. I want to be able to have a good attitude when I get there and forget what people gossiped about in the lunch room LOL Thanks again for your insight. i was told about rounds when I get there with the previous CNA. People told me to check beds for wetness, actually pull back the sheets. Check briefs. No people get up at night to pee or do they forget and use briefs? wondering. I know i am not going to get everything right at first but I will try my hardest to do the best job I can.

LOL your first day sounds just like mine LOL yeah i felt like throwing up as well and was hot as heck Stick it out and do your best PS I got peed on pooped on too. LOL

thank you for all the responses. They have given me insight. I was told there are 3 CNA's on the night shift. Yes people did call in sick and the PRN's did show up when called. THe training nurse made a huge deal of calling in 4 hours or at best 8 hours before you know you can't come in. I will get a better feel for how things run at night. Also charting is done by hand not on a computer screen mounted to the wall like at other places so for a while after you finish your shift you chart. I mean Do people chart along as they go? I guess I will have to jot down in a notepad what i do cause I sure won't remember 7 hours later who did what. The other CNA's just told me to put what the other one did the day before in the charts, one CNA PRN just got tired of charting and after 45 minutes went home without charting the rest of her patients. I will stay at this facility and learn everything I can and do the best I can that's what I know Thanks again for all the responses

OK here is a quick synopsis. Started "training" (loosely put). It was my second day today. Yesterday I worked the Alzheimer's unit. It had let's say 25-30 people. There were just 2 aides. They called another PRN who was not much help, he took about 15 breaks. The other aids worked hard, I mean constantly. They were stlll cool with me and I worked hard too. It's sort of difficult when the patients don;t know you and you are only going to be there one day. Today I show up at the short term rehab. area and let's say there were 30 (?) residents. It was just ONE CNA until we got another PRN from the LTC hall to help. She was not familiar with the area. There should have been minimum 4-5 people to get the job done half way right. Plus there was a family insisting on a shower, and stayed until 3 when we said the next shift would give him one. Several other visiting families with many requests and some complaints about the facility right to me and this other CNA, comparing it to another. I got peed on several times (8) and pooped on twice, several residents with c-diff, hep , etc. Anyways I am due to work nights so The meals won't be a worry and neither will the showers. But I have already been warned about the hall I am assigned to and basically it's a place where no one co-operates and helps. No I will tell you this, we had 3 women (2 pregnant) lift a 400 lb woman today. Even the nurse helped. i am NOT about to lift a 400 lb man by myself. I mean I know there are lifts right and I have to be trained on them. Basically are all facilities like this? It is clean, nice, pretty but just today only I have had several complaints on the food (I could not cut the ham slice (Turkey?) for several residents it was so hard. The residents will compare this place to another just a mile away if they have stayed there. Help with advice. I mean I KNOW this is not a productive environment and I am just staying there for my resume and the cash, yes the cash LOL

i wish you tons and tons of luck set your alarm, get a good breakfast, put on some good sneakers and go for it Don;t let anyone ruin your first day at work. It won't be perfect but try to do the best you can. Remember to listen more than you talk LOL AND yes your house will be loud and crazy so be ready. You are a very kind and nice person to let your family stay at your house, very very sweet and unselfish of you. Don't talk about your personal situation on the first day or for awhile, just concentrate on the task at hand. Good luck to ya, everyone is nervous on their first day.

update: I just spent my first of 4 days training. I was there from 7am to 3pm on the Alzheimer's unit. It was pretty much nuts and as long as I got down and helped when someone needed a hand, it was pretty much job well done. I asked if the other CNA's needed help, was pro active but it was still nuts and I could tell the other CNA's had their hands full with the residents. But the residents really do love the CNA's a lot. The place is great and I feel like I will learn a lot there. Plus I need the pay too! LOL

today we had a resident who did not have her glasses, bra on ant TED hose on when her daughter visited. This was just a training day in the Alzheimer's unit for me i don't usually work there. She had a CNA come in point these things out and then point out the trash bag by the bed that we had just put her briefs in and our gloves a second ago and we were taking to the trash outside the doors. She put in a complaint against (?) for all these things. I did feel bad but I guess this happens a lot with the rush of things. That place was fun and like your place had too little CNA's, pretty much a fast pace mad house.

wow guys thanks for all the great answers I really appreciate it, off to bed for now. Up and at it early in the am.

Just wanted to know from already working CNA's I am being trained or shadowing a person for 2 days during the day and then 2 days at night The facility is real nice the people seem cool and down to earth. Anyways, I was told mostly it's doing rounds, offerings fluids or thickit. Also would I turn people ever two hours? I know that there is the call light answering. How often are rounds done? IS this so very boring or not really? please let me know anyone out there who can respond, thanks. i also was not trained on using hoyer lifts and they are doing this with me. I have no clue how to use the BP machine, the one that stands up I guess on the floor. Thanks for any responses. I am nervous but happy to have gotten this job after one real day of looking. I graduated a month ago but had family staying for that month.:):):):):)

thanks to all who took the time to respond to me. So yes, it was business attire. One gal came in jeans and a tank, which was not frowned upon. The orientation was simply signing paper work, touring, tests on various things like Alzheimer's and reading company policy. The Nurse in charge of training was super great and just the best. She made us feel at ease. I am having to be trained on the hoist as I told the nurse the truth about not knowing how to operate it. I am excited and happy to work at a nice, clean, beautiful nursing, LTC, rehab facility. And I am no longer wondering what to wear LOL I did go purchase some navy blue scrubs, I had no idea there were so many types of scrubs at the supply store, wow. Plus I lucked out they were 20% OFF at Lambert's See yall

thank you! you will

wow sorry to hear about all that nonsense I too like to be on time and sure about where the heck I need to go On a different note I went to an orientation at a nursing home (nice, high end, super clean) and it went super flawlessly. Tons of paperwork, just 3 of us and the nursing educator (title?) Anyhow we even had a nice lunch from the kitchen and it was informative yet laid back. I feel it was a good example of how things are run there, efficiently and no fuss. Now we went to payroll and that was not as cool and organized ! They have a really cool time clock that you put your hand down and it clocks you in like a star treck thing. Better luck with the orientation. I am gettin $10.25 an hour which is ok since minimum here is like $7. Out of curiosity since we are anonymous how much are they starting you at the hospital? I am in TN.

ok what i will do is drive there in business attire. I will call on the way and ask the receptionist what they usually wear and have scrubs in my car just in case. Or I show up in business clothes and go change real quick like if everyone in the waiting room is wearing scrubs. Either way I appreciate your input and will surely find out at 9 tomorrow and update you all!