vampcna

OMG! How in the hell did that happen? My prayers go out to the baby's parents and family, as well as all of the nurses and doctors who had to witness such a horrific tragedy. Dear Lord!

Thanks to everone for your support. I recieved a lot of support from my fellow cnas at work from all the shifts. The RN is being extra nice and the LVNS are lavishing praises about my "excellent patient care". The tx nurse however, is avoiding me like the plague. She is probably embaressed by her behavior and the fact that it was her screw up. I'm off 2nite but work 2morrow. Let this be a warning to others, especially new cnas... Always chart everything. If you find something strange about your patient report it to your nurses and chart it. The nurses will be covering their backs and so must you. I thought I had a decent relationship with my RN, but he wad quick to throw me under the bus. Just watch your- selves and your patients.

Imagine the worst smelling diarrhea and multiply that by 100. Add an infectious, mucosy aroma and you've got C-Diff. It sticks to you so you will smell it hours after you've left.

It turns out the elbow dislocation was an injury the pt sustained in the 1950s! The tx nurse who was so mad at me was the one who did the body check upon admittance. Tonight everyone apologized to me. I'm still hurt, but I'm beginning to see the humor of the situation.

It turns out the elbow dislocation was an injury the pt sustained in the 1950s! The tx nurse who was so mad at me was the one who did the body check upon admittance. Tonight everyone apologized to me. I'm still hurt, but I'm beginning to see the humor of the situation.

C-Diff is a bacterial infection of the intestines that is caused by prolonged use of antibiotics. Antibiotics don't differentiate between good and bad bacteria, so without the good bacteria to keep them in check the bad bacteria causes this terrible infection. The smell is rank and I imagine it is very painful. It is also very contagious in a hospital setting bcuz the patients' immune systems are so compromised. It is very gross. If you come across it use isolation precautions. You don't want to take that home with you. I LOVE THE SMELL OF C-DIFF IN THE MORNING:barf01:

OMG You are SO lucky!!! C- Diff is a smell that permeates your clothes, hair and pores.We had a C-Diff outbreak last year. Even after 3 showers I could still smell it. Once you have smelled C-Diff you never forget it.:barf01: BTW has anyone else noticed that C-Diff usually looks like cooked chorizo. I still can't eag chorizo con juevos!!!!!!

OMG You are SO lucky!!! C- Diff is a smell that permeates your clothes, hair and pores.We had a C-Diff outbreak last year. Even after 3 showers I could still smell it. Once you have smelled C-Diff you never forget it.:barf01: BTW has anyone else noticed that C-Diff usually looks like cooked chorizo. I still can't eag chorizo con juevos!!!!!!

I just got home after one of the worst experiences in my nursing career.Okay, so I'm a cna, but I'm trying to get into an lvn program. Most of my shift was fine. It wasn't until 6 am that the **** hit the fan. I had a geri psych patient who is a hitter and a fall risk. I was told not to change him without help. I had never had him so I didn't know his history or condition. I passed water, did vitals and made my rounds and changes. This guy, "Mr. Grey", was dry at 2:30 so I left him alone. I wasn't going to wake up a combative psych pt to change a dry diaper or to reposition him. I know that ideally we should reposition and change patients every 2 hours, but let's be honest, we usually don't have time for more than q4 hours. Flash forward to 6 when I am helping Mr. Grey's roommate. The tx nurse comes in to change Mr. Grey's gtube t drain. She calls me over and asks if his arm always looks this way. The arm looked dislocated at the elbow. I told her that this was my first time with the pt but I didn't think so. She called the LVN in to assess the arm and the LVN said definately not. The tx nurse asked when I had last changed him and I truthfully answered that I hadn't bcuz he was dry at 2:30. She gave me a dirty look and fetched the RN ( who probably never even looked at the pt)and reported the arm to him. By this time, I had moved onto another room to toilet a pt. The RN came into the room to question me about the injury. The conversation went like this; RN What happened to his arm? ME I don't know. RN What do you mean you don't know? You were with him for 8 hours!You have to know. ME I don't know. I checked his brief at 2:30. He was dry and sleeping so I didn't change him. I looked in on him every time I came by his room. He slept the entire shift. RN So you didn't check him again? ME No, I didn't. I start changing at 4:30, so I knew I would check then. RN Well there's going to be an investigation so you better come up with a good excuse for why you didn't change or reposition him all shift. Are you sure you didn't do something that could've caused this? ME( very upset) Of course not. He was sleeping my whole shift. RN Well we will see. Reminder: This entire conversation took place in a room with 3 very alert pts. The MDS nurse told me that she would look at the pt's history for any degenerative joint conditions and told me not to worry. I was then berated by the RN in front of all my coworkers at the nurse's station. I was almost in tears. I thought I would lose my job, my certification, and any hope at becoming a nurse. I felt like I was being fed to the wolves. I know he was my patient, but he was the LVN's and RN's patient too. Where were they? ( Actually, the LVN did look in on the pt, but the RN never stepped foot in the room until after 6. I was on my way out when the RNAs asked me what was wrong. When I told them, one RNA said,"His right elbow? He was admitted like that. Physical Therapy knows all about it. Let me look at it. We went to the patient and she told nurses that he was admitted with his arm like that. Upon closer inspection an incision was found on his elbow. I thought I was gonna faint! I am a good CNA. I pride myself on my patient care. I'm usually the one that finds undocumented wounds or COCs. I missed this one. I feel like my nurses were accusing me of neglect. I would never knowingly harm a patient. I have worked for over 2 years with nary a complaint or write up. This really shook me up and opened my eyes. My RN wasn't interested in what happened to the pt, he was interested in keeping his licence. I knew he wasn't the best RN I have ever worked with, but I didn't think he would be that mean. He knows I'm a strong CNA. The LVNs love to have me work their station because they know I get things done. And it's a acceptable procedure not to wake a combative or aggressive pt unnecessarily. I did feel really bad bcuz I thought "I should've started with him but I needed to get a pt who was trying to jump out of bed( another geri psych) Well thanks for reading this looong post. I needed to vent. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? How did you deal with it. Were you ever able to look at your coworkers the same way? Please give me your imput. BE NICE PLEASE.

Wow. I don't even get $10. That's amazing!

By using the search bar. I was looking becuz a coworker nocall noshowed and was wondering how others dealt with coworkers that did this.

That's exactly what she did and I don't blame her. I blame the giant A-hole that didn't show up to work and didn't call to say he wasn't coming. I tell ya, if I met him in a dark alley I'd teach him about good workmanship!

As a cna that gets paid peanuts I have some things 2 say on this issue and my comments are based on my personal experience. Where I work they hire new grad cnas, lvns, and rns so they can pay bottom wages. The upside is a new grad can get some experience. The downside, you won't get a raise so you're stuck at the same payrate until you find a new job. I hope to go to school for my lvn, so even though the pay sucks I'm staying put. This way, I will be able to work around my class schedule since management knows and is supportive of my decision to go for my licence. I will also be able to get a job as an lvn after gaining my licence. Another reason cnas get paid so little where I work is simple. They can always find more new cnas to work for the money they're willing to pay. We couldn't strike if we wanted to because it wouldn't take management to fill our positions therefore we are expendable. And management seems to perpetuate shift wars and strife between departments and nursing staff, so getting everyone on the same page would be next to impossible. And finally the economy. Jobs, even cna and nursing jobs are getting harder to come by, especially in Cali, where I live. So until we as cnas realize what we are worth, and refuse to work for less, we will continue getting paid the same as the kid flipping burgers at MickyD's.

Sweetheart, my heart goes out 2 u. I have been a cna at an ltc for 2 years now, and like you I was very nervous about working with dementia pts. It can be physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining. I agree with the other posts. Ask for advice from more seasoned cnas and nurses- but make sure the advice is good advice and isn't harmful to the patients. If a patient is combative, walk away and come back later. Tell the med nurse because maybe they can give some meds to calm the patient. Ask for help when changing combative patients. I have a question. Are you working because you have to, or is it only for patient care experience? If it is the latter maybe you could try home health. That way you can pick the assignment. If a client isn't the right fit you can just ask to be reassigned and you would still be getting experience. I have learned methods on how to deal with combative patients, and more times than not, am able to soothe my patients so I can give the care they need. It just takes patience, innovation, quick thinking, experience and compassion. As someone else posted, it is the disease that makes the patient act out. They usually don't even know what they're doing. You are so young, honey. You will have many different situations to deal with in your nursing career. And if you think a combative dementia patient is hard try a druggie on a binger, or a worried parent on the peds floor! Combative patients and family members come in all forms and can be seen in all areas of nursing. Best of luck in your future endeavors!

No call no show won't hurt management, just your shiftmates and your patients! Case in point: last night a cna ( who was probably gonna get fired anyway) no call no showed. This left only 3 cnas for 74 patients. We were scheduled 5, but because of patient to cna ratios 1 cna was cancelled at the last minute. A cna didn't show up and wouldn't answer his phone. Thanks to him my coworkers and I had 24-25 patients a piece. I had 19 changes! I work 11-7 so I'm used to 15-18 patients, but at most will have 14 changes. Needless to say the shift was excruciating. As for the cancelled cna, she refused to come in, and I can't blame her. If this cna isn't fired for this I will be ******. Do the right thing and give proper notice. Your coworkers and patients will be very thankful for your professionalism.

I'm in total agreement. I have a coworker that is always leaving her patients soaked. My gripe is with the cnas who come in early to check if the patients are wet, only to complain if the patients are the tinniest bit wet.

I'm tired of the oncoming cnas complaining that their patients are wet. As if they were all dry when I recieved them. They are ”incontinent” people! Just shut up and change them already!

But of course. This happened bcuz of her neglect. I just wish he would've painted her with his poo too!:lol:

She wasn't thinking. Typically, when this patient is sleeping, we don't wake him. He is a combative geri-psych patient. However, he always wakes b4 2am and we all know it. The lazy cna just simply doesn't care. Maybe next time she'll think twice b4 leaving a poopie patient.

Yes, poop and pee are a large part of the job. Depending on the shift, you will also be feeding, bathing, ambulating, and cleaning. But there will also be times when the patients will be sad and need a soft hug and a warm smile. The elderly love to tell stories, and many of them are quite funny. I work 11-7 (noc) shift at an ltc, so most of my patients are sleeping when I'm there. The only times they see me is when I'm changing them, taking vitals, or answering their call lights. I would like to have more time to talk with them, but they need their sleep. The sundowner, psych, and new admits keep me busy. We have a lot of these patients presently, so I spend time with them. Nothing makes me feel better than calming a confused delusional patient. Me: What's wrong Mr. X? Mr. X: The bunnies! They want to kill me! Me: Where are they? Mr. X: There! Near the table! Please don't let them hurt me! I get a towel and shoo the "bunnies" out of the room and put a bunny repellent blanket in front of the door. Me: Okay, Mr. X, I chased the bunnies away and they shouldn't come back. But if they do, put on your call light and I'll get them again ok? Mr. X: Oh, thank you. I was so scared. I can go to sleep now! Scenerios like this are very rewarding to me bcuz I helped him calm down. The other times I spend a lot of time with patients are when they are dying. I will work double time so I can spend a few extra moments comforting them. I read to them, sing to them, pray with them, or just hold their hand and stroke their hair. Most peoples worst fear is dying alone, so I try to check on them as often as I can, while also caring for 15- 19 other patients. So,bottom line, cna work is hard,dirty, backbreaking work; but it is also very re- warding. Just bring compassion, a warm smile, and a cheery attitude to work with you, and you'll do fine.:redpinkhe:D

While caring for a male stroke patient with a g tube, I said,"Would you like me to give you oral care now?" He looked puzzled . When I came out of his room, my supervisor said," If you are gonna be ORAL care you should at least get paid extra. No wonder the male patients like you so much." ;)I laughed so hard I almost peed!

Thanks to all who have replied to this thread. We will try these tactics and see what works. One of the biggest problems with the problematic nurse is that, while she treats her fellow lvns and cnas like crap, she is a fabulous brownnoser with management. She is a profecient lvn. She passes meds quickly and is an avid charter, but she doesn't seem to have much compassion for her patients. I think she picks on those she knows won't call her on her sh**! As I said:jester: before she doesn't ride my butt. I'm just tired of her looking her nose down at my coworkers. My coworker that had a stroke is now a sub acute patient at my facility. Nurse X works on the snf side. She hasn't said anything else about my coworker and hasn't stepped foot inside her room. For that I am grateful. I think she's really unhappy with her homelife. She is in a loveless marraige and works 2 full time jobs. Maybe she is one of those people who only feel better when someone else feels worse. In any case, we have started documenting every incident of bullying and badmouting she does. Feel free to post about coworkers who cause trouble on this thread, and again Thank You.

I have 3 stories that make me question my sanity for working as a cna. Story #1 involves a very large patient in her early 50s. Aside from being obese and very lazy, there is nothing wrong with her. She can transfer herself to and from her bed and wc, but refuses to use the toilet or bedside commode. She only wanted female cnas so I was assigned to her quite often. I had a feeling she was into women, but she confirmed my suspician. As I was doing pericare:barf02: she started moaning and said, "You can rub harder and go deeper in there". YUCK Story #2 invoves me helping a cna do postmortem care on a big man. When we rolled him on his side, he urinated on my arm. I never thought I would ever have a dead man pee on me.:grn: Story #3 is by far the grossest. I was watching another cna's patient so she could go to lunch. 2 of her patients were known fall risks, so I went to check on them. I knew something bad happened when I was greeted with the smell of BM at the door. I turned on the light to find Mr. "Brown" had painted himself with his poop. He smeared it all over his arms, chest and face. It was dried on and smelled like he smelled old. I turned around and got my charge nurse. She took one look and stormed towards the breakroom. She told the patient's cna,"when was the last time you checked on Mr.Brown?" The cna said "5 minutes before I went to lunch" The nurse said "Really? Well he is covered in his own bm. Didn't you think you should clean him up b4 you go to lunch?" The cna,( who is less than good) replied, "Well he wanted to play in it so I thought I should let him finish b4 I cleaned him". Unreal!

And he calls ME a whore? See if I let him grab my ta- tas again!:

Hey, Poi Dog, only my " husband can call me that. j/k;):rckn: