HollyBay

I'm sorry you have to deal with this- it is definitely frustrating but like others have said, unfortunately, it seems to exist at many facilities. I have had 3 cna jobs (just started most recent a couple months ago) and have faced co-workers like this at all 3 jobs. Being the new person in a job can be brutal. At all of my jobs, there have been times where I have wanted to quit on the spot during the beginning, but I remind myself that I am there because I truly love caring for the residents/patients and I am not going to let other people scare me away from working in my dream career field. Honestly there have been days where I have just told myself to get through this one shift and then I can quit if I really need to, but by the end of the night, a positive interaction with a patient/resident has always helped me feel better. The best advice I can give is to be extremely nice to your co-workers. Believe me, I know how hard that can be. However, there is a high level of turnover at many health care facilities, especially in LTC and I believe some staff just get burned out and don't want to become friends with new staff until they "prove" that they can handle the job. It definitely makes it difficult for the new staff though. Being new, I tried to work hard, ask questions, "prove" that I am a good team-player by offering to do some of the more unpleasant tasks. If I am unsure of how to do something and nervous about asking the staff, I would try to compliment something I noticed they do well, for example: "You work so well with x resident when she becomes agitated, can you give me some advice?" When I felt comfortable with the residents routines and cares, I would make sure I did all of my tasks and then ask the other Cnas what I can help them with or clean/stock supplies. Basically just being super friendly even when people were not friendly to me and putting 100 percent effort into my job to show how committed I was helped me make friends at work when I started out feeling less than welcome. There have been a couple times where just being nice hasn't worked and I have literally said to the other cna "look I get it that working with a new person isn't fun. I'm doing my best to learn the routine here; please let me know if I should be doing something differently or if you need help." Surpringly simply saying this to a cna I had been warned "hated new staff" totally turned her attitude towards me around. Anyway, I hope your situation improves. It sucks that Cnas "eat their young" but if you can at least try to get through the first couple months then it might get better. If not, then maybe try another nursing home, assisted living, or hospital in your area. If nothing else, at least experiences like this will remind us to treat future new co-workers how we wish we had been treated. Good luck!!

What is your job title? CNA Where are you located? Rural Midwest What is your hourly wage? $12 base pay Are you paid shift differentials? Yes, $1.50/hr for weekday pm's, $3/hr for weekend pm's What shift(s) do you usually work? 3-11:30 pm What is your current specialty? Med-Surg How many years of experience do you have? I just started in Med-Surg, before this I have 2 years of experience as a CNA in LTC-Memory Care What is your status? part-time Are you a pursuing a career as a nurse? Yes, I am in my first semester of an ADN-RN program