Q631

I know exactly what you mean. For me, I'm the favorite floater to a certain unit, so much so that I'm basically a permanent aid on that unit even though part-time employees are supposed to be floaters, not regulars. When I am not assigned to that unit it's unusual, and 9/10 times they'll call me back up to the unit within the first two hours and float someone else to replace me. It's because i'm the only one that answer the bells, doesn't hide, doesn't give nurses an attitude, doesn't complain, etc. Sucks to be the only one that isn't lazy? Idk, I refuse to stoop to the work ethic of some of my coworkers....

I am a new CNA 7 months into my first job at a rehab/nursing home on Long Island. I cannot tell if this facility is a good place to work or if it is terrible since I have nothing to compare it to. I love the actual work of being a CNA and I love my patients. I have never had a job that I cared so much about, but my anxiety has definitely been worse since I've been working here (I have anxiety anyway, and I handle it, but it has been worse: sometimes if I have nothing to do before work I'll lay in bed all day beforehand and can't get up until I absolutely have to get ready). The constant horrible staffing, the horribly LAZY and sometimes plainly RUDE coworkers (CNAs, LPNs, RNs), the lack of supplies, the miscommunications, the potential for my license to be put on the line because of things that take place at the facility and things that are asked of me by my superiors. Basically, in a nutshell, what I hate about this place is how DIFFICULT they make it to really take care of my patients. I work 3:00-11:00 shift. Staffing is usually supposed to be 11:1 for CNAs for the evening shift on my unit. Other units average 14:1 but my unit has the most demanding patients, usually with the most pressing health issues (it is also the rehab so it makes the most money). However, we are constantly understaffed (4 times out of 5). When that happens we'll have 13-15 patients on the rehab unit, on the other units they could have up to 20. It is physically impossible to provide proper care for that many patients in one shift, especially since care does not start until after dinner around 6pm. That leave 5 hours to get 15-20 patients cleaned and washed up, tucked in and snoozing by the time night shift shows up at 11. For the LPNS, patient load is a little over 28:1 on all units (there will be 2 LPNs for a 57-bed unit). During the evening there are no RNs in the building except for the "supervisor" who is basically in charge of the whole building and is responsible for every single thing you could possibly imagine (admissions, falls and hospitalizations, codes, and basically any task that only an RN can do: IVs, straight caths, etc. etc. etc....). Most of the time there has been only 1 RN scheduled as the supervisor in the evenings, but lately I have been seeing them staff 2 and 3 supervisors (yay!?). However staffing of LPNs and CNAs has been shorter. What makes everything worse is when I work as the only regular CNA on my unit with 3 other LAZY PEOPLE who hide in patients rooms or take hour long breaks etc. and don't answer call bells. Nurses do not answer call bells, only aids, even when the whole unit is lit up like christmas eve. And I constantly find that I am the only one answering those bells because there won't be another aid in sight and the nurses are too busy. And then sometimes we'll have only 3 female aids and one male aid, but only 10 or so male patients on the unit (male aids can only take care of male patients at my facility), so the girls will all have like 16 patients and he'll only have 10. IS THIS NORMAL OR SHOULD I GET A NEW JOB?? I'm starting nursing school at Stony Brook University in the fall. It's a challenging program, but a part-time job can be accommodated. It's a union job with good benefits. The job pays well, and they'll pay for basically my whole BSN. Can I survive two years of nursing school at this place, and ride it out until I graduate? Do I just need to get used to it because I'm still new?? Help