newuser321

It must just be positioning issues due to her size and limited mobility. If I can't get the bedpan under her right, I don't think it'd be able to get a big blanket! I think you all are right. I'll continue to just get her up to use the commode and it does work pretty well and she hasn't wet herself in that case yet! Thanks! (Also I hope it doesn't come off as condescending when I say anything about her size! I've got some weight to lose myself and seeing my larger patients struggle with things like this really motivates me to want to lose the weight!)

I do line it with paper towels and that works perfectly for my other patient but not this one. I told another poster that we don't have chucks. But now I'm wondering if maybe I could put a brief around it to try to absorb it? Seems logistically complicated though. I tried putting a towel around it last time but that didn't work. hmmmm

My facility does not have those The beds just have 1 fitted sheet and 1 or 2 draw sheets (which are those thick sheets for pulling a patient up in bed). She soaks through the draw sheet(s) and fitted sheet.

So did you end up leaving? Also, would you be willing to share the red flags that you saw? I'm curious.

I'm sorry! Being a new CNA can be really frustrating because we make a lot of mistakes, especially when we don't know our patients yet! I still have coworkers get mad at me but I know that I'm doing the best that I can and the mistakes I'm making are not putting the patient at risk, which is the most important thing. You've just got to ignore the hate and keep going and you will get better over time!

I wish I could help you but I'm in a similar boat. I'm applying to PA school this year but if I don't get in and have to reapply, I wanted to work at a hospital instead of a LTC nursing home like you do. I also think my resume is good but maybe we are overqualified (I have my bachelor's already as well). My interviewer was a little hesitant/confused about someone with a bachelor's applying for a CNA job where I currently work but she took a chance on me. Maybe hospitals don't want to take that chance since they know we won't be there for too long.

I tried applying to hospitals straight out of my CNA program and got no bites - not even 1 interview. I thought my resume was pretty good in general but I didn't have any experience so I'm assuming that was the problem. So I finally applied at one nursing home and had an interview and was hired the next day! It's been very difficult and the pay is much lower than a hospital but I'm kind of glad that I did it because I know I'm learning so much. I may apply at hospitals again once I'm there for 6 months - 1 year. One hospital near me lists the hourly wage in the job description and it's more than double what I'm making now!

I'm a CNA in a nursing home and I have one patient that always requests to use a bed pan but every time I give her one, she pees all over the sheets and I have to change the whole bed. She is a larger patient and not very mobile so I have a hard time with her, especially since she has to pee quite frequently (every hour or two). Lately I've just been having her get up to use the commode and she's been fine with that but that still takes a decent amount of time which you may know is in very short supply for CNAs! Anyway, I wish I could know what I'm doing wrong! I know that I'm placing it the correct way because I do have another patient that also likes to use bed pans and she never wets the bed with them. But she is thinner and more mobile so maybe it's because I can place it better with her? Are there just some patients that it doesn't work well on because of positioning issues? Or is it something that I'm just doing wrong? Any advice is appreciated. This is my first CNA job and I've only been there for 6 weeks so I know I still have a lot of learning to do.

You make a great point. I'll have to give it some thought and ask around more. It seems like nobody likes to do vitals the real way. The CNA who trained me never even does respirations, he just writes down numbers for it...

Yes, it does give a heart rate but the cuff belongs to my coworker that she brings from home. My question is what do I do if I'm not working with her one day and I don't have access to it? I think I'm going to keep my SpO2 in my bag just in case that happens. And yes, vitals do take me a while and I know I need to hurry up. I just need more practice.

hmm, I do have my own SpO2 thing at home. Maybe I should start carrying it with me. Are they accurate or inaccurate like the electronic BP cuff? As far as apical pulse goes, is there a specific place I should put the stethoscope or just somewhere near the heart where I can find a pulse? We were not trained on that in my CNA class.

Yes, you're right! I did actually try to find it with the stethoscope but I still couldn't hear it!! Maybe I was doing it wrong. I should practice that on my family.

I get $12.75/hr in a nursing home (well it says rehab facility but I think it's more of a nursing home) in California. Cost of living here is very high so while that wage is higher than some of you, it's really not much. Some of the hospitals near me pay in the $20's, up to $32 I've seen. I applied but got no bites, probably since I have no experience (I just started). Once I get some more experience, I'll apply to the hospitals again.

Hi guys! I just started a job as a CNA at a nursing home. I've had to take vitals a few times and there are a few residents that I've had a lot of trouble finding a radial pulse on. What do you do in this situation? I tried finding the carotid pulse on one resident but I couldn't find that either!! I ended up using an electronic wrist BP cuff that one of my coworker CNAs brings from home and I got the heart rate that way but I'm wondering what to do if I don't have one of those available! I know some people have a really hard to find radial pulse - including myself. Most people can't feel mine. Also - how do you take a BP on someone whose arms are contracted and cannot be moved from the side of their body and cannot be straightened? Once again, I used the electronic wrist BP cuff on this resident but my nurse said those are not as accurate as the manual cuffs so I shouldn't use them. She said that in general before I took any vitals. Maybe I should ask her what I should do for this resident next time. Thank you for any tips and advice!

Thank you for your reply! Do you think it'd be a bad idea to just apply for the jobs and ask these things if I get an interview? I'm having a hard time finding out contact info to ask someone. Or should I just find an email address for HR and ask that way before applying?