WisconsinCheddr

Hi everyone, not only do I work in LTC, but my best friend just moved into a facility. I already know 3 of the staff at his new home--2 nurses who work travel at my facility, and 1 CNA who used to work my facility. I'd like to make a basket for the wall inside his room with little snacks for the people who spend more time with him than I can, to show my appreciation. Thinking Little Debbies, bagged chips, slim jims, anything shelf stable that they can grab and go with (I eat on my cart way too much so I totally feel for them). I once had a darling woman, a mother of one of my residents, who did this and I thought it was really sweet. Any ideas of things you would like? TIA

As listed in the title, I'm looking for any recommendations for board games I could donate to the mental health hospital unit where I'm doing clinicals soon. They said they already have 5 Jengas so not that one. And nothing with sharp pieces, obviously. TIA

So I'm sure you've all had one of these in your periphery during school, if not work, but I'm having a heck of a time dealing. She is always the number one scorer at Kahootz, always has the right answer first and loudest in every class, if not a story to regale us with. She exhausts me. Nobody can share the limelight because she won't move. I get it that she has experience with med pass others don't. I get it that everyone from her dad to her great aunt's next door neighbor has taken the medicine or had the medical condition we're discussing that day. Every day. But it grates my nerves and I sit next to her so I can't get away. To be fair, she seems to be a nice person. We have worked together in lab, and she even helped me with finger stick practice. It's just this unrelenting know-it-allness makes me not wanna participate, and I'm paying thousands of dollars for schooling that I'm not getting the best experience from. So I guess my question is this: how do I not let it bother me, or maybe can I anonymously let her know other students would like a crack at answering things once in a while? Thanks!

Thanks for all the input. You do feel very lonely, stranded, in the midst of all this. About 6 or 7 of the staff who left our facility within the past few months, left it for one particular facility. I just trained a new girl who left aforementioned facility, citing "terrible management". Grass isn't greener I guess. It's the only reason I havent left yet. Well that, and they did finally hire a few new people, so I don't have a whole hall to myself anymore. I can't wait until I get my KMA(CMA). And my LPN. And RN. Ps--So sorry to hear about your bronchitis, kluv2jazz. Hope you feel better soon!

I'm an aide at a large LTC facility (3 units, 150 beds), and we have recently had several brushes with Covid 19. Once a staff member tested positive, they were to quarantine at home for 14 days. A resident was almost immediately moved to a facility designated to care for those with covid, so as to lessen exposure to his/her neighbors. Problem is this: nobody wants to go in the room with a sick resident, esp since we have now retained a positive one and built an enclosure (with PPE) in order to cover her care while there. For instance, aides deliberately left her food tray on the cart the other night. Guess who suited up and went in to set her up to eat? I don't get paid $21/HR like the aides at the covid positive facility, but it IS my job to pass trays. I'm just really mad because when she came back from the hospital and was neutropenic and we had to suit up for her protection, I did so because she was my resident. I was protecting her. Then comes the positive result the following day, and even her aide was resistant to going in. That night, the guy across the hall from her as well as room next door both were sickly residents---cough, fatigue, fever, no appetite, etc. Fast forward: two residents to hospital, one dies of covid in past week. Three in new covid enclosure at the rear of hall 1, all positive. Management super excited to give us TWO DOLLARS extra an hour for working on unit, and $2 in addition if we aren't late and don't miss any shifts. Are you FREAKING kidding me? Everyone is quitting or calling in, leaving the rest of us to shoulder the burden. The first night the covid enclosure was up, an aide left early-- she was found to be positive later. And I got to take over for her, getting yelled at by one resident who waited "hours" for changing, by another because her phone needed charging, and another broke down in tears because she was dehydrated and felt she was being ignored. Everyone had been told by one aide or another that they "were coming back", but didn't. That night (3-11pm) I had 19 residents by myself, 3 of which were positive and required my donning and doffing each trip into the enclosure. Too much. What does it look like for everyone else out there, esp in LTC? We DO get 2 nurses, one for each hall, for each shift, but the lack of aides feels like it's killing the rest of us ?.

Nurses are technically our supervisors as CNAs, so I'm cool with it. I have noticed that a few nurses frown upon CNAs charting or taking a rest there if it's between the hours of 7AM and 7PM. One nurse in particular has removed chairs, posted signs and loudly ordered aides away on several occasions, but she's not a happy person (complains nonstop), and sits more than all the other nurses. I don't mind to move for a nurse if they need the pcs, phone or want to take a rest. That said, as we are in view of call lights on an electronic board at the nurses station, we can log off and respond to the lights ASAP. Works for me. Oh, and in response to the hiding, I've seen it all-- smoking in the courtyard, texting or napping in a resident's recliner. So maybe it's not such a bad idea to be close and in plain view?

THIS. ALL OF THIS. I just worked on a unit last night where I was warned *after* checking in with the resident that her mother put a CAMERA in the room. It's hard enough to do the physical and emotional work we do without Big Mother grading us. I also realized that was the reason I got that section-- nobody else wanted to be filmed! Keep in mind that I have zero issue with my nurse or supervisor doing a random check to make sure a resident is safe and clean/dry. That's my job and I take the Pepsi challenge with any aide's residents on being clean and safe at all hours. But this is sooo different. This could in my opinion violate other residents's privacy, as she is on the Alzheimer's/closed unit. Someone could roll in the room and be on camera or roll by and be caught by Big Mother. They didn't agree to that, and if it's one who likes to pull their shirt up and flash their boobs or thinks this room is their room and tries to go to the bathroom, Mom gets to see that too. Not fair to those residents and their families. Mom only sees half the story and what follows? A lawsuit or someone loses their job? Great. Even less staff. Thanks Mom, terrific intervention-- now nobody gets the care they deserve. For instance: last night, one resident got up out of her chair no fewer than 5 times in the first 3 hours of my shift. Although she was not mine, I ran down the hall when I heard the alarm sound, and saw her walking unsteadily around the door of a male room into their toilet where I caught her just as she was preparing to plop down on the commode. I apologized to the resident, helped the lady finish her business, and gently but firmly got her into her chair and out of the room altogether. When I first worked with this resident years ago, she had 2 broken legs--can ya guess why? Always has had a bed and a chair alarm and has safety mats too. She works past that with ease and it's against the law to restrain these people. Something for Big Mother to think about perhaps...

So very sorry this all happened. I can understand all too well. I was a brand new aide about 3 years ago and tried to help do get-ups for breakfast when I had an incident. I had to lower the resident to the ground because she would neither step back to sit on her bed nor step to sit in her chair. Though I did it all relatively safely and there was no injury, I was suspended without pay for 3 days (She was a 2 person transfer due to her size, but everyone always said they did her by themselves.)This atop complaints from an overly-interested-in-what-I-was-doing aide who seemed to continuously try to get me written up or fired for every little thing. I used to go in the shower room's bathroom to cry. A lot. I was overwhelmed daily. I could not understand why other aides would not help me or offer advice, and would rather report me at every opportunity. As a result, in time, I honed my skills and became that aide to help out the newbies, whether it was lowering the bed or getting a resident off a bedpan and then telling the aide I helped, or offering reassurance when the Mean Girls attacked. These types are rampant in healthcare, I'm sorry to say. They fail to understand the meaning of teamwork, much less compassion, and don't belong in a caregiving profession. I thank God the complainer got knocked up and quit to work in a doctor's office--I'm sure she's trying her best to make someone else miserable there, but at least it's no longer me. An interesting postscript is that that same resident has had multiple episodes of transferring and then "forgetting" how to do so successfully, which has resulted in a nurse's permanent back injury as well as many team lifts off the floor back into her bed. But I was the only one who ever got written up over it or suspended. Hmmm...am I sore about it? Sure. It wasn't fair by comparison, but I own that I should've waited for help. I think you owned your mistake and will learn from it in much the same way. Best of luck ❤️

Thanks so much for the support and advice. We just had a meeting with admin and corporate about plans to make things better. They did hire a few more aides, who are in orientation, and there is one nurse supervisor who has been helping with lights in the interim. It's just too much for anybody, and I guess I needed that validation from someone who's been there. I'm getting my KMA this fall and hopefully it will be a little better as a medication aide.

Even though I am only a CNA right now, I can tell you are a good nurse, as I watch mine daily to figure out what I want to be like and what I never want to be like. The best nurses are present and accountable, but not totally self-sacrificing. Yes, many skip breaks and meals, but eat while charting. I had one tell me to hydrate because she'd seen that I had worked the better part of a double (16 hours) with no break or lunch. Hydrating helps your muscles not be sore the next day. On the way to work, I get a large sweet tea from McDee's for the caffeine and sugar rush and then refill with ice and water several times throughout the day. On a routine pee break, I grab a few bites of a sandwich or suck down a yogurt and I'm good to go. I don't even sit. Also, delegating more is a great piece of advice--CNAs or PCTs are there to answer lights. That's my job! If I answer a light and the resident needs something out of my scope that only a nurse can do, I relay that message. We joke that our rehab unit is the Ritz Carlton because it looks like Christmas with all the lights and they are extra needy, for the most inane things at times. The Alzheimer's unit and regular LTC unit are a lot more chill most days. Full moons don't count. Yes, you should speak to that person who yelled down the hall at you. Not acceptable at all, unless there's a fall, fight, or code. They could frighten or wake a sleeping patient within earshot. I do one of 2 things to get my nurse's attention if on the phone/otherwise busy--write what the resident needs on an index card along with their name and room # and place in front of them, or stand close looming in a sort of pee-pee dance urgency. I'm not easily missed because I'm pretty tall. They get to me when they are at a good stopping point. People in administrative duties are so often clueless about how we have things prioritized, as I have been told that a resident needs to be toileted or changed, etc., by one passing through...even though they might have been next on my round. Don't take it personally. One of the best things someone ever told me was attributed to Hillary Clinton during her Lewinsky woes--she said she learned to "take things seriously but not personally". As in, I acknowlege what you are saying and may address it, but it's not a judgement or poor reflection on anything I've done/am doing. The second came recently, when we were short-staffed, the AC wasn't working properly on much of the unit (80+degrees!), and a new nurse snapped at me that I needed to "prioritize" this one light because it had been on for "a hot minute". I told her I had to lay my people down from dinner first and then would then get the light of the person (whom I had recently changed). But I was enraged, mostly from the assumption I was ignoring the light. So I went to the nurse supervisor and spilled it all, told her I wanted to tender my resignation, etc. She said something about not reacting emotionally (in the kindest way), and offered me a gatorade LOL. This nurse was onto something, as she saw I was hot, hadn't had a break, and was emotionally overwrought. She knew that while emotion is part of what makes you a good aide (or nurse!), you gotta keep it in check by keeping your physical and mental states well at all times. Later on that night, I had to help that nurse who yelled at me put a resident on a bed pan. She'd literally never done it (and had it positioned upside down), so I guessed she'd never been an aide and that this was her first nursing job. From that point on, we were cool, and have been on every shift we work together. I really hope you stay in nursing and on the boards because I'm sure you will have sage advice one day when I'm on the floor, and ready to give up!

We're privately owned so they don't use staffing agencies. Apparently, years ago, when they were public, they did. Anyway, in the midst of this, we have our first 3 positive covid cases, all staff. I got tested yesterday, will know results Friday, and will be again tested with the rest of staff Friday. The ADON said we will be tested every 3-5 days. It's uncomfortable but I don't mind if it's any reassurance I'm helping keep my family, friends and residents safer. The kicker too is that patient zero, or CNA Zero as it were, was just hired from a home where something like 40 people tested positive and 12 residents died. This, after the DON recently begged me not to quit because, " We just hired 4 new aides and they're going through orientation now". SMH.

So it's an off-told story: long term care CNA here, understaffed to the point of exhaustion. Within the past 2 weeks, we've lost our 2 regular FT weekly 3-11 aides on my unit, meaning its just me and 2 others taking care of nearly 50 residents. Yes, that means 16-17 residents each. And yet we are still expected to get a full set of vitals on each, pass ice and snacks, do rounds every 2-3 hours, and oh yeah, do 2 showers each. What charting? The charting we get written up over if not completed? Yeah, that charting too. Not to mention manage get ups for dinner, and get our own 30 minute lunch and 2 15-minute breaks. I did the math and tried to schedule for all the above and it only affords 2 full rounds, which isn't me doing my job. Heaven forbid we have the daily emotional meltdown, a fall, or anything else that impedes our progress. Well they've started with the $50 bonus for CNAs coming in to pick up 3-11. Last week saw the DON and nurse supervisor helping me pass snacks and put people to bed. Dinner, which usually is from 5:30-6:30 ended around 8. It's beyond ridiculous. I'm starting to have trouble sleeping over it. My plan was to do this until school in August, when I start getting my KMA (medication aide) training. I want to go from CNA to KMA to LPN and finally RN. However at my facility, they have started mandating everyone from activities to the van driver get their CNA so we always have back up. Enter even more essential people leaving....right as we prepare to open to visitors on July 15. Now I'm gonna have angry family yelling at me because mom hasn't showered all week and dad is lying in what looks like the poop version of a chalk outline at a murder scene. Should I go back to Target or temp in an office somewhere? I'm at wits end. And yes, we actually met with two ppl from corporate within the last month to try and keep people from leaving and make things better. The people still left. Things aren't any better.

I work in LTC as well and we get a new [surgical cloth style] mask every 2 weeks. We must wear it every second inside the building, fold it and place carefully in a brown paper sack for transport or storage between shifts. It's gross. I sweat profusely, and my face breaks out like I'm 14 again. It reminds me of being a little kid with the covers pulled up over my head, and I'm trying to breathe normally through the fabric. Luckily, we don't have it as bad as the hospitals, but it still stinks.

Hello all, So I passed my CNA state test (yaay I'm bonafide) and am enrolled in the spring to get a few pre-reqs out of the way before applying to nursing school. I LOVE the instructors at BCTC, as did I love the ones a million years ago when it was little ole LCC. Way better deal economically-speaking than other nearby options, too. My observation/question is this tho...what the eff is up with the price of the anatomy text??? It's a ONE HUNDRED LEVEL CLASS. The FIRST anatomy class. Am I misunderstanding something? I went to grad school and can only remember one or two texts that even came within a fraction of the price of this anatomy text (and by that I mean 1/3-1/2). My engineer bf laughed out loud when he heard the price, as never in HIS education did he see such a price (and he got the much heralded STEM degree). I see that you can rent it or buy it in electronic or looseleaf form, and used as well, but seriously guys....a little ridiculous. Mom and Dad aren't paying for this. It's me and mine. And even tho I didn't request an online class, I have been thrust into Starfish and Blackboard and Peoplesoft and and and...do I at least get credit for navigating these unnecessarily complicated waters? I mean, I get that we are in the age of social media and that kids today, well they're different learners than those of us who awaited a paper syllabus the first day of class and traditionally bought our books at one of those terrible stores that would charge full price only to then give us half the value at semester's end. I get that. I MISS that. I miss talking to people in person rather than across computer screens. Sorry for the rant, but when I first made this career plan, I was under the impression that BCTC was going to be demonstrably less expensive than UK. Is this assumption merely based upon the price per credit hour? Is this crazily expensive anatomy book the exception in an otherwise frugal choice? Thx

Thanks for the input, guys. :) At my college, you have to take the CNA course as a pre-requisite before any sort of nursing program. So even though I don't have to stay working as one, I have to take it prior to or concurrent with entry into a program. I'm just wondering what with my MSW where I might find career satisfaction without being out of thousands more in tuition by jumping into an RN or LPN program immediately. Money is such a factor here, so that's why I thought of the CNA work whilst saving up to enter a program. I like the idea of hospital work, esp if I could work with patients who have neurodegenerative disorders. My best friend was just diagnosed with HD last year and years ago, we had to help care for his dad in a nursing home before he passed away in his early 50s from the disease. So many people don't understand or have compassion for what they and their families go through on their journeys. I might even be interested in becoming a hospital social worker because it's kinda cool being that broker of information and liaison for the families during a difficult time.