RANT!

I once got screamed at by a nurse because I walked in with a supper tray and the woman was on a commode and wanted to get off. So I said ok let me get rid of this tray first (not wanting to toilet someone with food sitting on the table, not to mention the way things were set up if I left the tray on the table it probably would have tipped over- she has piles of junk everywhere). I turned around and walked out, put the tray back on the cart and by the time I got back to her room she was crying to the nurse about how I told her she was going to have to eat on the toilet! I said no such thing and that is completely ridiculous! And I got yelled at... I was thinking "You BELIEVED her?"

When it comes to things like hearing aides, don't trust the residents, even if they are AAO x3. Ideally, they would go in their designated container, but when you're in a pinch like that, wrap them up in a paper towel or washcloth and put them in your pocket. Then the resident can't lose them and blame you. :)

Don't worry about the families. Some of them are great, others are unfortunate but necessary evils. You didn't do anything wrong. They just feel out of control and guilty that their loved one has to be cared for by others. Their way of "regaining control" is to lash out and complain at staff.

I don't even notice it anymore; my brain automatically filters out 95% of their crap that I don't want to hear.

When families like this come in it's so tempting to put up a sign that says "Don't feed the monkeys."

Personally I would not stick the hearing aides in my pocket because the resident will think that you are stealing them. I would put them into a container labeled hearing aides and put them in their drawer so they do not get lost.

Personally I would not stick the hearing aides in my pocket because the resident will think that you are stealing them. I would put them into a container labeled hearing aides and put them in their drawer so they do not get lost.

Normally I would do that, too. The pocket thing was for situations like the poster described where the resident was already in the shower room. She can't leave the resident alone in the shower room to go get the correct container, and if the hearing aides are set on a sink, etc., it's possible they could be damaged by water. If the resident is alert, I would explain it to them and gain permission before putting them in my pocket.

I wouldn't get upset or annoyed at the fact that the lady placed her hearing aides in her drawer. Did she ever tell you that she lost or was missing her aides? If she did, then it's possible that she just forgot she placed them away. I consider myself ALERT, but sometimes I still lose track of where I place my items. Family members can be drama queens sometimes. But I would have acknowleged the people in the room before I had left at least with a 'hello' or smile. The best thing you can do in situations like that is to remain calm, professional and polite. And accept the fact that we can't please everybody, no matter how hard we try. When I have a hard day at work, I ask myself 'Is there anything I can learn from this, so I won't make the same mistake or have the same outcome?' And normally, I do find ways I can handle situations diffrently or better.