Sleeping aides at work

RNMLIS · Nov 30, 2009

When I worked night shift in LTC - aides slept - despite many complaints to the DON - Nothing was done....The aides knew nothing would be done and continued to sleep.

Occasional efforts were made to catch sleeping aides ADON would sneak in - would watch the sleepers for 30 + minutes - upon awakening "I am on on break"

Nothing was done -

Aides were told they were not allowed to sleep in the day room

found them in the geri chairs in 'their' hallway

nothing was done

aides certainly would not listen to me I had no authority as Nothing WOULD BE DONE

To quote AN AIDE " It is on you and I have seen nurses come and go and I am still here"

Oh well I am gone I am so glad to outta there - she is there sleeping

sasha2lady · Nov 30, 2009

well...heres an update. I talked to the DON...she had the aide walked to the timeclock and out of the building pending investigation. I told her exactly in detail what happened and she said that she has no choice but to terminate her and make an example out of this. That surprised me. She said she was tired of people always telling her that she never does anything to these aides when they do wrong (which is true...weve been telling her and doing writeups for over 2 yrs now and nothing has come of it) I only found this out because when I had to redo the assignment sheets for the next few days I had to call her and ask her whether or not to put this aide on....and she told me not to....that she was going to the administrator today and firing her for sleeping. Now....I hope she is going to hold true to her word but I will believe it when I see her marked off the schedule. I was so torn with this...I hate writing people up even when they deserve it...just makes my stomach knot up. I told her it was a damned if I do and damned if I dont situation. This aide shouldve been gone a lomngggggg time ago! Im hoping this new ADON will bring about some positive changes and get us some good aides in there. She is the worst one on my shift.....she started out on 3rd and was so bad that they moved her to 2nd where her behaviors and actions continued and worsened over time despite her many many writeups. Ill keep you posted for sure. And I hope I never walk in on that again. Ive worked many double shifts and went on being up for 24 hrs and NEVER have slept at work. I guess I was lucky enough to have some aides that made killer coffee for me! When my son had rsv, I was fueled on maybe an hour of sleep a day...still went to work and stayed awake.

sasha2lady · Dec 1, 2009

Man O Man! Well....after this aide was told she was suspended for 3 days and that the DON would contact her about whether or not she was still employed....this idiot came in to work anyway! Of course, the ADON sent her back home and told her AGAIN that she was still suspended. I talked to the ADON once I had heard that she was telling 3 different stories to back up how she "was absolutely not asleep"....they are so funny...she claimed in story 1. I hit my head on a door 2. I was doing my charting after I took the smokers out and 3. I heard them come in and talk but since no one was talking to me I didnt raise my head up....ok....so I naturally had to clarify this with the ADON....that if she hit her head it was never made known and 2. she never took any smoking resident anywhere MY aide on MY unit did that and there was no "they" that went into that room....It was just me and I didnt say anything....not until after I exited the room to inform the other nurses of the situation away from the aides...so I dont know what kind of talking she heard unless it was the voices in her head. And all these fabrications came about AFTER she was confronted by the ADON.....who informed me that the aide said to her as soon as she took her in the office " I wasnt sleeping, I was resting and didnt think it was against the rules to do that".....she knew she was busted and why. Im just glad that they arent buying her tall tales. I told both the ADON and the DON that I stood over her long enough to see myself that her eyes were shut and I counted her respirations which were 17 and completely even and never changed. The noise she heard that woke her up was me slamming that door to get her up and give her a hint that she'd been caught. She thinks all 3 of us nurses were in that room with her from what I was told...which again....contradicts her lies. Seeing how she is lying doesnt make me feel near as bad as I did about writing her up and handing it over. Its about time she get the boot.

Cthebigguy · Dec 9, 2009

Being honest, I don't care if a coworker sleeps at the nurses station as long as when it is time to do rounds and answering call lights they are up. We don't have sick time where I work, and since we are the lowest paying facility in the county*, we have a really hard time saying "I am too sick to work." More than one of my noc-shift coworkers has slept in an empty room for 30-40 min. and I understand, it is when it is habitual that there is a problem.

HealingBalm · Dec 12, 2009

I must say, this post had my temples throbbing. There is complicity with management that condones and allows this type of behavior to continue. It creates an "us against them" mentality that has no place in healthcare. I worked in a LTC facility for many years where the aides would not come for report, talk loudly to each other (those that would grace me with their presence), no patient was ever turned and positioned, would completely ignore call bells. It was an absolute nightmare. These poor excuses for workers would "gang up" on any nurse that tried to exercise any kind of authority. The many times I asked them to let me know their whereabouts were completely ignored. they routinely left the floor without notifiying me. Nothing was ever done about any of this. Write ups were a joke and these individuals knew this. I once had a resident in distress and sent the aide (while I stayed with the pt) to get me needed equipment..this b@*7^ had the gaul to say to me "why can't you do it yourself"!!!! :eek: After the pt was stabilized I immediatley reported this incident to my Sup!!! Ya know what she said? "Ya know Ms...the aides are not servants of the nurses!!!:angryfire Now don't get me wrong, there were several that were excellent workers and respectful of the nurses, but unfortunately they were sorely out numbered. As for sleeping on the job, it was routine(11p-7a) for them to disappear for 2hrs at a time. Sup was very well aware of this..gerichairs used for beds in the hall. I was actually told by one of these aides from hell..that it wouldn't do me any good to go to the Don "because she is from my country". Loyalty to my fellow patriots is no excuse for allowing behavior that negates pt safety! Needless to say, they took great joy in tormenting the aides that "did" their jobs well. This facility has a horrible rep for allowing the aides to "run the show". That is because some of these same "demon seeds" will work around the clock if needed, so managrment lets them have their way.

Thank G-d I'm outta there, along with over 100 in the last two years. :yeah: Oh by the way, I was in charge of 55pts many nights by my self doing rounds. I thought that I could make a difference. Glad I'm gone.

HealingBalm · Dec 12, 2009

I just wanted to add to my post above. I am not inhumane. For many pm workers, night shift can wreck havoc on the cirrcadian rythmn. We all have outside responsibilities and lives. I would tell my aides "if you go on break aka want to nap for a short time, let me know your whereabouts in case I need you. Even that was too much to ask, I guess I still sounded like I was trying to be a charge nurse. Why did I stay???Decent pay, BENEFITS, close to home, I loved my pts and giving the very best I could. In the end it just wasn't good enough. Over 100 leaving should say volumes to management you would think so? HB:redbeathe

Emergency RN · Dec 13, 2009

you know, the op's situation reminded me of a board question (lol... from 25 years ago) asking what would you do if:

you're in charge of your unit one day. that morning, a nurse colleague and good personal friend shows up to work falling down drunk; she had previously confided in you about her failing marriage and impending divorce. you would:
a) report her immediately to the nursing supervisor
b) get her some strong black coffee to quickly sober her up
c) let her sleep it off in the break room, until she's awake enough to return to work while you cover for her
d) call a taxi to send her home, and divide her assignment amongst the other nurses

the correct answer, of course, is the one in red. if one of your duty staff showed up sick and cannot work, this will ultimately impact on your delivery of safe and timely patient care. the other information listed was nothing more than distractions.

that is, we're not responsible for our co-worker's lack of sleep, motivation, money, health, child care issues, degree of brain deadness; whatever, et cetera, ad infinitum et nauseam. we, as nurses are responsible to our patients through our obligation to our employers, in accordance with the nurse practice act and our license to practice therefrom. whether our co-worker is ultimately disciplined or fired is really not our concern, that is a management issue and perogative. our sole focus remains our duty to our patients; that alone should determine and guide our actions.

to the op, you did the absolute right thing, and you owe the aide nothing; not even an explanation. :up:

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · Dec 14, 2009

OP, it seems as if you wrote this employee up very reluctantly. I would have done it without batting an eye, with no regret. This employee did this to herself. You also seem apprehensive about the employee's reaction to this. If you back off because of reluctance about the reactions of subordinates, you're fried. Using your authority properly is very liberating, and the subordinates can either live with it or leave. Sleeping on the job is unacceptable, period.

This employee is being paid to care for patients. I have not seen a way yet that this can be done while sleeping.

sasha2lady · Dec 15, 2009

well...she got fired....im shocked. I really didnt think she'd get the boot. maybe while shes on a roll..she can give a few other ones a swift kick out the door.

regnurse1995 · Dec 15, 2009

If they paid better they wouldn't have so many problems. They have it harder than nurses at times and they get such low wages...we need CHANGE!!!

HealingBalm · Dec 15, 2009

To the OP, it is never a joyous occasion to have to write up an employee that ultimately leads to termination. Kudos to you and your new ADON for taking action in a difficult situation. I sincerely hope that this will be a "wake up call" for the other rotten apples. Being CNA is a very difficult job, but it is no excuse for the type of rude, obnoxious,surly behavior that I have encountered in some LTC settings.:argue:

sasha2lady · Dec 16, 2009

Thank you so much. This was a hard dilemma to deal with but the good news is that there seems to be less tension between the rest of the aides since she's been gone. There are some that still need to improve but that will need to come from mgmt . I've done all I can do for them. I think it scared the others thy barely go in that room I caught her sleeping in now. Now, if mgmt would just do something about the ones who call in all the time we might get ahead for once. I don't think pay rates make it ok to nap. I did cna work for 6 years and never slept. They are paid to perform a job and to do it safely and effectively. The excuse " I napped because I make 8/hour" wouldn't hold in court