We all have stupid rules to follow that were created by people who have never seen a real resident in their entire nursing careers (if they are even in nursing at all -- Helloooooooo, Mr. CEO!). Some of my favorites:
1. No chux if they wear a brief; only use chux if they are continent. We all know how leaky briefs can be. Thus every brief change turns into a full-blown bed-and-gown-change. This ****** off the residents, ****** us off (not to mention creates more work for us), and necessitates further linens for laundry to clean because their jobs are oh-so-hard (see #6 below). And what's the point of putting chux down in the first place if a person is fully continent? There's nothing for the chux to absorb; they are just hot, uncomfortable sheets of plastic that are rubbing on the residents' skin. All. Night. Long.
2. Only 3 chux can be stocked at a time for each resident. Of course, they're not the heavy duty chux, either. They're the cheap, thin ones that do little better than if I had coated the bed in a single layer of toilet paper. If the person is a leaky, heavy wetter, multiple chux must be put down each time. So I'm supposed to make a new trip to the supply room every time they wet because I wouldn't want to exceed having 3 in the room at any given time? And another thing, if they bought the good chux in the first place, they would SAVE money because we wouldn't have to an entire package for every drop of pee.
3. A CNA must be in the dining room at all times. We don't want residents to choke. Apparently our very presence magically prevents it, whether we are 10 inches or 10 yards away from the resident. Please disregard the fact that per facility policy, CNAs are not permitted to do the Heimlich or initiate CPR. So, in the case that a resident starts choking, this means we have to run around the facility like crazy looking for a nurse, any nurse, to come and save this poor person's life. And you KNOW how long it can take to find someone (and you know we're not allowed to have walkie-talkies or cell phones). Mrs. O'Reilly, I hope you can keep that french fry from further obstructing your airway just long enough for me to go find a buddy. Like they say, "Two's a party!"
4. No clothing protectors. "They're undignified." "They make the resident look/feel like a child." "How would you like to have a bib on?" They're only undignified if you make them undignified. If they are so worried about it, why did they purchase several hundred of them that have FLOWERS on them that look ridiculous on everyone, let alone a 250-pound man? And is it "less" undignified to be wheeled around with dried, crusty drool and smeared, pureed "chicken" (I'm not sure what type of "meat" dietary prepared today -- as far as I know, they all look and taste the same) all over your shirt and pants? Really?
5. No matter how long you have worked, you still only get a 30-minute lunch break. If you work 6 hours, you get 30 minutes. If you work 16 hours, you get 30 minutes. So if I work day shift and take my lunch at 11:00 am but then graciously agree to stay and work evening shift due to a call-in (because people are tired of being worked to death), according to management, I am just "out of luck?" I'll let my unconscious, emaciated figure do the explaining for this one.
6. Each type of linen must be bagged separately upon leaving the room. Sheets, pillow cases, etc., go in one bag. Washclothes and towels go in another. Clothes go in yet another. Non-compliance to result in write-ups. All this to "make things easier for laundry" because nursing is "always making extra work" for them. I know that each department thinks they have it worse than any of the others, but really??? I have been in laundry and seen them practically having parties that would rival Jersey Shore when nobody else is around. Yes, they do have it hard.
7. Drinks must be covered when taken from the kitchen; water pitchers do not. Let's ignore the fact that regular drinks have no more than 2" diameter exposed, while water pitchers have around 4". That's only a two-fold increase in the area available to be contaminated by numerous microorganisms freely floating through the air. Shouldn't it be the other way around (if at all?)? Are malaria-infested mosquitos really going to infect the watered-down fruit punch and multiply during the 30-foot walk from dietary to the table but decide NOT to do so if I carry an open water pitcher to a resident room?
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
To all CNAs working in places that treat you like you're deaf, dumb, blind, and stupid, I say: Keep fighting! Aside from families (and sometimes in spite of families), YOU are the best advocates for the residents in your care, and you have a right to know what you're dealing with.
I've worked in just about every LTC position there is (I'm currently a DON in assisted living) and I make it a point to inform and instruct CNAs as to residents' medical and psychosocial issues. I am appalled when nursing management works to keep its aides in the dark.....like us nurses, most of you are reasonably intelligent, and are capable of understanding complex problems IF you're given the opportunity. I just don't see how you can give the best care if you don't have the tools to do it---it's like being turned out into a field and commanded to produce pumpkins without being furnished with a shovel to dig the rows with or seeds to sow.
Good luck to you all, and remember that there really are people in LTC who respect and value what you do. :redpinkhe
^ Wow, that is truly stupid. So you are supposed to let someone sit in a wet brief for 2 hours? Are you not allowed to *wash your hands* between 5 and 7? Because otherwise, I don't see how that poses a greater risk of cross-contamination. It's not like you're going to run down the hallways waving the dirty brief above your head like a flag whether there is food around or not!
That would make too much sense. I know the "no brief changes between 5 and 7 rule" was in place partially because there was concern about dirty linen barrels being in the hallway at the same time as the tray carts and how this is in part a cross-contamination issue. To me, this is nonsense. I worked in food service for years and as long as you washed your hands after handling a dirty brief, you should be fine. What the *ell do I know?
I was not implying that you thought CPR and the Heimlich were the same thing.
I think everyone here knows the difference.
I'm just here trying to decompress after writing a care plan and my brain is toast.
Yes we all understand the difference. During the course of our CNA class, we were all certified in CPR, Basic Life Support, First Aid, and AED operation.......although I'm sure there's no way in heck they'd ever let a CNA actually defib anyone. Come to think of it, we were also trained about how to monitor blood glucose even though it's facility policy we're not allowed to actually do it !!! Okee dokee.........
yousoldtheworld wrote: "Also, we have a few kids at our facility who were resuscitated (before they came to us) and are now in a vegetative state. So seeing them and how there's so little life left in them, and how it affects their families, I can now understand why someone might want to be a no code."
Yes. I have a profoundly disabled little son who will most likely be a resident in such a facility one day, and I am going to make him a DNR because I simply could not bear to see the prolonging of a life that may end up even more tragic than it is right now. I'm glad that you understand.
No gloves to be left in the trash cans. This is supposedly "per the state." If you went into a room to check someone's brief, put on gloves, pull back the covers, and then saw that they were dry, you'd just take off your gloves, throw them away, and leave, right? (and yadayadayada wash your hands yadayadayada) Wrong. Apparently we were supposed to take out the whole trash bag and throw it away, even if the ONLY thing in it was a pair of gloves. The rationale: a resident may wheel themselves over to the trash can, pick up a glove, place it in their mouth, and choke on it (and, of course, as previously mentioned, CNAs when then have to run around and find a nurse to assist the resident). "DON'T BREATHE IN ANYMORE!!! YOU'RE GOING TO SUCK THAT LATEX DOWN EVEN FARTHER!!"
Never mind that there are 3 boxes of S, M, and L gloves a mere 36 inches away, well within resident reach. That's about 300 choking hazards. But no, those are "safe." And never mind the huge trash bags lining the trash cans in the first place. They're not worried about a resident taking one out and pulling it over their head and then suffocating (or choking each other with them like the Chuckie movies). No, those are "safe."
No gloves to be left in the trash cans. This is supposedly "per the state." If you went into a room to check someone's brief, put on gloves, pull back the covers, and then saw that they were dry, you'd just take off your gloves, throw them away, and leave, right? (and yadayadayada wash your hands yadayadayada) Wrong. Apparently we were supposed to take out the whole trash bag and throw it away, even if the ONLY thing in it was a pair of gloves. The rationale: a resident may wheel themselves over to the trash can, pick up a glove, place it in their mouth, and choke on it (and, of course, as previously mentioned, CNAs when then have to run around and find a nurse to assist the resident). "DON'T BREATHE IN ANYMORE!!! YOU'RE GOING TO SUCK THAT LATEX DOWN EVEN FARTHER!!"
Never mind that there are 3 boxes of S, M, and L gloves a mere 36 inches away, well within resident reach. That's about 300 choking hazards. But no, those are "safe." And never mind the huge trash bags lining the trash cans in the first place. They're not worried about a resident taking one out and pulling it over their head and then suffocating (or choking each other with them like the Chuckie movies). No, those are "safe."
Stop the madness.
OK, this one takes the cake. What kind of dingdong thought up this brilliant idea?
OK, this one takes the cake. What kind of dingdong thought up this brilliant idea?
Put all of the state employees in a room with a trash can and pair of gloves. The one that proceeds to put the gloves in his mouth is probably the culprit. Unfortunately, by that time, it will be too late to do anything about it.
Put all of the state employees in a room with a trash can and pair of gloves. The one that proceeds to put the gloves in his mouth is probably the culprit. Unfortunately, by that time, it will be too late to do anything about it.
You have my :lol2: today. Keep 'em coming girlfriend.
Specializes in Gerontology, Psychiatrics, Med-surg.
1. Clean, sweep, and mop up the dining room after the residents eat supper....because it shouldn't be housekeeping's responsibility. So, please tell me why it is that we hire housekeepers in the first place if it isn't their job to clean? Hmmmm...
2. Clothing protectors cannot be worn because they are a dignity issue. Someone please tell me what's dignified about a resident that wants to maintain their independence by feeding themselves sitting in the dining room with their peers with food all over their clothes because they accidentally made a mess.
3. If you'd like a locker to put your personal belongings into in the breakroom, you must share with another employee because they don't want to use up all the lockers in case they need them for something.....
I work strictly weekends, and it seems like everytime I com back to work, some rule or regulation has changed. It's very frustrating.
1. Clean, sweep, and mop up the dining room after the residents eat supper....because it shouldn't be housekeeping's responsibility. So, please tell me why it is that we hire housekeepers in the first place if it isn't their job to clean? Hmmmm...
Us too! And if a housekeeper tells me one more time that it's not their responsibility to mop the floors, I may take that mop and shove it straight up their ***.
Specializes in Gerontology, Psychiatrics, Med-surg.
I guess they fail to remember that we also have to get these residents to their room, change their clothes (because of the lack of "undignified" clothing protectors), provide oral care, toilet them if needed, and whatever else happens to be needed at the time AFTER meals. Ugh.
and my brain is toast.
What kind of dingdong thought up this brilliant idea?
:lol2: today. Keep 'em coming girlfriend.
VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN
22 Articles; 9,996 Posts
To all CNAs working in places that treat you like you're deaf, dumb, blind, and stupid, I say: Keep fighting! Aside from families (and sometimes in spite of families), YOU are the best advocates for the residents in your care, and you have a right to know what you're dealing with.
I've worked in just about every LTC position there is (I'm currently a DON in assisted living) and I make it a point to inform and instruct CNAs as to residents' medical and psychosocial issues. I am appalled when nursing management works to keep its aides in the dark.....like us nurses, most of you are reasonably intelligent, and are capable of understanding complex problems IF you're given the opportunity. I just don't see how you can give the best care if you don't have the tools to do it---it's like being turned out into a field and commanded to produce pumpkins without being furnished with a shovel to dig the rows with or seeds to sow.
Good luck to you all, and remember that there really are people in LTC who respect and value what you do. :redpinkhe