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?
Yep. We have to clean and sweep the dining room because housekeeping complained that it was too much work. We also have to fold and put away all our residents laundry, as I posted before, because laundry complained that it was too much work.
All of our laundry employees have been here at least 12 years, some as much as 36 years. Housekeeping, same.
75 percent of our aides have been here a year or less, and I am #3 in seniority on second shift after only a year. Wonder why?
No chux or bed pads of any kind. AND OUR RESIDENTS ARE ALL INCONTINENT. We are not allowed to put anything under anyone, except for a single drawsheet. Then they wonder why the mattresses start to smell.
A former LTC facility of mine used to make us "CNA cheat sheets." Among other things, code status was listed for quick reference.
At my current place, it's "none of our business." They just expect us to run like a bat out of **** screaming for the nurse if anyone stops breathing. Apparently our ["lack of"] education makes us incapable of comprehending such knowledge.
Wow, that would annoy me. We take report with the RNs- makes life so much easier.
We get report when we come on, but since it's an LTC facility, the report is basically just any changes in the past 24 hours. Not things like code status, age, diagnosis like you get at the hospital.
We get report when we come on, but since it's an LTC facility, the report is basically just any changes in the past 24 hours. Not things like code status, age, diagnosis like you get at the hospital.
99% of the time all I get is "Oh, s/he was good today. Just got changed."
Thanks, that could apply to anyone. The kids at the daycare down the road even fit that description.
I once worked for a facility that had a no chux policy. Then, the owner's daughter thought it'd be cute to work as a CNA there, just to feel it out. Immediately, company policy changed-chux are encounraged, as was doubling up briefs. Amazing how thing work, huh?
I once worked for a facility that had a no chux policy. Then, the owner's daughter thought it'd be cute to work as a CNA there, just to feel it out. Immediately, company policy changed-chux are encounraged, as was doubling up briefs. Amazing how thing work, huh?
Heyyy. Our ADON's daughter just started as an aide where I work. Maybe I can hope for this to happen as well?
to copy some of your original rules. these are the ones i have experienced at my previous ltc facility.
1. no chux if they wear a brief; only use chux if they are continent.
chux? my ltc eliminated all chux from the facility, whether the residents were continent or not. draw sheets were to be used in place of chux. all residents, either wore briefs,pull-ups or their own underwear.
it didn't matter if they were "heavy wetters",had a case of the stomach bug, or were bariatric.
this method was "suppose" to eliminate breakdowns. (it did not work!) instead the residents would have soiled bed sheets.
2. a cna must be in the dining room at all times.
all cna's and 1 lpn had to be in the dining room @ all times during feeds. you technically weren't even allowed to start passing trays until an lpn was present. cna's at my facility were not permitted to do the heimlich or initiate cpr, either. only the lpn's and rn's were required to be cpr certified.
3. no clothing protectors.
my facility required these. half the time we didn't have them since laundry was always backed up. so they would not use them, or the staff would have to use towels.
4. no matter how long you have worked, you still only get a 30-minute lunch break.
at my facility we grieved our lunch schedules. one fine day my coworker asked when she was able to take her lunch break(at my facility you are required to take a lunch break, or you were subject to disciplinary action) the unit-manager said to her "you are not "entitled" to a lunch break. it was already 1:00 pm , her shift started at 7am, her shift ended at 3:30).
it was a daily headgame the um and lpns would play with the cna's. until it was grieved and stopped. the cna's were grateful for their 30 minute break! i will aid that your 2 15 minute breaks were barely ever used. the copy pays for them:o
5. each type of linen must be bagged separately upon leaving the room.
we had this as well. all dirty lined and briefs were to be bagged, prior to leaving the residents room. linen in one plastic bag,personals in one plastic bag, and briefs in another.
it was to make it easier for laundry, and to eliminate odor in the hallways.
but once it was bagged and obviously you were bagging with gloves on, management would want to throw the bags in the appropriate bins without gloves on. gloves were not to be seen whatsoever in the halls, not even when emptying your dirty or soiled carts. (we did anyway, thats just gross, sorry:p)
some other fun rules we had:
-your scrubs can be any color, but no colored socks!!!!
-no hoodies,sweaters, or lab jackets(rn's & lpn's) were only allowed to wear these
-cna's were not allowed to bring purses or jackets onto unit. the closets were only for lpn's and rn's purses and jackets
-on dayshift,with a census of 45 residents, 3 cna's would be staffed,(sometimes 4 cna's if we were lucky). you were only allowed between 9am-11am to complete all morning adl's,showers(8 on average),am care,hoyer lifts,,etc. plus everyone out of bed! if all work was not complete , staff was no permitted to take a break or lunch.
yousoldtheworld
1,196 Posts
Yep. We have to clean and sweep the dining room because housekeeping complained that it was too much work. We also have to fold and put away all our residents laundry, as I posted before, because laundry complained that it was too much work.
All of our laundry employees have been here at least 12 years, some as much as 36 years. Housekeeping, same.
75 percent of our aides have been here a year or less, and I am #3 in seniority on second shift after only a year. Wonder why?