Tell the CNA to clock out and go home

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Feb 27, 2013

Upper management assumes the CNAs will reconsider their childish antics once they are forced with the very real possibility of losing money that day through being sent home early.

CNAs are not the highest-paid workers in healthcare and many depend on their pay to support their households, so a short paycheck can mean the difference between staying afloat or having the electric bill disconnected. Management knows this, so the tactic is to hit people where it really hurts (in the pocketbook). After so many blows to the pocketbook, management probably assumes the CNAs will automatically obey, comply, and conform to work rules.

GLORIAmunchkin72 · Feb 27, 2013

There is only one way to find out...

eatmysoxRN, ASN, RN · Feb 27, 2013

It's unfortunate that it has to come down to that but if anyone is scraping by without doing their job then they may as well not be there. It isn't fair to the other staff either. I'm sure once they are sent home once they'll either think the next time and know that they really will have to either go home to sit on their butt or come to work and work.

~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent -Eleanor Roosevelt ~

Blackcat99 · Feb 27, 2013

I have let the CNA's know about this "new policy." There is one CNA who sometimes floats to my unit who is constantly saying "I'm not going to do this. I am not going to do that." Now that I finally have management to "back me up"the next time she acts a fool I am going to send her home. The management said they are fed up with the "bad attitudes" and are going to get rid of those CNA's permanently.

nurseywifeymommy1 · Feb 27, 2013

I wish our place was like that!!

mazy · Feb 27, 2013

To me it sounds like they are putting the nurses in an untenable position. Why is management making you do their job? It seems like a set-up that will create an adversarial environment between nurses and CNAs, when they should be problem-solving and finding ways to make the units go smoothly.

You guys are all front line staff and the management should be doing whatever they can to promote a healthy team environment. If that can't happen it is on them to look at their staffing and hiring practices, and additionally address discipline problems and find ways to create a positive working culture. Making the nurses do their dirty work is just wrong.

Not to mention the fact that if you send a CNA home, now your unit is working short. No one wins with that. Except management -- one less paycheck to worry about; they've got a unit that is drowning and understaffed, but now they can just blame the nurse for sending the CNA home.

I wouldn't want to be in your shoes.

Blackcat99 · Feb 28, 2013

According to management, the problem is me. I haven't gotten after the CNA's they say. Management said that I will probably only have to actually send one CNA home only one time. They said that after I do it that one time, that the other CNA's will get "the message" and will behave themselves. I don't know. I'll let you all know if I send a CNA home. I would rather the management deal with the problem CNA's but I have learned at this LTC that everything is "my fault."

CapeCodMermaid, RN · Feb 28, 2013

If you have management deal with the problem CNAs, it diminishes YOUR authority. Why should they listen to you if you need management to step in? It has nothing to do with one less pay check. It has to do with NURSES being in charge of CNAs.

Nascar nurse, ASN, RN · Feb 28, 2013

Where I'm from, all nurses are supervisors. The aides are working under the nurses license and the nurse is responsible for the actions of what the CNA does or does not do. As a result of this, the nurse should certainly have the authority (and should be obligated, in fact) to manage the CNA's that are giving them problems. It is a ridiculous thought to think that the nurse will be respected if she(he) doesn't have any "power" to command that respect. It is also ridiculous for a nurse to want to be considered a professional but then not want to take any responsibility for those that work under their license.

With that said, I agree that it usually only takes once of sending someone home that refuses to play nice. The message tends to spread quickly thru everyone what the standard is going to be from here on out. Yep, the shift runs short...yep, it becomes a tough night...but from there, typically, everyone else gets on board and that one bad night turns into a long term strong team/group effort.

It is unfortunate that nursing schools do little to nothing to teach management skills. Most times nurses are just sent into the trenches with no idea how to manage staff and often get taken advantage of as a result. After years of practice, I prefer to have a "coach" style. I will get in there and show you exactly how I want it done. I will cheer you on thru the tough times when we need to get better. And, I will throw your orifice right off my team if you continually try to sabotage our group efforts. After years of doing this I have been amazed how many times other aides will come to me and actually thank me for getting rid of the problem person. One bad CNA really can bring the whole group down.

Mgooddir · Feb 28, 2013

One of my favorite thing to say in situations where someone refuses to do their job, is "These are People we are helping, not tasks to be finished. If you cannot see them as People with needs, I don't feel comfortable having you on the floor." Of course, this is after several problems and attempts to understand what is going on, and why they feel the way they do. CNA's work so hard, and I always try first to find out what the real issue is. The real issue is rarely laziness.

Orange Tree · Feb 28, 2013

How are the other nurses and CNAs going to react when their workload is suddenly increased because of a conflict between one CNA and one nurse? It seems like everyone would have to stand together for this to work well.