The field of Nursing is wicked to CENAs..the ugly side no one talks about

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I have been a Nurse's Assistant for about 8 months. I am currently studying to be an RN. I am 23 year old female

In the beginning, the occupation as a Cena appeared to be a wonderful job to me and being that there are SO many opportunities to move up inside of the health care field itself, getting trained and finding a position in a hospital or Nursing home was a smart idea. RNs are in large demand right now.

I have worked at 2 nursing homes so far, and from my experience working as a CNA is one of the most risky jobs you can ever have. While I think the job itself can be relatively easy--especially if you work the midnight shift-- and it can be very challenging--the hectic day shift--it is a wonderful and rewarding job and I enjoy it when you are amongst ppl who are FAIR.

Unfortunately, from my recent experiences I think being a CNA is not a reliable job, and often you work at the mercy to some of the most wicked, scheming, prejudice, discrimanatory ppl in the industry. In this field it is VERY easy to get lied on, and get fired, there is absolutely nothing to protect us from the malicious ways that go on. We are pretty much disposable. It is very hard to keep a job in this field

I am working at a Nursing home with a LPN, who has an infamous reputation for firing Nurse's Assistants like its a sport. She is very manipulative--she has poured water in residents diapers in efforts to besmirch an employees reputation so they can get terminated. She will pick a target, and harass this person until they get fired or they quit.

I am her "target" I have been working there for almost 3 months. I have not yet reached my 90 days, and it's obvious she does not want me to. She has turned up the heat on her treacherous ways because I am getting close to my last days of probation.

Lately, this wicked LPN has been watching me--another employee confirmed this--I feel her eyes on me when I am working. Everytime I pass by I feel her eyes follow wherever I go. I am a very hardworker, I come to work everyday on time, never called off. I am somewhat of a fast worker--I simply cannot help this though once i get going it's like an andrenaline rush.

Since I work the midnight shift anywhere from 3-5 residents have to be up and in the dining room from 5-7am in the morning. I have found a routine that works for me to where I get most of them dressed and ready in the 5 hr bracket. Depending on the residents that I have for that night I get some dressed a bit early because they are my hardest patients. If you start them later then you will end up staying over your shift which will result in write ups. Many employees practice this as well.

The wicket LPN never had a problem with this until the past few weeks. She has noticed that I always have my residents up and dressed promptly and on time in the morning. I am about my business. She has confronted me about this and told me that I get them dressed too early and I explained to her why I have to with certain residents. She wants to make a Cenas job miserable and difficult by being against this.

Last night, the wicked LPN instigated a conflict. While, I was doing my rounds, she pops into the room and tells me that another resident needs to go to the bathroom while I am in the midst of changing someone's brief. (Lately, she has been making a habit of interrupting me in the middle of one thing, to tell me to do something else that really doesn't need to be done in any kind of urgency. This is her scheme to try to throw me off and cause work conflict. She wants me to fall behind) The resident that she "claimed" needed to go to the bathroom is continent and usually pulls her call light when she has to go...I am at this woman's mercy so after I finished changing the resident's brief I do what she says and go to the residents room to take her to the bathroom--only to find that this woman is in a deep sleep and is snoring--obviously she has been sleep for hours and does not need to go go the bathroom. She is continent and in her right mind--she let's you know when she has to go. Still, I tap the woman on the shoulder and wake her up, I ask her if she has to go. She replies that she doesn't. I make sure by asking her several times, she assures me that she doesn't have to pee. I try to encourage her to get up, but she refuses. The residents do have rights. Therefore, I tell her I will come back later and try again just in case.

I leave and assist another resident..the wicked LPN comes in after me as I am changing a brief..and asked me if I took the other resident to the bathroom..when I tried to explain to her what happened when I went in there--she cuts me off, and presumes that I "refused to take orders" and will write me up. I remained calm as I tried to defend myself then later realized its best to stay quiet. The wicked LPN was purposely being very quarrelsome and unprofessional. She left the room and said she will write me up.

Moments later she drags another Nurse from a different station brings her into the residents room while I am still working, points her fingers and says, "you see this GIRL, she will not do what i say. I told her to take a resident to the bathroom but she did not do it." She went on and I felt humilated and embarassed, felt like I was being bullied. The other Nurse had nothing to do with what was going on, and what she did was childish.

When the two left the room, I could hear the wicked LPN loudly saying in a nasty and harsh tone, "that girl i told her to take that resident to the room but she didn't want to do it..." and some other things. I felt belittled that a person in her position would stoop so low.

Now, I get a call today that I was taken off the schedule to work, and that I have to attend a meeting with the administrator and Charge Nurse Monday. I honestly feel like I do not stand a chance to keep my job and will be fired. I really liked my job but it was the wicked LPN who made things worse. This type of stuff has happened to me in the past where you get Nurse's who like to habitually LIE on Cenas because they think low of us.

I don't know what to do

can anyone help me here? i am very upset right now.

Okay, I'm not CNA (although am seriously thinking about getting the certification this summer), but there seems to be one thing missing from this story that would have saved the OP's assets: "documentation".

Is it permitted to have a "CNA Chart" for each patient/resident/room? A notebook with notations such as "changed bed XX/XX at XX:XX", etc. would go a long way to proving competency and to combat the "wicked" LPN's plans of interhallway domination.

Just a thought, your mileage may vary.

I started to put a date and time on ALL of my resident's diapers. Carrying a notebook would come in handy for my own good but it wouldn't help me ioverall in this situation

Specializes in Geriatrics.

The best thing you can do is leave that job. Leave it in a hurry, never ever look back. Get a new job- with no chips on your shoulder- simply meaning- dont judge everyone by one persons actions. That place will eventually come to its own fate, which would be a closure, if it truly is that bad. Or, maybe take some time off of being a CNA and find another nitch in this world. There are tons of jobs in healthcare. Keep an open mind, find something you enjoy. Life is too damn short to be so miserable at such a young age..... Good luck! :)

Specializes in Nursing assistant.
can anyone help me here? i am very upset right now.

Have a good sit down with your parents and calmly but simply explain your work environment. Have resumes in hand for other employment opportunities (if you must be working while in nursing school).

Your main objective is to get your education, and develop professional working skills.

I would invest some time during school observing those who are dignified and successful in there work relations. I do not think where you are working now is a place that will enhance you in any way.

Leave and don't look back. If you have learned anything in this situation it should be that you don't want to be anything like this. Don't fuss with the administration in this facility, you will only make yourself look defensive, and probably not make a dent. If you have stated the facts calmly, thank them for the opportunity and leave.

God bless, dear.

Just an note: do not be privy to any talk of harming another employee.

Don't let this get you down. You are young and looking to make a better future for yourself. That is your first priority not some cranky LPN that would only continue to make your life hell if you stayed.

Get your resumes together and start looking for another job. How much have you worked in the last year?! You could apply for unemployment while looking as you didn't make it through the orientation process. That's something to think about while interviewing. If you need quick cash I would suggest waitressing. They are often flexible on schedules and you can make decent money in a few hours. This would allow you more time to concentrate on your studies.

You know how many times I have had to do this?? I got let go from the last nursing home after only 2 months because someone told me it was okay to give a resident a shower with a bandage on. Being new to the field of Nursing Assistant I listened to this person, and ended up getting 'had' again.The daughter was already a difficult person and often made complaints about everything in the nursing home--well, she walked in on me while I was putting her mother to bed and she began b1tching the whole time from the room being "too dirty" to the bathroom not having enough towels to the floor needing to be vacuumed and then when she saw the wet bandage it sent her over the edge. She wrote a long letter to the DON, and accused me of dangling her mother's legs off of the bed as I put her to sleep, and all other kinds of stuff. What got me fired was the bandage being 'wet' on her leg. I pleaded with the DON to let me stay, I was crying my eyes out--but she let me go. I had no idea that I was supposed to take it off.

Now, I get fired again. I am really just fed up with the CNA field, if I had children they'd probably starve to death the way I always get fired. I barely can make it past 90 days. My parents are disappointed in me and I don't blame them. I can barely hold a job, I am always get fired, I am always the one to get cut. I am very sad right now. Extremely. I just don't want to hear about how I'm better off without this place when i NEEDED this job to support myself. I have the worst luck with jobs I am always gettng fired.

I can understand if it was something I could control like always being late or calling off--but I make sure I am always to work on time, and I NEVER miss a day. Yet, it's always something like a mistake that gets me written up and fired. It's like other people seem to get by just fine, there were employees who had five write ups and they're still there but my 3 gets me out the door. I don't know what it is about me, why is this always happening?? Some say I should learn from my past mistakes so I won't repeat them..but what mistakes am I making?? I feel like I am going crazy. What did I do wrong?? I feel just my mere existance is what's wrong. No matter what I do I always get caught in the crossfire

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I am really sorry to hear this has happened, and like most here, I feel that you are better off without them.

But, I want you to know that this type of abuse is not just limited to nursing assistants...this is happening all the way up the ladder. When you get to nursing school, you will see horrible students, professors and clinical instructors. Somehow, you have to make it through to get where you wish to be. Being a nurse, whether you believe it or not can be even worse, because the responsibility is greater, the margin of error can be stronger, even with the best of intentions, and what we do, we cannot take back. Administering the wrong medication can kill someone. And dealing with the constant changes in policy and procedures, adhereing to Joint Commission as well as dealing with the harassment from administration, managers, nurses eating their young, demanding and unreasonable patients and family can really break a nurse down. Many times, a layperson thinks that nurses know EVERYTHING, and new grads think that all of the answers are readily available in the textbooks. The real world of nursing is rough. There are rewards, mind you, but you have to give yourself the accolades...many times, the ones you expect to give them to you will not. If you think you were worried about a nurse pouring water down a pair of briefs, imagine worrying about another nurse like that while you are adminstering a drug or a treatment that can cause death will do.

Believe it or not, reading the posts here in allnurses is therapeutic to us. We learn from here that others feel the same way we do, are facing all sorts of harassment, made mistakes, felt guilty, were misinformed by our supervisors, only to be abused later. Here, we vent, we share, we teach, we cry, we laugh at ourselves. You should also visit the other forums here for CNAs, Pre-Nursing and Nursing Students, those preparing for NCLEX and those of us who are just trying to survive.

Best of luck to you,and leave that house of horrors.

Specializes in Nursing assistant.

We don't want to add to your discouragement. Please know that we feel for you and are praying the best for your future.

Specializes in Telemetry.

I think this is probably a blessing in disguise for you.

That said, you mention that you keep getting fired from every job you get... that would be cause for me to take a moment of pause, be brutally honest with myself and reflect on how I contributed to losing the jobs and how I can improve. You may find you really were completely innocent, or you may find that when you are really honest with yourself that you contributed in someway, and use that as an opportunity to grow and better prepare yourself for your next position.

Best of luck to you!

Specializes in ER, ICU, Infusion, peds, informatics.
i think this is probably a blessing in disguise for you.

that said, you mention that you keep getting fired from every job you get... that would be cause for me to take a moment of pause, be brutally honest with myself and reflect on how i contributed to losing the jobs and how i can improve. you may find you really were completely innocent, or you may find that when you are really honest with yourself that you contributed in someway, and use that as an opportunity to grow and better prepare yourself for your next position.

best of luck to you!

i agree completely, and was getting ready to say something similar.

op, you say you "keep getting fired." is that more than the two jobs you talked about here?

if it is the two situations you talked about here, i wouldn't worry about it too much. nusring homes can be very difficult places to work. the dynamics between the staff memebers themseleves, and the dynamics between the staff and the patient familes, can take some getting used to.

however, if there are more instances where you have been fired (and don't feel like you need to tell us -- you don't) then some reflection is most definitely in order.

you say you are a student. does your school have a career center? i highly recommend spending some time with a career counselor. tell him about your employment history, and get some good, objective feedback.

if you can, talk to the don of this facility, (or maybe the rn supervisor for your shift) about what went wrong. if it truely is just the lpns word against yours, and they are believing her, then fine. but maybe there are some other things that you arn't aware of.

at any rate, listen with an open mind, and thank them for their time. no matter how off-base or untrue the feedback is, just leave it at that. nursing is a small world, and you might encounter one of them again after you have your rn. you don't want to leave them with a negative impression.

then think about the feedback you were given. be honest with yourself, and apply what you can learn from.

again, good luck to you. as others have said, nursing can be tough, no matter the rank. developing a thick skin, and good self-evaluation skills now will serve you well.

I think this is probably a blessing in disguise for you.

That said, you mention that you keep getting fired from every job you get... that would be cause for me to take a moment of pause, be brutally honest with myself and reflect on how I contributed to losing the jobs and how I can improve. You may find you really were completely innocent, or you may find that when you are really honest with yourself that you contributed in someway, and use that as an opportunity to grow and better prepare yourself for your next position.

Best of luck to you!

I am trying to reflect on what I done...but what could I have done differently with the LPN??

I did what she said..she told me to go the resident and take them to the bathroom but the resident was sleep and did not want to wake up.

I told her this, but she refused to listen and said she wrote me up for being defiant.

I've been in siutations where the Nurse told me it was okay to do something only to find out that it's against policy but I still get punished for it. Okay...if you can't listen to the damn Charge Nurse WHO can you listen to when no one else is there??

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