Think I might be taken advantage of

[CoconutCookie]

I have a question about a position and I'm really wondering if anyone can give me any feedback as I am still a bit inexperienced.

I am a 20 year old CNA with two years of Med/Surg experience that just moved to a new area. I have been looking for jobs and have been having good luck, there seems to be a need for CNAs in all types of facilities so I am being very picky. I finally found one that seems to be a perfect fit but after shadowing for a day I am having major concerns. If this seems fair to anyone it would ease my mind but I am worried.

The job is in a home-like hospice setting. I would be the "manager" of the facility. I would be getting a fully paid for apartment, have a ton of autonomy, the jobs boasts twice what I earned in the hospital in a year and it is a fantastically beautiful, new, clean facility.

However, the apartment is above facility, so I would be working for 24 hours a day, the week split with the other manager. If a patient calls during the night I would have to get up, and give scheduled meds at night as well. There would be no one else on premises except for a nurse and CNA for 30 minutes in the morning and the CNA again for 30 minutes in the evening. I would be responsible for meals, housekeeping, and the ADLs of the patients as well as medication administration.

Also, apparently the payment is *up* to twice my salary a year. I get paid per patient, and there are typically between 2 and 5 although the facility can house a few more. The money would be assuming i have a full house. And there would be deductions for the apartment. '

I would be willing to overlook a lot because of the benefit of a place to live, but I am not allowed to have alcohol on premises, visitors who are not background checked, etc. I am worried about exactly how much of a home it would be to me. One of the tricky parts though is that the current manager absolutely loves it there, she says that she thinks I would love it and wishes her circumstances were different so she could continue to work there.

Again, the facility is beautiful and clean and the patients and their families were so grateful when I did my trial run. It was a nice experience but I was ragged by the end of it because of the cooking/cleaning/ADLs, and I had the current manager to help. A different kind of ragged than my hospital work.

Anyway, does this sound weird to you?? Or should I give it a chance?

Thanks!!

[NevadaFighter, BSN, RN]

I think it would definitely be too much stress for me. And I'm also thinking about when you would be able to sleep. Are family members allowed to be with patients overnight? I could see a patient's family constantly calling you because they think their loved one needs more meds, etc. Some hospice patients will not call out for help, but some will. Some could even be confused and fall. I don't know...there are too many things that can go wrong.

[NevadaFighter, BSN, RN]

Also, would you not be able to leave at all for days on end? I could see that as a problem, as well. It sounds like you would be giving up your ENTIRE life for a job, which is never worth it, to me.

[verene, MSN]

Don't do it. How are you supposed to give PRN meds? What happens if a patient passes away during the night? What happens if a patient, a family member, or even you were to have a medical emergency? It seems like you could very easily be working 24+ hours with out any breaks or relief, or even an extra set of hands to help out. Does not seems safe at all.

[Aflor37]

For me, the thing I think about most is continuing education. I am always taking a class to further my education in nursing and if you want to be able to do that, you can't with this job. You will have NO time to study or go to class because you have to be there all the time. This would be a good opportunity maybe for a married couple or someone who is willing to dedicate their lives to this job. You are young, and I always encourage people to keep up with their education, always move forward. You are on this website so I am going to assume you want a future in nursing. Nursing school, college in general are very time consuming tasks that may not go so well with this sort of job. Look at all aspects of your life and see if this is a good fit for you. Do not worry, you'll make more money down the road when you finish your education.

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

You said it yourself that you can afford to be picky when it comes to a job. I'm sorry, but this screams bad deal. While it's nice to hear that the old manager loved her job but she had to leave for other reasons, it does not necessarily mean that she really loved her job, or maybe she just wanted to have some kind of a life outside of work.

You are young and should be enjoying your life, deciding what you want to do with your life, and spending time with people your own age with similar interests. This job will tie you to the facility and would dictate who you can spend time with. I'm not sure how many people would subject themselves to a background check to go spend time at their friends apartment. You will be on call 24/7, so if someone needs medication in the middle of the night (which I would check with your state if it is even legal for you to give them the medication. I worked for an ALF that had nurses to pass out the medications that could not be observed but had to be administered when given) you will be up getting it for them-kind of like being a parent to a sick child, you will not be able to sleep if they need you. The pay is NOT guaranteed but is based on census-so if someone moves or passes away, your pay just went down. How much of your salary is deducted for the apartment?

I've seen this set up in a few small ALFs in my area. They appeared like small homes from the outside but turned out to be facilities where the owner lived there and sometimes was a nurse and had live in staff to care for the residents. I was looking for a place for my grandmother who had mild dementia and needed some assistance with ADLs. I could not place her in one of these facilities because I could see where she may not be able to call for help across the house if she were to fall. I could see her not being able to get help when she needed it because the one person who was working was with another resident with an emergency or so tired that when she fell asleep she didn't wake up to her screams for help. I didn't think it was a safe environment for the person needing care, and as a licensed health care professional, I would not feel comfortable putting my license on the line to work for a facility with this kind of structure.

You said yourself that there are a ton of places that you could work. Large LTC facilities tend to pay well (at least where I am) and better than hospitals for CNAs. They also offer healthcare benefits and possibly tuition reimbursement. I would suggest working a normal job at one of these places and if you want more money, work the overtime. The job that you are considering has you on call almost 24/7-you will be making less in the end.