Today, I hate my job

Nursing Students CNA/MA

Published

I've been working at a LTC for 6 months, and the past 2 months have been miserable. I work on the total-care hall that has two residents in every room, and half the time get a decent partner (when the hall needs to have 3 aids). From the moment I walk in I hear call lights go off, and the weight of all the work I have to do for the next 8 hours starts setting in.

They recently took away the shower team, so every hall has to do their own showers now which is about 6-7 showers a shift, which take about 30-45 minutes each. Since it's a total-care hall all of my residents are very difficult to transfer, especially the heavy ones. Even if a transfer takes 15 minutes, my back and body feel like I just lifted a refridgerator by myself, even if my hall partner was there to help.

We also just got a new critical resident in last week. He's young and had to have half his brain removed due to a motorcycle accident. He's completely paralyzed and un-aware, we give him care every two hours that takes up a good amount of our time and our backs, all with his mother watching which is everyday.

I don't know how I made it to 6 months, but as it is I really really hate going to work in the morning. I had to call-in today because all the work has just gotten me physically sick and emotionally drained, and I'm going to hear allot of hell for the next few days from my co-workers who had to work short because of the call-in.

Any advice from people out there who are/were in the same situation?

God I can't wait till I get my LVN.

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I just wanted to say that I feel for you and hope that it gets better. They got rid of the shower aid at my current job and I refuse to work day shift. Eve shift is a little easier for me to handle.

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There, there... :hug:I'm considering getting my medication certification so I can work as a med tech. I love everything about CNA work but the lifting. Why did they take away the shower team?

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Specializes in LTC.

I hear you! I had the worst weekend ever. Short-staffed, running flat out all day long, unable to get our work done because we were too busy chasing down lights and alarms and then getting chewed out for not doing enough. I'm stressed out, dehydrated, my legs ache and my feet are pounding. As soon as I got home I changed into comfy leggings and plunked my butt down on the couch and this is where I'm staying!

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The take away the shower team every now and then and bring them back a couple months later. This time was because a resident went months without her infected toe being reported by the shower team, so she had to get part of her foot removed.

One of my residents just moved in with family, and another passed away. It's amazing how one or two residents leaving the hall makes it so much lighter. I hate being relieved when a resident passes but he was really sick and wasn't getting any better.

Allot of what makes it so hard is feedback from your coworkers. The seem to ignore how much work you're doing and focus on what you haven't done. When I try to explain the workload, they say "you're gonna have to learn better time management" or "how do you expect to be a nurse?" but really, there is only so much time you can physically manage. Things happen, residents have accidents, colostomy bags explode, unexpected complete bed changes.. you know.

6am this morning when I got on the shift, I saw my residents colostomy bag was full, so I told the nurse because CNA's aren't allowed to change them (no matter how much the nurses complain). She said she would get it, then I noticed at 12pm it still wasn't changed so again I reminded her. Then at 1:50pm when it was almost ready to leave, I went in his room and his bag exploded. I told the nurse, she said she forgot and told me to clean it up and go ahead and put a new one on... yea..

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I had a steep "learning curve" last night, too. My hall is full now and it is amazing how one or two more res really changes the dynamics.

We are out of briefs OUT and out of wipes OUT and out of kleenex. I need not reiterate the short cuts we need to take at these moments. To me this is shocking. If we were a not for profit I would not think twice, but these folks pay 6,000 to 10,000 per month. PER MONTH.

That oppressive feeling of having 4 places you need to be at one time cannot be described.

By the end of the night everyone was in bed except the newest one who wanted to stay up and watch TV later. I work 2 to 10.

It was after 3 months and I had my first serious low feeling of "I'm not gonna make it." But the feeling passed and off I go again. 3 showers is my limit and I have 22 people now on my hallway.

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