What if CNA won't work?

Specialties Geriatric

Published

Hello. I've had something on my mind for a while and I was wondering if anyone here could give me some input. I will be (God willing) an LPN in three months. I intend to work in long term care upon graduation. I have been working as a CNA for some time now and have come across other CNAs who couldn't care less about their work and are guilty of flat out neglect and abuse. Y'all certainly know what I'm talking about so I don't need to list examples (a CNA working 11-7 who makes his first round at 0530 would be a good one). I know this doesn't apply to all or even to most CNAs but I've seen enough of these types to make me worried about how to handle it when (if) I become an LPN. Is it possible for an LPN to get into legal trouble and even be barred from nursing if neglect by an aid on his/her shift is proven? How can you possibly keep up with 30 something residents being clean, dry, repositioned, etc. as well as pass meds, do treatments, and chart? Today I worked with an aid who sat and watched basketball while her resident's brief was falling to her knees. The nurse mentioned it to the aid and her response was that the resident belonged to another aid (not true) so the poor woman just stayed like that till shift change. If you had been this nurse what would you have done? How do y'all handle this type of thing? I dont want to be a hard a** but I more than that dont want to loose my liscense! Thanks for any responses.

im a cna and i can't be comfortable if my residents aren't taking care of. that why i post i love being a cna. but i was looking at this one post where the aide say she going on break. you know what gete to me the most is when they don't tell the other aides their going on break or when their back from break.

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Specializes in none I am brand new.

Hi

I am starting clincals for the first time to recieve my Cert. as a NA next week. I am pursuing nursing for the sole purpose of taking care of the

residents in LTC. Because it is in need. Why are these Aides so lazy? How do they get away with it number one, and number two: why are they even

attempting a hand at caregiving when they don't really give a ....!:madface:

I undestand alot of CNA's are like me and plan to pursue a nursing education. These lazy people must think Caring for the elderly as a CNA is a "price" to pay or requirement to go in to nursing. I know they ain't in it for the money.

So, If they don't want to do the job, and all they expected to do as a CNA was call out bingo cards for these people and not deal with the messy stuff of true caregiving, then they all should clock out!:nono:

You sound like a dedicated individual and I hope I meet others with the

spirit of caregiving you have.

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Yes. It is aggravating when they don't tell anybody that they are going on break but what really got me was the fact that these residents have been up in their wheelchairs since early morning, been in the DR for a long while and were just "parked" (pardon the expression) and abandoned. Aren't they supposed to be pottied and put in their comfortable chairs, in bed, or have to the minimum some kind of change of position?

im a cna and i can't be comfortable if my residents aren't taking care of. that why i post i love being a cna. but i was looking at this one post where the aide say she going on break. you know what gete to me the most is when they don't tell the other aides their going on break or when their back from break.
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Yes. It is aggravating when they don't tell anybody that they are going on break but what really got me was the fact that these residents have been up in their wheelchairs since early morning, been in the DR for a long while and were just "parked" (pardon the expression) and abandoned. Aren't they supposed to be pottied and put in their comfortable chairs, in bed, or have to the minimum some kind of change of position?

the reason they are parked in the dining room is becuase if they are there, then they can't be on the call bell. Pretty sad isn't it? Yet this is EXACTLY what i was told on orientation when i started a job as a CNA at an assisted living facility. Yes there are AWFUL CNA's around. However, I feel for the CNA's who actually go to work and do their jobs and do them well. I remember how much backbiting and stupidity goes along with the job. I remember taking a 15 minute break (which i am entitled too and rarely got) and the nurse bursting into the upstairs break room to have a little "chat" with me, like i was doing something wrong. :madface: Somebody obviouly must have decided to say i was "hiding" to the nurse. Now common sense should have told that nurse that i am always 10 minutes early for my shift, i always had my residents clean, and comfy and always was seen helping on a hall or floor that wasn't even my assingnment. Yet none of my hardwork was noticed, i was treated like a "problem" that had to be watched. :nono: I also remember having to pull "mandatory" double shifts because a "favored" CNA just got home from a trip a couple of hours before her shift and was too tired to come in, or had to study, etc.. and i was threatened with my job if i didn't cover for her. Also remember the ONE time i called in because the handbook stated very clearly NOT TO COME TO WORK IF ILL and i had a fever of 101 and was throwing up and in pain, yet the nurse called me back and told me too bad, but i needed to come in. This from the same folks who allowed their favorite CNA (who was an RN student) to skip work when she had too study. Yes we had some bad CNA's but mostly we had a lack of respect and human decency and fairness on the part of some of the nurses at this facility. Not all were like this, but unfortunately the shifts that i worked i got the two nasty ones. All the hardworking good CNA's got lumped into the cateogry of the lazy ones and the morale went downhill. I was out of there within a year. I have the utmost respect for most CNA's because i know how hard they really work and how thankless the job is. Nothing is ever good enough, you work with people who throw their work onto you, a lot of the supervisors view you as the lowest form of trash on the planet and you get a bad reputation simply because others refuse to do their jobs properly. i was burned out in a year and went to an office setting. Kudos to all of you who still keep the faith and keep plugging away and doing your jobs well for the good of the patient.

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I am so sorry you had such bad experience. The good people definitely outnumber the bad ones.

the reason they are parked in the dining room is becuase if they are there, then they can't be on the call bell. Pretty sad isn't it? Yet this is EXACTLY what i was told on orientation when i started a job as a CNA at an assisted living facility. Yes there are AWFUL CNA's around. However, I feel for the CNA's who actually go to work and do their jobs and do them well. I remember how much backbiting and stupidity goes along with the job. I remember taking a 15 minute break (which i am entitled too and rarely got) and the nurse bursting into the upstairs break room to have a little "chat" with me, like i was doing something wrong. :madface: Somebody obviouly must have decided to say i was "hiding" to the nurse. Now common sense should have told that nurse that i am always 10 minutes early for my shift, i always had my residents clean, and comfy and always was seen helping on a hall or floor that wasn't even my assingnment. Yet none of my hardwork was noticed, i was treated like a "problem" that had to be watched. :nono: I also remember having to pull "mandatory" double shifts because a "favored" CNA just got home from a trip a couple of hours before her shift and was too tired to come in, or had to study, etc.. and i was threatened with my job if i didn't cover for her. Also remember the ONE time i called in because the handbook stated very clearly NOT TO COME TO WORK IF ILL and i had a fever of 101 and was throwing up and in pain, yet the nurse called me back and told me too bad, but i needed to come in. This from the same folks who allowed their favorite CNA (who was an RN student) to skip work when she had too study. Yes we had some bad CNA's but mostly we had a lack of respect and human decency and fairness on the part of some of the nurses at this facility. Not all were like this, but unfortunately the shifts that i worked i got the two nasty ones. All the hardworking good CNA's got lumped into the cateogry of the lazy ones and the morale went downhill. I was out of there within a year. I have the utmost respect for most CNA's because i know how hard they really work and how thankless the job is. Nothing is ever good enough, you work with people who throw their work onto you, a lot of the supervisors view you as the lowest form of trash on the planet and you get a bad reputation simply because others refuse to do their jobs properly. i was burned out in a year and went to an office setting. Kudos to all of you who still keep the faith and keep plugging away and doing your jobs well for the good of the patient.
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Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.
Yes. It is aggravating when they don't tell anybody that they are going on break but what really got me was the fact that these residents have been up in their wheelchairs since early morning, been in the DR for a long while and were just "parked" (pardon the expression) and abandoned. Aren't they supposed to be pottied and put in their comfortable chairs, in bed, or have to the minimum some kind of change of position?

I am so thankful that the other CNAs I work with are hardworking and caring. I would so much rather have 16 residents assigned to me and work with just one other fantastic aide than have 6 residents and have to chase four other aides around making sure they're doing their jobs.

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I am a new LPN (on my own now for 4 days) and one thing I make sure I do is thank the CNA's for all their hard work at the end of the shift. However, there is one CNA I have been having issues with. When I ask her to do something, she either says that's not my patient or "it's in there", like when I asked her to get more milk for a resident's cereal, she says, "it's in the kitchen". So I asked another CNA to do it, since I was a tad too busy passing meds. When I talk to her about certain things that need to be done differently, she gets attitude with me and walks away, then won't even talk to me the rest of the day. I am not there to make friends, I am there to be the best nurse I can be. Two things, one is that many other staff have issues with her, and two, her and the DON are very close(from what I hear). All I know, is that the next time I work with her and she has attitude with me or the residents, or says "that's not my patient" I will not hesitate to write her up. I refuse to be stepped on. I have respect for my staff, but I expect respect in return as well. I was told to make an extra copy of the write up, incase the DON does nothing about it. I will go to the next chain of command. All the other CNA's I have worked with have been totally awesome. They rock, and without them, I would be screwed!!!!!

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Specializes in Not specified.

Reading all of these posts in this thread has me very concerned. I am considering taking a position as an Alzheimers Unit Director and my biggest concern is supervising the CNAs. The CNAs in this facility have the worst attitudes and think they run the unit. They have already run off at least 3 Alzheimers Directors who quit because they couldn't handle the stress of dealing with these awful CNAs and no support from the administration. Are these nasty CNA attitudes only found in urban LTCs or do the CNAs in rural areas also give attitude and provide inferior care?

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Specializes in EC, IMU, LTAC.
Reading all of these posts in this thread has me very concerned. I am considering taking a position as an Alzheimers Unit Director and my biggest concern is supervising the CNAs. The CNAs in this facility have the worst attitudes and think they run the unit. They have already run off at least 3 Alzheimers Directors who quit because they couldn't handle the stress of dealing with these awful CNAs and no support from the administration. Are these nasty CNA attitudes only found in urban LTCs or do the CNAs in rural areas also give attitude and provide inferior care?

I'd say that the urban culture has something to do with it. Many of said people come from a background of lower socioeconomic status in which they're taught that people are out to get you, that taking orders is tantamount to oppression, and that it's perfectly ok to give a bad attitude b/c they're the ones who are responsible for their position in life and that a good defense is a bad attitude. They accuse people of workplace discrimination (I'm not talking about race here, I've met horrible black, white, hispanic, etc CNAs), yet reinforce their reputations and take full advantage of the fact that management can't afford to fire them.

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Specializes in Not specified.

I know it can be a slippery slope discussing socioeconomic aspects of CNAs, but I don't think they should pull the race card! I used to work in the DD field where most of the direct care workers (they were pretty much like CNAs, minus the certification and extra training) were African American and grossly underpaid (less than $8 an hour). But these direct care workers were the nicest people, did not give any attitude, were respectful, kind to the patients. Many CNAs in my facility get paid much much more ($12 or more-most drive much nicer cars than I do) and are also African American and have the nastiest attitudes. Fortunately we do have many African American CNAs who are just wonderful, the patients appreciate them, the families adore them. It is a few bad apples that ruin it for everyone else.

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Specializes in EC, IMU, LTAC.
I know it can be a slippery slope discussing socioeconomic aspects of CNAs, but I don't think they should pull the race card! I used to work in the DD field where most of the direct care workers (they were pretty much like CNAs, minus the certification and extra training) were African American and grossly underpaid (less than $8 an hour). But these direct care workers were the nicest people, did not give any attitude, were respectful, kind to the patients. Many CNAs in my facility get paid much much more ($12 or more-most drive much nicer cars than I do) and are also African American and have the nastiest attitudes. Fortunately we do have many African American CNAs who are just wonderful, the patients appreciate them, the families adore them. It is a few bad apples that ruin it for everyone else.

I was not pulling the race card. Notice that I said, "I'm not talking about race here, I've met horrible black, white, hispanic, etc CNAs."

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Specializes in Not specified.

Peachpie, I was refering to the CNAs pulling the race card. Which many in our facility do any time a supervisor wants to talk to them or inservice them. They feel discriminated against.

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