Hi,
I am new to this club. I've been a CNA since around 1989. At the
present time I am working FullTime at a Nursing Home that I have been
at since 1992 (I think)>LOL. I also work at a Hospital FullTime as
well. I've been working FullTime at both jobs since Aug of 2005. I
plan on dropping down to PRN at the Nursing Home in the next couple
of months.
Nursing Home's are back breaking jobs, that is the main reason I am
having to leave my FullTime postion at the Nursing Home. Hospital's
are more fast paced 'at times' and alot easier on your back.
I am also a Certified Medical Tech, Ward Clerk, Telemetry Tech,
Surgical Tech, and I guess I had better not leave out that I got
Certified a few years ago as a Pet Groomer....though I'd pick that up
for a back up job for when I got burned out of nursing...LOL.
I'd love to hear from others about your job duties where your work.
Example, if you are working in a Nursing Home then how many patients
do you normally have on a shift. Do you work short staffed at times,
or most of the time may I add... The Nursing Home that I work in I
have 10 Patients 'myself' and my Partner has 10, we have a Policy
that we have to work in teams so that makes the two of us having 20
patients. If my partner calls in and they don't replace her then I am
stuck having the 20 patients myself. That is on the 3/11 shift. We
have around 7 Patients to shower each day, not counting having to get
so many up for the Dining Room or to eat, then having to lay them all
back down. And then there's your normal complaining family's that
seem like their Mother or Father is the only patient in the Nursing
Home.... (Do I sound like I am Burned Out)....LOL... It's because I
am. I am tired of working my Butt off for Low Wages. No Respect
unless it's one of those 'Rare' Nurse's that you can't hardly find
that lets you know that they know how hard your job is. Some of the
Nurse's that I work with like to yell, demand, and threaten to write
up the staff every time you turn around, I can see writing someone up
over something that is deserved, but these CNA's are normally working
short staffed and going in a non-stop run, and some of the Nurse's
that I work with gets in an up roar if someone left a wash cloth by
accident in the sink (for an example)....then they threaten to write
up that CNA and that's all they dwell on the entire shift, is so and
so left a wash cloth in the sink.....
I guess they don't stop and think about (John Does) feeding pump
beeping for the past two hours where it either has an empty bottle of
milk hanging, or where it has been stopped up and to where the CNA's
have to change the bed three to four times within 2 hrs. And you have
complained and complained to the Nurse that this guys pump has been
either empty or the tube is stopped up.
I could probably sit down and start a book on the place I work
at...LOL.
But I'm almost out of there. I know some that may be reading this
may be saying 'well why don't you just go ahead and quit right
now'...well there's a long story behind that, first of all I have
been there so long that my patients have become my family, and vice
versa, it's very hard to leave patients that you have taken care of
for around 15 years, it's taken me this long to finally decide to
leave the Nursing Home and stay with the Hospital FullTime. Second
thing is that in 2004 I had hurt my back at the Nursing Home. I was
working and taking care of 20 patients by myself, my partner had
called in and I was stuck with all 20... There was 4 other CNA's on
the Floor besides me and each CNA only had 5 patients each, I had
asked that the patients be split up evenly so I wouldn't have so many
myself, but I was told by 'administration' the answer was No...so
while I was working I was changing a patient that weighed over 300
pounds while she was in the bed, I looked out the patients door for
help but there was nobody, two had went on their supper break and the
other two were out the side door taking an illegal smoke break, so I
was the only one on the floor, so I went ahead and started changing
the patient since she was in a mess, to make a long story short, I
hurt my back on her, had to leave the Nursing Home and go straight to
the ER, was taken off from work for around 9 months, had almost 100
treatments of PT, had MRI's down, then pain mangment. In other words,
I'm on Pain Meds and I can't live with them due to feeling like my
back is about to break in half. I had messed up disc from the back of
my neck to my L4/L5 Lower Lumbar. Workers Comp did pretty good about
paying me for being off from work, but as far as medical went, I
didn't have much medical at all, then went I went back to work, which
I begged my Doc to let me go back, Workers Comp then deciced to stop
paying for all my meds, medical care, etc, they wouldn't even return
my phone calls when I'd call and leave them a message that I needed
to get my meds refilled, what they didn't know is that I had an
attorney 1 month after I got hurt, but I didn't tell Workers Comp or
anyone that I had an Attorney, and my Attorney told me that as long
as Workers Comp was doing good about paying me for being off from
work then he'd just stay in the side lines and not make an appearence
until I told him so. Well I finally told him to file the claim, which
he did. The Nursing Home later got a letter from my Attorney stating
that I was sueing the Nursing Home (it's really Workers Comp I am
sueing but they have to address it to your Work Place).... The
Nursing Home was very shocked that I filed a suit, but hey, it's my
back and I'm sure it if was someone in Administration then they'd do
the same thing. I've already been to all the Doc's that my attorney
and Workers Comp attoneys have sent me to, now I am waiting on my
Court Date in June of 06'.... the court date is a settlement hearing,
if things go right then I will be quitting the Nursing Home after my
Settlement hearing is over.
Well now that I have vented I do feel alot better. I hope I didn't
make alot fall asleep reading all this...LOL.
I'll check back often.
Rabitt41749@...