Legal Issues For CNA’s: Part One
Posted by Patti on February 10th, 2006 / Print This Post
Legal Issues for CNA’s
Legal Standards
These are guidelines to lawful behavior. When laws are not obeyed you can be prosecuted and found liable (responsible) for injury and damages. Legal guilt can result in fines and imprisonment, as well as loss of certification/license to work as a CNA.
Laws are passed by local, state and federal governments. All citizens are expected to obey these laws…when you disobey a law you are liable for fines and/or imprisonment. CNA’s can avoid this by:
• Knowing and staying within their state’s scope of practice rules.
• Do only those tasks and skills you have been taught; if you’re asked to do tasks you have not been trained to do ask for guidance (and if necessary seek the advice of your supervisor).
• Carry out your tasks and procedures carefully and only as you were taught.
• Keep up to date with your skills and education and in-service requirements.
• In questionable situations, seek the advice of your supervisor.
• Make sure you fully understand your assignment and what is expected of you
• Know your facility policies and procedures and follow them.
• Do no harm to your patients.
• Respect the personal property of your patients
Legal Definitions and Examples
As a CNA the legal issues you might encounter and witness would be negligence, theft, defamation, false imprisonment, assault, battery and abuse. You need to understand what these are.
Negligence:
The failure to provide a degree of care that others would consider reasonable under the circumstances; when injury results to your patient. Negligence is often caused by rushing around to get your work done and by not thinking FIRST.
• YOU give a patient a bath…and don’t check the water temp first. The patient is burned.
• YOU place a tray of food in front of a patient and don’t check the menu; the tray belonged to another patient. The patient who got the tray eats the wrong consistency food and chokes.
• YOU transfer a patient by yourself even though the care plans states two staff should be present for the transfer. You drop the patient.
Theft
One would think this is pretty simple. It should be but often isn’t. Taking ANYTHING that doesn’t belong to you is considered theft. It doesn’t matter how cheap or expensive the item is. When you see another person take something that isn’t their’s, and you fail to report this, you are guilty of aiding and abetting the crime. Keep your standards high. We need all the honest people we can get in this work- don’t be scared or indifferent to report theft you witness. I’ve seen aides take wash clothes, briefs, deodorants, soaps ect from their facility (for their own personal use at home). I’ve also seen aides steal jewelry and clothing from patients. It’s NEVER acceptable to do this. EVER.
Defamation
This means making statements about another person, either verbally (slander) or in writing (libel)
when the character of that person is injured. Examples would be you telling a co-worker wrongful and inaccurate information about patients. I’ve seen this happen: We had an admission coming and the chart was available to all of us. The patient had Crohn’s Disease. One of the aides I worked with at that time went around and told everyone this patient had C-Diff. Not a good thing to do. Unless you know something to be actual fact, (and even then make sure you hear it from a reliable source), keep your mouth SHUT. And never put anything like this in writing.
False Imprisonment
This is an area many nursing staff have trouble understanding. It’s not just about restraints. It’s about a mindset. It is defined as restraining a person’s movements or actions without the proper authorization. Patients have rights and we must respect these rights. In the hospital setting, a patient CAN leave the hospital without a doctor’s permission. They can also leave a nursing home/assisted living home. Under very few circumstances can we interfere with this right. If you do, it’s called false imprisonment.
Physical Restraints
Using them requires a doctor’s order. Threatening to use them is considered false imprisonment.
Physical restraints are defined as any manual or physical device, material, or equipment attached to or near to the patients body, that:
• A patient cannot easily remove
• Restricts movement of ANY and ALL body parts
• Restricts the patient from accessing their own body or parts of their body
Examples of physical restraints:
• Wrist, Arm, Leg and Ankle restraints
• Vests
• Jackets
• Hand Mitts
• Geri chairs, recliners
• Seatbelts, safety belts
• Bed rails and the pads sometimes used on them
• In some populations the use of certain clothing would be considered a restraint: For example, donning a one piece undershirt on a child to prevent him from having access to his body. Or, a long sleeved shirt to prevent access to an IV site.
Also, many practices are considered a restraint. When a patient doesn’t have the physical strength to remove a device it is a restraint.
• When a patient doesn’t have the strength to sit up from a low rise sofa, for example, this practice is considered a restraint.
• Tucking in blankets and sheets so tightly the resident cannot move is considered a restraint. Using Velcro and tape to secure sheets is also a restraint.
• A lap tray being used with a wheelchair is a restraint if the patient cannot remove it.
• Using recliners and Geri chairs, tilted back, is a restraint.
• Moving chairs and beds so close to a wall that it prevents a patient from rising is a restraint.
• Placing a patient up into a table so close they cannot move their chair is a restraint.
In short, any action or device (designed for the sole purpose or something put together by you) that prevents the free movement of body parts is a physical restraint.
Some patients require splints and other appliances to maintain alignment and posture. These are restraints as well, but are often referred to as enablers because they assist the patient with ADL’s.
The patient may not be able to remove the splints, but it’s not an overt restraint. An MD order is always in place for these items.
Many medications are considered restraints. This is called chemical restraining and it is a very different thing than physical restraints. Nurses and doctors must understand the ramifications of using meds to induce sleep, states of relaxation, pain control that could be considered restraining activity.
Assault and Battery
There is some confusion about the meanings of these terms. Assault means purposely attempting to touch the body of another person without their permission, and threatening to do so. Battery is when you actually doing this. These terms are not all about hitting and hurting patients like so many of us have been taught.
Every task we perform is done so with the patient’s informed consent. This means the patient needs to know what it is we want to do, why, the benefits of the task-and they have to agree to it.
Informed consent can be withdrawn at any time and we must honor this. More and more patients are taking their healthcare into their own hands these days, and many will question the value of treatments. In spite of our best efforts to explain the need for treatments, the patient always retain the right to refuse. If you continue with the treatment you are guilty of battery. And threatening to get the nurse or others to assist you with said treatments is battery as well. You must report to the nurse any and all refusals of care by your patients, but do so quietly and not within hearing distance of the patient. Let the nurse handle the situation from this point forward.
To avoid being charged with battery:
• Tell the patient what you plan to do
• Make sure the patient understands what you’re saying
• Asking the patient if they have any questions or concerns
• Allowing the patient some time to think about this
• If the patient refuses, don’t push the issue. Quietly report the refusal to the nurse and document facts only.
• NEVER carry out the refused treatment
In our work we will come across a lot of coercion- which is forcing a patient to do something against their will. Unfortunately, it’s a problem within nursing in general. We always think we know what is best. This happens more with patients who are confused, mentally incapacitated or those with dementia. Almost always, these patients are not their own legal guardian, their family is. This makes it difficult for us to do our job at times because the patient is still refusing the care but we have to do it anyway- because the family has consented on behalf of the patient. It’s ALWAYS best to try to get the patient to cooperate with us vs. a full struggle. It really helps to wait and come back later when a confused patient refuses care. They tell us to always assume the patient would want our care if they were not confused so we have to think of things differently. It’s a hard spot to be in.
Abuse
Abuse: Doing harm to a patient. Abusing a patient is ethically wrong as well as legally wrong. Ethical standards require us to do no harm and legal standards enforce this through laws. There are severe penalties if you’re found guilty.
Abuse is defined as the act (or failure to act) that is non accidental and causes or could cause harm or death to a patient. It’s not just about hitting here. It’s also about mental abuse, verbal abuse and other more subtle forms. Abuse comes in many shapes:
• Physical
• Verbal
• Emotional
• Sexual
• Involuntary seclusion
Physical Abuse:
• Handling the patient roughly
• Hitting, slapping, punching, kicking, pinching a patient
• Performing the wrong treatment on the patient
Verbal Abuse:
• Swearing when you’re dealing with the patient
• Raising your voice, yelling
• Calling the patient unpleasant names
• Teasing the patient
• Embarrassing the patient at anytime
• Using gestures
• Making threats
• Use of inappropriate words/terms to describe a patient’s race or nationality
Sexual Abuse:
Using physical means and verbal threats to force patients to perform sexual acts.
In most states sexual abuse is ANY behavior that is seductive, sexually demeaning, harassing. As with Sexual Harassment policies, this harassment need only be considered as such by the patient without regard to your intentions. Be careful. THINK before your interactions with patients (and everyone else for that matter). Be considerate of your patient’s values and morals.
Emotional/Psychological Abuse:
THIS can be the worst kind of abuse because it’s typically ongoing and subtle.
• Causing a patient to be afraid of you (through threats, actions, attitude, and body language)
• Threatening the patient
• Threatening to withhold treatment
• Threatening to tell others about the patient’s condition
• Making fun of the patient
• Belittling the patient (and this would include all those cute little nicknames we tend to have)
• Calling the attention of others to the patient’s behavior.
Involuntary Seclusion
I see this happen a lot in nursing homes. A resident is being noisy and disruptive so we remove them to another area. This is another one of those hard spots to be in- trying to balance the needs of the larger group of residents without violating the rights of one. A good care plan, communication with everyone, documentation and other interventions should really be in place to prevent the resident from having outbursts in the first place. The nurse should always be the one who directs you to remove a resident. Don’t ever make this decision on your own.
Other forms of involuntary seclusion:
• Closing the door to the patient’s room when they want it kept open
• Placing a patient in a wheelchair away from others
• Leaving a patient without a means to communicate- removing the call bell for example
Abuse by Others
There are times when we will witness another CNA or nurse do harm to a patient, as described above in all the various forms. Often the CNA/nurse will not realize they are doing these things. It doesn’t matter whether she knows better or not. The abuse MUST be reported. As soon as it occurs, not at the end of the shift, the next day or next week. All healthcare workers are required by law to report actual or suspected abuse. When you don’t report, you’re just as guilty.
Sometimes it is a member of the patient’s family who abuses them. This is difficult to see happen, to suspect is happening. Again if you suspect this you are required to report it to the nurse. I’ve seen nursing home residents go out on a day trip with a family member and return to the facility with bruises and cuts; or with complaints of hunger and thirst. These things caused me to suspect some sort of abuse or neglect and I reported the findings to the nurses. I made sure they came down and looked at the bruises and cuts firsthand as well.
Neglect
Neglect is failing to provide the services, care and treatments necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish or mental illness. Neglect can be intentional or unintentional. Neglect is against the law no matter what. CNA’s are not expected to decide if neglect has occurred- that is the nurses job. However, you must report signs of neglect. Some examples of neglect we might see on the job:
• Routine hygiene and care not being provided. Patients not being repositioned, bathed, toileted, ROM exercises not being performed according to the care plan.
• Patients not being given enough time to eat
• Patients not being offered water and snacks
Invasion of Privacy
This is an area where every CNA should put themselves in the patients’ shoes. Would you like it if someone went around talking about your medical condition to anyone? How would you feel if you were in a hospital room and the nurse came in, started to do a treatment without closing the privacy curtain? You wouldn’t like these things at all. Most people don’t. Every patient has a right to expect their medical information will be kept confidential and that only those who NEED to know will have access to this information.
~This material can be used freely for educational purposes.
February 14th, 2006 at 9:37 pm
I consider bedrails a restraint, all 4 of them for sure. The nurses I work with do not. I am in a hospital setting. I will check this further.
February 14th, 2006 at 9:47 pm
I got some of my information for these articles from recent CNA books…
I’m certain side rails are considered restraints, at least in the nursing home setting. Hospitals have different regs don’t they???
February 14th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
I think that they have different regs. It still worries me when 4 rails are up for patients safety. I never got the word from the higher ups, it is time that I do.
February 21st, 2006 at 2:36 am
I have checked with the assistant director of my unit and was told that using 4 rails is not considered a restraint.
February 22nd, 2006 at 11:35 am
In the hospital I work at 4 rails is considered a restraint
February 25th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
Dom I will post the sites but siderails are always considered a restraint and, one of the worst ones. There are very few reasons a doctor should agree to there use actually, because the number of people who have died trying to climb over them; get caught in between them…
I’ll post the sites with the details.
This is for nursing homes though. Hospitals have different standards.
February 27th, 2006 at 2:32 pm
4 rails are technically a restraint(in hospitals), usually have to have an order for restraints from the MD. Although I have found that hospitals are very lax when it comes to this.
March 3rd, 2006 at 5:00 am
I am writing about the above article and will try to make my comment brief. I have been a CNA for several years and have witnessed abuse and/or neglect many times over the course of my career. However, I never would have, in my wildest dreams, imagined that I myself would be involved in an abuse allegation, until it happened. (An incontinent patient threw his wet brief on the floor so I asked him to “please dont throw the pad on the floor as its a safety issue as well as infection control. If you ring the next time you’re incontinent, we will come in and help you”……its a bit more complicated because the patient didnt report the ‘abuse’ immediately, he waited until the next shift and then conveniently it was reported to the CNA that I had called the state about a few days previously, for neglect). Anyways, I guess that’s my point is that the saddest part about abuse and neglect is that for all the reported cases out there, there are so many more happening than can even be fathomed. I was fired from my job (for the above situation) because it was determined that I was ‘rude’ which is abuse, even though they couldnt prove it and the people working with me refused to sign statements implicating me in anything abusive, as we worked together at all times and thus noone had seen anything that even came close to being abusive while I was interacting with this patient. This all happened last year and thankfully I have been employed since then but I was dragged through HELL because of this while situation, even so far as to be threatened with losing my license and a formal investigation was done. (It has only just been finally closed and there is no action being taken against me as they could find nothing to indicate I had in fact been abusive). My point I guess is that I am not the only person I know of in this field, who has been affected by a ‘false accusation’ and it only makes it that much sadder when real abuse and neglect are in fact happening. Its like a murderer phoning up the police about a drug deal, to keep them busy (Hope that makes sense because I know what I mean by that). I am very intrigued by tbis website and will definitely be back when its not 4am and a work day, lol.
May 7th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
I would like to see information about false accusations of non-consensual sexual contact with patients and how easy it is for CNA’s to be accused of this. when they are doing their jobs of dialy care on patients. I am seeing an increased number of case where cna’s are not being prosecuted in criminal court, but are having their licenses pulled and lives ruined because of false accutations, that are immpossible to defined against. I work as an aid at a hospital where more than one person has been accused of this. I have not been accused myself of this, but see how it is very possible to be accused of something I have not done. As aids we are place with patients in very compromised postitions, If doctors or nurses where in these same compromised postitions they would be accompanied by each other, but aids are force to clean up patients and do scrubs, groin preps, peri-care and all kinds of things while alone with patients (both male and female) How can aids protect themselves for being put in these situations? When institutions are not willing to foot the cost of giving the same profesional considerations it gives Doctors and Nurses of not have to alone with patients, doing the personal tasks? What can be done about changing this? Or are CNA’s just always going to be at risk for false accusations?
May 29th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
Can a CNA really lose their license for not reporting abuse, if they work with a group of nurses and aids that make false accusations?
May 31st, 2006 at 8:51 pm
Ok, as a 17 yr old I was in a car accident and reseaved some convictions from that. As the new law passed that direct care workers can not care for patients with a felony for nursing homes for up to 15 yrs after conviction. How many years does it have to be for hospital’s and doctor’s office’s? If you have any more info please let me know. I am a hadr working person in a good marriage and we have 7 children. I do not want to not beable to take care of people has I have in the passed.
Respectfully,
Victoria K. Rios
June 5th, 2006 at 7:14 am
In Fl you when they do your backround check and the charges show up you will be asked to write a letter of explaination. Then it will go before the CNA Council of the Board of Nursing. If the Counail thinks your ok you get your certificate. But they can require you to appear at a meeting so they can talk to you. I would check with the Board in your state just the them what happened (be honest) and see what they tell you.
Mary
June 15th, 2006 at 5:05 pm
Hi. I’m adding a situation of mine. I’ve been a CNA for about 8 years. I’ve worked consistently, even worked for a year with Nuns (Sisters of the Immaculate Heart Of Mary) a convent in Pa. At any rate…..I’ve witnessed many cases of abuse, and I’ve reported them all. Last week, a resident who always gets mad when I tell her she can’t walk around or do it by herself asked to speak to a nurse. I went and got her. The nurse told me that I should have done what she told me to do, even though practice at that particular home says that we are to not get anyone ready for bed at meal time. Anyway….She reported to the nurse that I kept telling her no. And that I “threw” her into a wheelchair when she walked to her closet to get a gown. I was suspended until further investigation. Today I was called into work where I was informed that I was being terminated for standards of conduct violation, and that the resident was consistent with her story and accounts of what happened. I can’t say how disappointed I am by this. I’ve never had a write up in 8 years. Now what? Will I even be allowed to work after this? It’s more my pride than anything. To know down to my soul that I did nothing wrong, but to be told otherwise is beyond belief. Just wanted to share with someone, and to let other’s who are accused of being guilty when they are innocent know that I’m sorry and I empathize with them. Peace
June 16th, 2006 at 6:10 am
Iam ceritifed nursing assisant for 12 years with an excellent record michigan just started a new law that watches for crimial records sounds great but if you are commited for any mistermeanor repeat any mistermeanor you lose your job for 5 years and can not work in field
June 20th, 2006 at 12:55 am
I started working as a cna when i was in high school and that was four years ago. i have worked for the same company for all of my “adult” life. I have never been written up for anything and I have never even called out before. Saturday night I worked in the rehab unit where i told a woman who was complaining about her knee was hurting because of the surgry that if it hurt too bad that I would let her use the bed pan turned around the next day and said “that cna that worked last night told me that she should whip my ass and make me sit on the bed pan for the rest of the night” I never staited that and now my DON says because there was no witnesses that they are inclined to believe the patient. Anyone that you ask they will tell you that there is no way that I would have done this. They pick and choose who they invistagate…….I find out Friday if I am fired…..
June 28th, 2006 at 2:03 pm
hello. I have been working as a CNA for over a year now. Just recently, I was a victim of sexual harassmnet. This had been going on since he got there, but I didn’t really take it seriously (i.e. telling me he wants me to lay with him, that I’m pretty, ect.).
Here is the incident in detail:
7:00am- I asked the resident if he would like to get up to eat breakfast. The resident then replied “I would rather eat you.”
I did not understand what he meant, so I said, “what?”,
the resident replied “I would rather eat you.”
I asked, “What does that mean?”
he said-”you know, when a fellow eats a girl.”
I was repulsed. I told him that was gross. He laughed.
Believe it or not, this wasn’t the only thing that happened to me that day.
10:00am- I answer the resident’s call button. I put the rail down while trying to help him, unaware that he was staring down my shirt.
he told me “You have beautiful breasts.”
I was pretty scared and upset at that point, so I told him to go find someone his own age.
He said, “I don’t want anyone my own age.”
He looked to be in his early sixties, but told me he was 51 and that he wasn’t that old. Needless to say, I was pretty upset at this point, and left the room.
A couple of days later, I finally worked up the nerve to tell my supervisor(the assistant director of nursing, a L.P.N.). I felt very uncomfortable about it, but knew I had to tell her for my own sake. I didn’t ever want to go in that room again. When I told her what happened, and said that I didn’t want to go in there again, she said that refusing a resident’s care was neglect, and that I should talk to my nurse about it. When I talked to the nurse, she actaully understood, and said she would make sure I don’t have to go in there again.
June 28th, 2006 at 2:10 pm
hello. I have been working as a CNA for over a year now(I am nineteen). Just recently, I was a victim of sexual harassmnet. This had been going on since he got there, but I didn’t really take it seriously (i.e. telling me he wants me to lay with him, that I’m pretty, ect.).
Here is the incident in detail:
7:00am- I asked the resident if he would like to get up to eat breakfast. The resident then replied “I would rather eat you.”
I did not understand what he meant, so I said, “what?”,
the resident replied “I would rather eat you.”
I asked, “What does that mean?”
he said-”you know, when a fellow eats a girl.”
I was repulsed. I told him that was gross. He laughed.
Believe it or not, this wasn’t the only thing that happened to me that day.
10:00am- I answer the resident’s call button. I put the rail down while trying to help him, unaware that he was staring down my shirt.
he told me “You have beautiful breasts.”
I was pretty scared and upset at that point, so I told him to go find someone his own age.
He said, “I don’t want anyone my own age.”
He looked to be in his early sixties, but told me he was 51 and that he wasn’t that old. Needless to say, I was pretty upset at this point, and left the room.
It really made my skin crawl, and I only told my fiance and my family. They told me that I needed to tell my boss.
A couple of days later, I finally worked up the nerve to tell my supervisor(the assistant director of nursing, a L.P.N.). I felt very uncomfortable about it, but knew I had to tell her for my own sake. I didn’t ever want to go in that room again. When I told her what happened, and said that I didn’t want to go in there again, she said that refusing a resident’s care was neglect, and that I should talk to my nurse about it. When I talked to the nurse, she actaully understood, and said she would make sure I don’t have to go in there again.
I am thinking about qutting, because I no longer find any sense of pride or accomplishment in my job (which is why I stuck around in the first place). What do you think I should do? I am also wondering if this has happened before. I tried to look it up on the internet, but all I saw was stuff about us (CNAS) abusing residents. Aren’t we allowed to have feelings, too?
June 28th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
Does a nursing assistant have the right to know why they are being investigated? I am not allowed to return to work until my investigation is over and I have not been told why I am being investigated or even questioned about it. If it is illegal where can I find this reference at to give to my lawyer?
July 30th, 2006 at 11:23 pm
I have read all your stories and feel bad for many of you , I was certified in 1989 and in 92 became rehab aide cert. The one thing you must keep in mind in this line of work is “You are in this line of work for the little man or woman who cant help themselves” not for the co workers or the ones in every home taking advantage of the situation , keep it up and you will be rewarded greatly
September 21st, 2006 at 4:50 pm
been with same company 4yrs…will be honest have had alot of warnings for things that others do as well but I get in trouble…not saying I have not deserved any othe them just most were unfair…for example : I said “son of a &^%$%” in laundry room at 4am cuz a large basket fell on my foot…got suspended for saying a profanity in resident area. Few week later the nurse says the F-word during report in her office in resident area at 3pm and again at 11pm and tells me when I asked her about it that everyone was asleep so whocares…well people are asleep at 4am too but I get suspended. Then other stupid stuff that someone was scared of me that i go to fast…person said she never said anything like that.
So after suspension I busted my butt to be a good liitle trooper… was fine and not spoken to at all for May/June/July & August then….8/18 I saw my name crossed of b-day list…replaced list next day my name was crossed off again….8/24 my cousin’s job app & resume disappeared…then I took a vacation came back to work on 9/1 to get fired because they got an annonymous letter complaining about me but refused to let me see it…yet the next week I find out co-workers knew about letter and knew some of contents…that was personal and could have been written by anyone who knew I had been suspended in May and wanted me out. I was totally shocked to go back to work after vacation to be fired over an annonymous letter with no internal investigation to see if it was true or not… just fired. Now I am wondering if the firing will go on my license or is it just like being fired anywhere else?
November 13th, 2006 at 8:40 am
I have read some of these cases and all I can say is tough! I don’t mean to be cruel or uncaring but if you just sit and allow these to happen to you then it is hard to feel bad. You have not abused anyone then you fight back with every inch of your being. The nurses cusses but you get suspended, you report her arse to the state, then if they fire you you can collect unemployment under the whistle blowers act.
The state cannot just take your license without at least a hearing. If they do then you can sue for the deprivation of due process. Not only can they not take it without a hearing they also cannot mark it against the licence without a hearing.
This is part and parcel of why we need a national union and advocacy organisation, so when these nurses and admins step out of the pocket with these acts of stupidity strong and productive action can be taken against them.
February 21st, 2007 at 9:19 am
I too am a CNA at a hospital. I work on the Med/Surg unit so we get a lot of elderly people who have accidents and are a post-op hip replacements, etc. They are often very confused and are sometimes at risk for harming themselves.
I know for a fact that having all four siderails up at the hospital I work for is considered confinement, and a form of restraint to a certain extent. If the patient is considered “at risk” for falls or has a fracture, ORIF, and so on it is required that all four siderails be up, and in this case it is not considered a restraint since it is for the patient’s safety and there is no need for a restraint; they just do not want them falling out of bed.
However, I’ve carried out a restraint order on someone as told by the primary nurse in which it was ordered by the MD to have all four siderails up because the patient was quick to get out of bed a few seconds after the bed alarm went off. In that case though, we actually locked the siderails.
March 10th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Im 17 i’ve only been a CNA for a lil over 4 months. I was sexually abused by a resident a week ago. But in Dec of 06 he sexually assaulted another resident. Nothing was done at that time he assaulted the resident, When he assaulted me on March 1st the other aide and the charge nurse were outside..i tried to push the call light for help and they still didnt come in and see what was going on. Their are only 2 NA’s because our Nursing home is so small, They moved the resident to a Locked unit because he has
alzheimers really bad. The next day when the DON and administrator were back i had to go in and talk to them both, they told me that being sexually assaulted was part of my job and i just have to get used to it…is this really part of my job?? Then the Social Services Director laughed when she was told about the situation thats not very “professional” if you ask me. If this is supposably part of my job im planning on quitting and never being a Nursing Asst again..i was planning on going to nursing school. I dont want this to ruin my career but if this is part of my job i dont want to have to deal with it again in the situation i was in when it happened
March 13th, 2007 at 6:19 am
No being sexually assaulted is not part of the job….But the problem is some of your patients/residents don’t know that they are doing something wrong! If your resident was not confused and knew better it would be assault. You wouldn’t blame a child for doing something it didn’t know was wrong. Before giving up on nursing why don’t you try working in a hospital? Or at least some other place where they have a little more compassion for their employees.
Mary