Comments on: Legal Issues For CNA’s: Part One

By: mary

mary — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:19:59 +0000

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

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 21:00:33 +0000

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

By: Jared

Jared — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 14:19:12 +0000

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.

By: kevinicity

kevinicity — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 13:40:14 +0000

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.

By: Dee

Dee — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:50:26 +0000

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?

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 03:23:09 +0000

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

By: Lorie

Lorie — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 23:31:25 +0000

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?

By: melinda

melinda — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 18:10:46 +0000

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?

By: melinda

melinda — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 18:03:23 +0000

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.

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.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 04:55:01 +0000

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…..