A CNA doing nice things, pass it on...

Yes, I know there is a movie about doing nice things for people but, I am talking about at work. I work in a nursing home and the tension is horrible sometimes. We have what I call "shift wars". Day shift hates Night shift, Eve shift hates Day shift and Night shift hates everyone and is the bastard shift of the building. Anything that can be blamed on them is.

I recently went to Night shift and promised myself I was not dragging the war with me. I am not playing this game. Instead, I vowed to do my best and to do extra to help out the next shift. These things may not apply to your nursing home but, here are some things I do to help out the next shift and hopefully help mend working relationships.

1) Answer call lights! It's state law, we have to do it... but I see plenty of off going CNA's walk out without answering call lights. Take a minute on your way out and answer it! Sometimes it's as easy as opening blinds, getting a hard to reach brush or turning on their TV and will give the on coming CNA the time they need on their hall.

2) Lay out clothes. Even if you aren't dressing your resident, you can take the time to lay out an outfit for them so your on coming CNA has one less thing to do. Pick out socks, arm protectors, TED hose, bras, panties and all. This way your CNA will have the extra minutes they need to get everyone up and to breakfast on time.

3) Get extra people dressed. I'm not saying to pull everyone out of bed and make them get dressed. After 4 AM, if someone gets up to go the bathroom, I ask if I can help them get dressed. Even one extra person dressed will help the on coming CNA have extra time to help others in the morning.

4) Make a bed. I have a few residents that get up early. If I have an extra minute, I'll make their bed for the CNA.

5) Tidy the closets. My process if pretty simple and fast. Pull all the empty hangers and put them on the right had side of the closet. Next, pull all the pants and put them next to the empty hangers. Finally, pull all the sweaters and put them on the left hand side of the closet. This will make it easier for the day shift CNA when they are in a rush and have to grab a new pair of pants, shirt or sweater.

6) Stock everything. With my shift, I usually have enough time to stock items so the next shift doesn't have to worry about running out of items during their shift. I stock enough gloves, wipes, briefs and personal items for each room. My rule of thumb is to stock everything plus one. That way if they run out, there is still another pack waiting for them.

7) Check for trashcan liners. While stocking, check the trashcans and make sure they have enough can liners to last through a few days. Not having to run to get liners mid-shift will help out the CNA's during the day.

8) Tidy the bed side tables, sinks and night stands. Not only does this help out the next shift, but it also makes a better impression for family members and guests. Spend a minute or two straightening up the room so the next CNA doesn't have to.

9) Take your trash with you. When you leave, don't forget to take your trash with you and toss it in the dumpster. I have worked other shifts as a CNA and day shift really doesn't have the time to empty the trash barrel if it's full.

Working together as a team is a huge deal to many nursing homes. We night shift graveyard workers can encourage teamwork by doing a little extra to help the next shift. If you have any ideas that help, leave them in the comments.

Happy blogging!

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Rumors... Living Vicariously Through Lies.

My workplace is full of rumors.  It is like living in a Junior High School only more vicious.  I do not need to watch soap operas; the rumors at work are hilarious and entertaining enough.  The batch this week has been very interesting to listen to and made me think about when I lived in Tennessee and had a bunch of rumors spread about me.  I, apparently, have a very interesting life that I didn’t know about.

According to the rumors there, I am a witch and I cast spells on my residents to make them sleep.  If I did, my residents would be asleep all night not up wandering the halls.  I also held séances out back behind the nursing home under a full moon and I was searching for virgins.  Trust me, if I was searching for virgins, I wouldn’t be looking for them at that place.  Some of the rumors were true.  Moreover, I sure the hell wouldn’t be holding séances under a full moon!  Everyone would be able to see you… it would be under a new moon where it would be dark and harder to see.  Common sense, people.  Seriously.

The ones here are not as outlandish but they are still hilarious.  Did you know I am rich?  Me either.  However, according to the source, I am rich because of my writing and I do not really need to work.  I wish that were true.  However, my writing is just a hobby and does not pay much and I am anything but rich.  Right now, I have $32 in the bank.  If that makes me rich, cool.  It is not going very far though.

Then there is the one where I have a lesbian lover.  Here name is Nikky.  We are secret lesbian lovers.  Jealous yet?  Don’t be.  Nikky is my best friend and like a sister to me.  We spend a lot of time together but we are NOT lesbian lovers.  I guess it does not help that we go everywhere together and I happen to have open-mouth-insert-foot moments a lot, like the time she did laundry at my house and left some of her clothes behind.  We were outside on break one day and I said all enthusiastically, “Hey!  You left your thongs at my house!”  Oh, I could have died of embarrassment when I realized how that sounded.

This last week we went on a road trip to Washington and stayed in a hotel two nights.  Our boss forgot to take her off the schedule.  I got a call at 5:30 in the morning from one of our friends saying, “Wake up Nikky!  She has to call in.  Cindy put her on the schedule.”  I hopped out of bed and handed her the phone.  When we got back into town, our friend was telling Nikky that they were all sitting outside trying to figure out how to get a hold of Nikky since she wasn’t answering her phone (she turned it down).  Ang said “Call Dotchi, have her roll over and smack Nikky in the face.”  Thanks guys.  Thanks.  Love you too.

The rumors that came out this week did not involve Nikky and me this time.  Apparently, everyone at work is sleeping with everyone else in various places throughout the town.  One guy and his wife went to marriage counseling over it.  Another was found making out with someone else at the bar.  This is the same person that slept with a gang that came through town and spray painted their logo all over town.  It is all confusing to follow but entertaining to hear, especially when you know the truth about some of them. 

Where do people come up with this shit?  Seriously?  Do people sit around at night drinking and concocting stories about fellow coworkers?  Where do you do this?  I want a stiff drink.  I am a writer; I can help create some interesting rumors.  However, I will warn you, someone is going to abducted and anally probed.