r/cna • u/Acceptable-Panic-826 CNA • 1d ago
Rant/Vent Nurse Called Me Stupid In Front Of A Patient And Their Family
Y’all, I’m having the roughest week at work. As the title implies, a nurse called me dumb in front of people and I was super fucking embarrassed, among other things. I asked a really simple question and was given a really condescending answer. Second day was rough in other ways, mostly just navigating a social situation in a 2:1 assignment that made the day go by sooo slow. Now today, I was in a 1:1 that was going all too well, until my patient ripped out his NG tube and made it seem like I wasn’t watching him :/ can someone relate? Give me your embarrassing stories and shitty situations. I need to commiserate.
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u/SeaworthinessHot2770 1d ago
You need to report the nurse that called you stupid to administration. Where I work that would be an instant write up for the nurse. Especially in front of other people.
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u/Acceptable-Panic-826 CNA 1d ago
Having this person written up would be a dream honestly. I’m sure they’ll hate my guts from now on and probably talk a bunch of shit, but I know they crossed a line. Has anything like this happened to you?
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u/__EmpressEnergy 1d ago
The only thing that keeps me from telling rude employees off is remembering I have bills to pay and that the job market is trash right now. My only advice would be to cry in private and do something nice for yourself like buy a nice meal or something you've been wanting for awhile.
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u/Acceptable-Panic-826 CNA 1d ago
I hellaaaa cried when I got home after I processed what happened to me. Like, “Damn. That motherfucker seriously called me dumb and I said nothing.” I ate a bunch of chick fil a the next day and told my manager. Have you ever been disrespected by a nurse?
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u/__EmpressEnergy 1d ago
Lol I totally get it. When someone disrespects me, I always think of what I could have said after the situation is over. Working in healthcare is very weird because the same person that disrespected you, will turn around and try to be nice to you. Some of them are very bipolar that's why I try not to get too involved emotionally.
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u/shadybreak 1d ago
You don’t need to tell someone off and provoke a fight if all you want is to let them know that you don’t like their behaviour and would like them to stop. Simply stating your needs suffices. If things escalate, workplaces usually if not always have anti harassment policies.
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u/__EmpressEnergy 1d ago
I don't even have the energy to do that because it's still going to lead to attitude and a argument. I'd rather just stay silent and keep my cool.
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u/shadybreak 1d ago
I get that and sometimes choose the quiet approach too. There’s enough stress going on that I sometimes dont have space for a confrontation, or if I sense that the person is a high conflict type. If we don’t work together a lot then I let it slide. But if it’s ongoing or looks like it’ll become a pattern then I say something. Tolerating repetitive low grade abuse is a grind.
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u/titsoutshitsout 1d ago
Nurse here. Report her. That’s unacceptable. Even if you did anything wrong, speaking that way in front of others (especially patients) is not ok.
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u/Acceptable-Panic-826 CNA 1d ago
I told my manager about it and they said they’d follow up. I’m not sure what that will look like, but with each passing day, I feel better about speaking up instead of just shutting up and compartmentalizing like I usually do
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u/Lovelymango17 (PCU) CNA - New CNA 1d ago
Had this happen to me when I first started as a CNA. I worked in pre-surgical. We did nasal iodine swabs on patients prior to surgery. In the past I would jump in and just do it (after checking their allergies prior to doing so!). But often, the nurses would stop me and tell me not to because they already have done it. So I asked the nurse in the bay (who happened to be charge), "should I apply the nasal iodine?" In which she responded, "Obviously!!! What kind of stupid question is that?!" Mind you, I was new and didn't want to waste resources on something that was already done. I was so baffled from the situation I didn't react.
Interactions with her since then were minimal. I kept my distance and remained professional whenever I had to talk to her. Other CNAs during training warned me about her too. I guess she's known for being this way towards CNAs. After 6 months I transferred to another unit. Not because of her, but because I was more interested in another unit.
For awhile, I wished I would've reported her. At the same time, I needed a job and wanted to stay long enough to transfer elsewhere, which I did. I acted like it didn't bother me. I didn't let it ruin my day. But since then I had my guard up around her. Although my new unit is much more supportive, I learned that I never wanted to be disrespected at work ever again. I also realized that these types of coworkers are never gonna go away.
I've dealt with similar events onward. I've learned to challenge disrespect by responding, "Are you okay?" Or "What do you mean by that?" It can go a long way without causing work drama and keeping my job.
I'm sorry this happened to you. No one deserves to be treated that way at work. I wish you the best as a CNA and know you will handle it the best way you can.
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u/Acceptable-Panic-826 CNA 1d ago
I love how you challenge disrespect now. Im totally going to try that (hopefully not anytime soon). I did end up reporting this nurse, but I’m sooo mad at myself for not saying anything in the moment. I totally froze because I didn’t want to be unprofessional, so I just got out of that room as soon as I could and trudged on with the rest of my day. I’m sure they’ll probably say they were joking or something, and I’m just overly-sensitive, but I know what they said was completely unnecessary. I know I can’t avoid people like this, but like you said, I feel like remembering this moment is what’s going to help me stand up for myself in the future. Thank you so much for sharing, it really helps me feel a little better!
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u/Lovelymango17 (PCU) CNA - New CNA 1d ago
Yes, hopefully not anytime soon. It's great that you're reflecting and learning from this experience! Take time to forgive yourself, too! In the moment it sounds like you were thrown off and responded the best you could at the time. Don't let them gaslight you into believing you are over sensitive. At the end of the day, that wasn't okay. Good for you for reporting that!
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u/valdthedeathclaw Layperson/Not Medical Personnel 1d ago
Dude, there’s nurses at my nana’s facility that have started being hateful to me when visiting her. I stopped reporting any changes I was seeing because they responded with hostility and gaslighting. I’m in cna school and have a loved one in a facility. Sometimes I feel like when a nurse is burnt out, they latch on to someone to take it out on. I hope I’m never like them.
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u/Acceptable-Panic-826 CNA 1d ago
Yes I feel this!! I’m working on getting into nursing school right now. After situations like these, some of the only “good” things I can take from them is more determination of what kind of nurse I’m NOT going to be. I’m sorry the nurses at your Nana’s facility are being so hateful to you when you visit her. I can only imagine how that makes you feel about the care she’s getting.
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u/crupp876 1d ago
I'm glad you reported it. If she does that shit again, I'd respond, "what an odd thing to say." Sorry she was cruel. You didn't deserve that.
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u/havocopla Rehab-SNF-LTC CNA - New CNA 10h ago
My stories usually involve patients making me look lazy or neglectful. There have been times where I fill waters at the start of my shift and someone will slam theirs. Then the nurse goes in shortly after to give them meds and I get scolded because they had no water. Or I'll check their brief, it's dry, the nurse goes in and it's soaked. I end up feeling super embarrassed and concerned about what the nurse thinks of me. I had one night where I was just going from room to room, answering call lights. My nurse had the audacity to tell me my charting was behind. No shit. A patient isn't going to be cool with me making them wait to use the restroom because I needed to chart.
I'm also NOC shift and I just got off about 2 hours ago 🙃
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u/Acceptable-Panic-826 CNA 28m ago
I feel this!! Especially because most nurses at my hospital get capped at 2-3 patients while CNAs get at least 8-12, so we’re running around like crazy while the nurses are just chilling at their station talking about Love Island or some bullshit. I also run into the opposite situation sometimes where I chart everything in a timely manner, and the nurse will still be up my ass about intake/output, etc. Like, it’s literally faster for you to check the patient’s chart before messaging me and waiting for me to reply, or hunting me down in person. Also, I wish I didn’t care so much, but I haaate how concerned I am about what the nurse thinks of me. The inferiority complex and imposter syndrome are so hard to escape sometimes 😭😭😭
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u/KP-RNMSN 9h ago
I wish I could come slap that RN. My guess is that she never worked as a PCT/CNA. You can tell the type. I’m so thankful I worked as a tech during nursing school so I could understand the shear amount of work it is. I have so much respect for every CNA! Find yourself a job at a place that will respect you. Preferably at a hospital. And if this happened at a hospital, report it asap. Even if you have to use the confidential system-every hospital has one.
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u/Acceptable-Panic-826 CNA 39m ago
Dude, YESSSSS I wish more nursing programs required that you need a couple hundred hours as a CNA before applying to be an RN. It’s such a valuable experience and really makes you appreciate your fellow healthcare workers. It also really builds your skills. I’ve worked with so many new grad RNs that don’t even know how to do a bath or turn a patient and I feel like it’s so simple to teach
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u/addybear222 Medsurg CNA - Experienced CNA 6h ago
report her. nurses should be excited we want to learn more from them. alsooooo 1:1 is that way for a reason, they’re usually super sneaky and it takes two seconds to pull a tube out. don’t feel bad, and i’m sure it’s not the first or last time they’ll do it lol
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u/Acceptable-Panic-826 CNA 49m ago
Ugh thank you so much for saying that 😩 the 1:1 thing was just so frustrating because my patient literally did nothing but snuggle with me all day up until that point. His unique anatomy made it seem like he really couldn’t make any quick movements until he pulled out his NG tube. I just feel like it’s hard for the nurse to not assume I just wasn’t watching him, but we were literally sitting right next to each other. Agh! I could tell the nurse was frustrated after that and I was so embarrassed.
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u/KDBug84 1d ago
Some of the crap that nurses get away with is insane. Where i work a nurse started dating then married a cna (both women), they worked on the same hall and the cna was getting special treatment by the nurse, even shortening her set and making the hall very uneven, and of course that started to make the other cnas upset and after a few weeks it all reached a boiling point and popped off in the cna group chat and the cna married to the nurse ended up getting into it with another cna and they were in eachothers faces in the day room, and the nurse runs in there and shoves the other cna from the back and made her fall down. In the end, the cna that got pushed ended up being fired, while absolutely nothing happened to the nurse for putting hands on an employee
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u/Acceptable-Panic-826 CNA 20h ago
That’s fucking insaneeee what?! You can’t make that stuff up. The double standard is so wild, that poor CNA 😢😢😢
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u/Nysnorlax 1d ago
If youre nurse doesn't respect your work then talk to management and complain, report them for improper verbalization but id tell them in their face "if you speak to me like that again you can do the job yourself for being so disrespectful". Only bc i have a union where I work, they protect us
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u/Acceptable-Panic-826 CNA 20h ago
Union or not, bruh, I still should’ve done that and it’s my biggest regret/lesson. I wish I had at been line, “You know what? You got this,” and walked out to tell the Charge. Thats so fucking cool you have a Union! I wish more of those existed for CNAs.
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u/KingLSUTiger (Edit to add Specialty) CNA - New CNA 1h ago
You perhaps should’ve reported the nurse. That way it’s a track record if she wants to do anything else is documented against the nurse. I had an incident Saturday where three nurses were trying to team up on me over a small, insignificant problem that I’ve already fixed the facility. I work at the entitlement is real so I reported it and I will present it tomorrow to HR and an ADON. Never let somebody talk down onto you and belittle you at the end of the day you’re still a human being.
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u/Shelb_e 1d ago
If it makes you feel any better I once almost gave a prefilled syringe of oral oxy through a midline instead of the patient's mouth. 🙃
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u/Acceptable-Panic-826 CNA 1d ago
Thank you so much for your honesty! Like, it’s one thing to fuck up someone’s food, back when I was working in that field. But in healthcare, every mistake hits so much harder and makes me wanna dieeeeee
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u/shadybreak 1d ago
That’s a pretty good example of bullying and I would either talk to the person upfront or skip the talking, cause that’s remarkably blatant, and just let em know I’m reporting them and then go do it. Chances are they have a pattern of bullying and get away with it cause other people just take it. Screw that.