I’m looking for honest opinions from people who work in healthcare, especially CNAs and people who work in developmental disability facilities.
I work at a state-run facility caring for residents with developmental disabilities. I’ve received several memos and two counseling sessions, and I’m starting to wonder whether this amount of discipline is normal or whether I’m being treated unfairly.
I’m not saying I’ve never made mistakes. I know I have, and I understand that resident safety, hygiene, and documentation are serious responsibilities. What bothers me is that I feel like some situations have been blown out of proportion, important context has been left out, or I’ve been held responsible for things that weren’t entirely within my control.
I want to explain the situations because I feel like the context matters.
1. My first memo: a coworker who was supposed to train me
During my first weekend, I had a coworker who was supposed to help train me and work alongside me. From the beginning, she was hostile toward me and frequently disappeared.
At one point, I needed to use a Hoyer lift and had to call a supervisor to come and second me because my assigned coworker wasn’t available to help. Apparently, the supervisor said something to her about it, and she became angry.
From that point forward, I felt like she consistently tried to get me in trouble. She would frequently call supervisors about things I was doing, including using what she considered too many wipes and gloves and taking too long to change a resident.
I eventually received a memo for supposedly not working as a team. From my perspective, I was trying to do my job and get the help I needed to provide safe care, while the person who was supposed to train me wasn’t being supportive.
2. A memo for accidentally wiping a resident the wrong way
Early in my employment, when turning a resident over, I would sometimes begin wiping in the wrong direction out of habit. I caught myself and corrected what I was doing.
The same coworker reported the incident, and I received a memo.
I’m not claiming what I did was correct. I understand why proper pericare matters, especially for preventing infections. My frustration was that I made a mistake, caught myself, and felt like the incident was escalated into a much bigger issue, particularly given the history with this coworker.
3. A memo for charting mistakes
I received another memo for supposedly missing some items while charting. The thing is, I remember charting the items they said were missing, so I’ve wondered whether there was a system issue or some other explanation.
My understanding was that employees had a seven-day grace period to correct charting errors. There was also a situation where multiple employees were written up for charting mistakes after that period had passed.
I understand accurate charting is important, but I questioned why the issue was being handled this way, especially when I believed I had completed the documentation.
4. A counseling because a resident ate cookies
A resident who was supposed to be on a puréed diet got into the kitchen and ate a bunch of cookies while I was showering another resident.
Before I took the resident to shower, the resident who ate the cookies was fine. I needed help getting the other resident into the bath, and once that resident was in the bath, I couldn’t leave them unattended.
Another coworker was present. I felt that they should have been monitoring the other resident while I was occupied with hands-on care.
I received a counseling over this incident. I understand that a resident accessing food they aren’t supposed to have is a safety concern. I’m not arguing otherwise. My frustration is that I was occupied providing care that I couldn’t safely abandon, and I felt the responsibility was placed on me without adequately considering the other staff member’s role.
5. A separate incident involving a resident fall and an allegation that I didn’t report it
This was a separate, isolated incident, but it’s another situation where I feel like what actually happened wasn’t accurately represented.
Management made it seem like I hadn’t reported a resident’s fall, but I did.
At the time, I was trying to keep the resident safe because they wouldn’t stay on the ground when I tried to get them to remain there. My supervisor was working down the hall, so I asked them to get Nursing. I then spoke directly with Nursing and documented what happened. I also contacted Risk Management, documented the incident with them, and completed the required incident paperwork.
I believe the paperwork I filled out may have gotten lost, but I did complete it. I also documented the incident in the appropriate charting.
What frustrates me is that the situation was treated as though I hadn’t reported the fall, even though I remember taking these steps. I understand how important fall reporting and documentation are, and I’m not saying the paperwork shouldn’t be accounted for. I’m saying there’s a difference between failing to report an incident and reporting it through the appropriate channels when the paperwork may subsequently have gone missing.
I felt like the steps I took at the time weren’t adequately considered when the incident was reviewed.
6. Ongoing issues with dayshift and my most recent counseling
This is where I feel like the situation has become particularly frustrating.
There’s a dayshift coworker who, from my perspective, hasn’t liked me since I started working there. She frequently brings things to the boss, and I feel like she’s constantly looking for mistakes.
Some examples include being criticized for overstocking supplies, not folding towels the way she wanted them folded, and other small things. It feels like there’s always something new.
There has also been a focus on documenting residents who have dirty briefs when dayshift comes in.
I typically have seven residents to change on my own. It takes me around 30 minutes to get through everyone because I take my time with their care. Many of these residents have bowel or bladder incontinence, so someone can be clean when I change them and then have another bowel movement while I’m working on the next resident.
Recently, this coworker checked a resident approximately 20–25 minutes after I had changed her and found that she had a hard bowel movement in her brief. The situation was reported, and I received counseling.
This particular resident had also been experiencing health issues and wasn’t drinking much water. I wondered whether that could have contributed to the hard stool. I’m not trying to diagnose the resident or use that as an excuse; I’m explaining why I don’t think the bowel movement itself proves I failed to provide care.
I understand residents need to be checked and changed promptly. If I need to change my routine, I am willing to do that. But I had already changed this resident and was still completing care for the other six. I can’t change everyone simultaneously or predict exactly when someone will have another bowel movement.
There was also another incident involving this same general issue and being asked to come back inside after I had clocked out.
I was scheduled to get off at 6:15 AM, but I was already about 10 minutes past my scheduled end time. Dayshift had checked a resident around 6:00 AM and said they were okay.
Approximately 20–25 minutes after that check, I was already at the door when a coworker started yelling for me to come back inside because the resident had a bowel movement in their brief and needed to be changed.
I went back inside to help, even though I was already past my scheduled end time and had clocked out. They were also upset that I had left bedding on the floor. I had told them they could start the laundry because I had already returned to help with the resident-care issue.
What frustrated me was that the resident had been checked shortly beforehand, I had already stayed past my scheduled end time, and I still came back to help. I felt like I was being treated as though I had done something wrong rather than being acknowledged for returning to assist.
I also feel like dayshift staff are frequently late themselves, yet I’m being criticized over situations like this even when I’ve already stayed past my scheduled end time.
I’m not sure whether all these incidents are connected, but together with the repeated nitpicking, they have made me feel like I’m constantly under scrutiny.
What I’m trying to figure out
I genuinely like my job, and I want to be good at it. I understand that mistakes happen in healthcare and that residents’ safety comes first. I’m not expecting to be immune from correction.
But I feel like several incidents have been presented without the full context, and I’ve been disciplined for situations where I wasn’t the only staff member involved or where the circumstances weren’t entirely within my control.
I’m also concerned about the difference between constructive coaching and repeatedly documenting every mistake, especially when the same coworkers seem to be involved in reporting me.
For those of you with healthcare experience:
Is receiving this many memos and counseling sessions relatively early in a job normal?
Do these situations sound like reasonable grounds for discipline, or does the overall pattern seem excessive?
How would you handle having seven residents to care for when a resident can have another bowel movement shortly after being changed?
How would you handle coworkers who seem to report every small mistake?
Is being asked to return after clocking out to handle a resident-care issue normal, and what should I do if it happens again?
Would you speak to HR about the overall pattern, or would you approach this differently?
I’m genuinely looking for honest feedback. If there are things I need to improve, I want to know. I’m just trying to determine whether this is a normal part of working in healthcare or whether the way these situations are being handled is unreasonable.
