I work part time as a CNA at a Healthcare facility on the weekends.
I drive around and do personal care for patients, which have just been released
from the hospital. I enjoy working with elderly patients because; they have
very interesting stories to tell you about the past. Two of my patients live on
the same street and I was suppose to see them at different times of the day,
one in the morning and the other one in the afternoon. Both are elderly and could not understand why
I was not seeing them both in the morning. I totally agreed and went into the
office to speak to my supervisor about the situation I was in because; I also
did not want to come all the way back, to where I had just left.
She told me in so many words that I would have to do it that way
so, everyday I had to try and make them understand that it was not my decision
and I had to continue to do it this way. This bothered me because; I did not want
to hurt anyone’s feeling. I decided to go and talk with my supervisor’s
supervisor, who immediately understood and changed the schedule seeing both of
them in the morning. My supervisor felt I should not have done that and I told
her it was not personal; I was concerned about my patients care. We are not as
close as we were but, I think our relationship is better this way.
The first strategy I should
have used was Nonviolent Communication skills that details personal
responsibility for our actions and the choices we make when we respond to
others, as well as how to contribute to relationships based in cooperation and
collaboration. For example, I think my approach
was somewhat forceful and maybe I could have done it differently. I could have
suggested we talk with her supervisor because; maybe it was not her decision to
make. I should have suggested either morning or afternoon for both to be seen, which
could have been a compromise for both of them. I could have used some of the
principles of nonviolent communication to better help me resolve this conflict.
My second strategy is to have refrained from how I expressed myself in that
situation and the way I perceived the conversation to be. NVC says we should
express ourselves with honesty and clarity, while at the same time paying others
a respectful and empathic attention ( cnvc.org).
All right colleagues, give me your honest
opinions, I would love to hear what you think I should have done in this
situation. Thanks I think, because I have not heard any answers yet.
The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). Retrieved from
