I am a new travel CNA and just started a new contract. It’s an eight-week contract, and I get $1300 a week. I thought this was good pay until I learned that the facility pays me $12 an hour, and the rest of the money is for housing and food. It’s not terrible, but it still doesn’t feel right.
Anyways, I was told by my recruiter last week that I start on August 22nd. They never explained how I was supposed to clock in and out, my schedule, and if I had any paperwork, I had to fill out before I worked. So August 22nd came, and because I was confused, I called the facility to figure out what time I was supposed to go in. No one knew I was supposed to work. I told them my recruiter told me I started today, and they told me to come in. I didn’t have any orientation or paperwork to fill out when I came in. They just put me on the floor and told me to get the residents up even though I don’t know them or their routines. There were significant issues with safety, such as the lifts, slings, beds, and other equipment being old and outdated. Whenever I had questions or was confused about what to do, there was NO ONE there to help me out. Every other CNA or nurse would be outside smoking or standing in a hidden area talking to each other. At the end of my shift, I asked the DON and HR what my schedule was, to which they replied, “your agency should tell you that.” Whatever. So, I called my recruiter because I had no clue what my schedule was, and no one answered. I called three times, left a message, and emailed them about how frustrated I was because of the lack of communication.
Today I received an email from the recruiter telling me I have documents (drug test, I9, TB test, etc.) I must complete it before they make my schedule and I start working. They also told me they tried calling me, but I didn’t respond, which is a LIE. They never called me.
Another thing that happened today was the facility called me and told me I was on their schedule to work today. I asked them how I was on the schedule when I hadn’t even told them my schedule, and they just hung up on me.
Right now, I’m choosing not to fill out those documents and get the tests I need because I want to terminate my contract and stop working with this agency. There is no communication, and I feel highly disrespected. I just don’t know the repercussions if I ended the contract this early. Any advice?