Since when are nurse aides not supposed to AIDE the nurses??

Nursing Students CNA/MA

Published

Specializes in Alzheimers and geriatric patients.

Hey guys-

Major drama at the LTC i work at last weekend. I came on a hall for second shift at 2:00. At 2:15 a nurse came up to me all ****** off saying that a residents family had seen the woman's roomate sitting in a pool of liquid and that it had been 3 hours, and she was still sitting in it. Well 1st off, i had only been on that hall for 15 minutes but i was like OKay, i'll change her, no biggie. Well that should have been the end of it, but a few minutes later the ADON comes at me and asks where the other CNA on the hall was. I told her the girl was helping the nurse with A wound irragation. The ADON proceded to pull me and this girl into the shower room and yell at us that the reason the woman from earlier hadn't been changed was because this girl had been busy with the nurse and we weren't supposed to be helping the nurses with treatments. I tried to explain that that had nothing to do with anything, that the woman was left unchanged from day shift. WEll then the ADON went and apparently yelled at the nurse for asking for help with this residents treatment! I couldnt believe this happened. If i'm busy i'll let the nurse know and usually they'll get alternative help, but we weren't busy that day. THe woman was unchanged from day shift and i had just started a hall check and hadnt gotten to this woman.

Anyways- has anyone else ever been told they aren't supposed to assist nurses? Aren't we nurse aides?

I just need to rant because i'm totally fed up with the shady ethics, etc of my LTC. THanks for listening and posting!!

The world of ltc, its got so many downsides.

First the adon was wrong and wayyyy off base. Second if it was three hours, why did they sit there and wait three hours? If they were such good people after the first few maybe ten even 20 minutes max they should have gone out and said that she needed to be changed. So they raise a stink then? In my mind they were as bad as day shift that didn't check her.

We are supp to assist nurses. If you get to help in procedures you're lucky. I once had an rn who upon discovering a resident on the floor bleeding, found it demeaning to actually help the woman up! She told us to do it and then left the procedure unfinished until we the cnas pointed it out.

It wasn't about the nurse getting help from the CNA, it was about the family noting it and putting the facility on the spot. Looks like a DON should be redirecting her comments to those who are not doing their job. All you could do was get her cleaned up and you did.

Specializes in LTC.
I once had an rn who upon discovering a resident on the floor bleeding, found it demeaning to actually help the woman up! She told us to do it and then left the procedure unfinished until we the cnas pointed it out.

That sounds like my charge nurse. She looks down her nose at anyone who isn't an RN. She would do the same thing- walk down the hall and look for us and then tell us that so-and-so needs to be helped up instead of doing it herself. And she would use a tone of voice implying that we're a-holes for not telepathically knowing what happened.

That sounds like my charge nurse. She looks down her nose at anyone who isn't an RN. She would do the same thing- walk down the hall and look for us and then tell us that so-and-so needs to be helped up instead of doing it herself. And she would use a tone of voice implying that we're a-holes for not telepathically knowing what happened.

Unfortunately, it seems like there's one of those at every facility, on every shift. It's one of my pet peeves. At a former workplace, I had a nurse who would come into other rooms to find us and tell us that so and so wanted a washcloth. And, she'd have to pass the linen closet to tell us. Or she'd come in when we were in the middle of cleaning up a huge mess and tell us that someone wanted a box of kleenex, and when we came into the hall, she'd be chatting with another nurse about where she was going on her vacation.

She was the same one who would make us get her vitals for her, even though that facility did not allow CNAs to do vitals, only nurses.

Specializes in Alzheimers and geriatric patients.

All the higher ups at my facility are like that! THe med techs are pretty cool and most of the floor nurses, but the head nurses are just hateful! The funny thing is, that my ADON usually stays in an office but one day a few weeks back she got pulled to the floor, and I helped HER do 2 treatments, and do routine vitals! Can anyone say HYPOCRITE!!!!

She drives me crazy. I mean i put so much into my job, and to be yelled at because someone else dropped the ball just really kills me. It actually kinda hurts my feelings. I know, i'm a wimp!!

Specializes in Alzheimers and geriatric patients.
That sounds like my charge nurse. She looks down her nose at anyone who isn't an RN. She would do the same thing- walk down the hall and look for us and then tell us that so-and-so needs to be helped up instead of doing it herself. And she would use a tone of voice implying that we're a-holes for not telepathically knowing what happened.

LOL!! I hate when they come to tell you stuff, and i'm like "well why didn't you help them, if you are so superior to little old me?"

I actually had a resident fall and smack his head so we got the nurse and after she asked if he felt fine she was like whatever and left me and a 105 pound nurse aide to pick this huge man up. We got him up fine but she could have atleast OFFERED to help. not to mention she didn't even check him out. just relied on the word of an alzheimers patient that he felt fine!

Somedays i can hardly drag myself into that place.:o

Specializes in LTC, Home Health.

I agree with Itsmyturn. The family made a stink, the DON was put on the spot, so on and so fourth. Happened at my job all the time. The LPN's and CNA's were spread thin everyday. If one helped the other, and got a little backed up, there would surely be a stink from somone, especially if it's visiting ours.

We are supposed to aide each other, although many times it does'nt happen. You did the right thing. There's not much else you can do if the previous shift neglected to do their job.

What does DON stand for?

What does DON stand for?

Director of Nursing. Basically, the boss.

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