what do CNA's do in a hospital?

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Hello everyone.... I was thinking about trying for a job at a hospital(I'm in fl.)and was wondering what do CNA's really do?Does it depened on the floor?The hospital that is hiring has MED/SURG and MED/ONCOLOGY.It is also hiring for things I have no clue what it is .Like OB SCURB TECH/CNA and TELEMETRY.If anyone can tell me what and how to do any of these things i'm sure it will help me decide on what to do. Thank you!!:wink2:

Specializes in LTC and all the floors at the hospital.

Just wanted to add that at my hospital all CNAs are called Hospital Assistants (not Techs) but their role differs depending on where they work. Our lift/transport HAs are trained to do EKGs on NOC shift. Nursing students can go from being an HA to an NT that does blood sugars, EKGs, etc. All other (regular) HAs do what I described above.

I think I'm at one of the few hospitals that calls their CNAs that!

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I work an a med-surg step down unit. I bath patients and assist them with toileting. I take vitals, collect specimens, do accuchecks, assist the RNs during dressing changes, and other misc tasks.

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Hey Cantwait.....try the Red Cross. I don't know where you're located, but the Red Cross here in Tampa Bay area offers classes at night starting at 6pm. Call your local chapter..I just completed the day class and the nursing homes and hospitals are pining for CNAs trained at the Red Cross. Good luck!!

Hi there...I am new to the forum and just wanted to add that I'm starting my CNA training tomorrow night with the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Red Cross. The process was simple and everyone in the Tampa branch was so very helpful and nice. To get started I had to pay for the course ($495 total, includes $100 deposit), get a Tuberculosis Test (done at the Take Care Clinic at Walgreens, $25), get a uniform (white pants, red top, white shoes)...there will be other fees later down the road (taking the test, background check, etc.) but all-in-all very reasonable I think.

I am so looking forward to tomorrow night!:yeah:

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Specializes in Emergency Medicine, Cardiac, Trauma.

I all depend on where you work and your management. I work in the ER at a hospital in KY and and do all the gerneral stuff, toileting, cleaning, EKGs and what not. I also have been trained and signed off to read heart monitor and EKGs, do phlabotamy, insert folys, pull iids. I have been trained to do these advanced skills. This is legal and i am insured to do them. I also have to do yearly compatencies to maintain my ability to do these things. If it were not for the paperwork I wold not be allowed to do such things and would not be covered if say someone got a util due to the cath. Anyone doing them needs to insure that they are covered to do so or if a malpracticve suit occurs you will be out on a line by yourself.

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I'm a CNA student right now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that we (CNA's) were NOT allowed to insert/remove foleys???

That was the same thing I was taught during my CNA training.

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Specializes in Sec/Tech.

I was taught in my NAI course that CNA's could only clean foleys. However hospitals are allowed to give NA's advanced training and competency test them to do other tasks (an example our instructor used is administer enemas). They cannot do it outside the hospital, only inside and only if they are deemed competent.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg.

Allow me to contrast a nursing home with a Med/Surg floor, as I have worked on both. I will be going by day shift.

Nursing Home

- Get residents washed up, changed, in their wheelchairs

- Breakfast

- Get residents back to bed, changed

- Blink

- Get residents up, changed

- Lunch

- Get residents down, changed

- Hopefully finish your assignment and let evening shift take over

Med/Surg

- Ask patients if they would like to sit in the chair for breakfast, get anything else they need

- Breakfast

- Daily Hygeine (can range from anywhere to total dependents to ad-libs who do it themselves)

- 1000 vitals

- Lunch

- "Quiet Time" till dinner; 1400 vitals

- Dinner

- 1800 vitals

- Night shift arrives

And in between all this you will be answering call lights, getting admits and discharges, etc.

Workload on Med/Surg tends to be lighter, but the shifts are usually 12 hours.

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Hi evening,

How long have you had your license and what state do you work in? Your profile says "brand new CNA" so I was just curious.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg.

Have had my license for only a month, but started working in a nursing home in February. Orientation for Med/Surg is coming to a close; I've been there for about three weeks.

I live in Maine. Our Med/Surg floor has only 32 beds, but this being the only hospital in the whole county, we often get crowded and you run into some interesting patients.

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have had my license for only a month, but started working in a nursing home in february. orientation for med/surg is coming to a close; i've been there for about three weeks.

i live in maine. our med/surg floor has only 32 beds, but this being the only hospital in the whole county, we often get crowded and you run into some interesting patients.

oh you had prior experience in a nursing home; no wonder you got a job so quickly! a lot of the new cna's here in florida are having a hard time finding jobs. everyone keeps hollering about the nursing shortage down here but none of the medical facilities seem to wanna hire a new nurse or cna.

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oh you had prior experience in a nursing home; no wonder you got a job so quickly! a lot of the new cna's here in florida are having a hard time finding jobs. everyone keeps hollering about the nursing shortage down here but none of the medical facilities seem to wanna hire a new nurse or cna.

i just got a job at orlando health hospital system and i have no previous experience as a cna, i am actually an emt basic. i got interviews and offers with both florida hospital and orlando health but decided to go with orlando health due to their pay rate and the floor (med/sur).

it did take me a while of filling out applications(about 3 months doing 3-5 applications everyweek) for pct before i got a call though, so don't give up it takes time!

i start my orientation tomorrow but from reading about other people that have worked in med/sur floors i am really excited to get working on the floor (although my emt training was very different from a cna training so there are a lot of things that i will have to learn fast)

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Really, I've been told that it depends on what floor you work on. But I've been told that its almost the same as working in LTC but you are able to do more things. As far as sope of practice being in a hospital, We were told in class that in the state I'm in if a nurse delegate's the to the aid and the aid has been taught that skill that they can do it but the RN's lic is on the line if something happens.

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