[VickyRN]

The topic of this thread is Medication Aides, not ADN versus BSN (which has been debated extensively here at AllNurses). Please, let's keep this thread on topic. Thank you.

[earle58]

for the life of me, i do not understand why ceo's/administration do not see the bottom line.
it's not the $$ savings by hiring unlicensed staff; but rather the potential and actual loss of life, the cost of adverse outcomes, perpetual turnover of staff, and the poor quality of care these residents receive despite the exorbitant rates being paid to live in one of these facilities.
why does everyone else realize this except them?
again, it's another slap in the face to the role of nurses, whose role(s) are being demeaned by agencies and top brass, who will never appreciate the responsibilities we hold.
and again, the biggest slap to all who are recipients in the healthcare system.
i just need to understand: what the hell are they thinking?????

[Marie_LPN, RN]

.

[PANurseRN1]

That's just it...they're not thinking. It's just proof that you don't necessarily have to have a functioning brain to make it to the top of the managerial food chain. You just need to be able to make your facility have huge profit margins. You do that by slashing skilled, educated staff and replacing them with marginally trained people who have zero accountability. You just need to keep a token licensed nurse or two; that way if something goes wrong, you have someone to blame.

[lindarn]

Originally Posted by earle58

for the life of me, i do not understand why ceo's/administration do not see the bottom line.
it's not the $$ savings by hiring unlicensed staff; but rather the potential and actual loss of life, the cost of adverse outcomes, perpetual turnover of staff, and the poor quality of care these residents receive despite the exorbitant rates being paid to live in one of these facilities.
why does everyone else realize this except them?
again, it's another slap in the face to the role of nurses, whose role(s) are being demeaned by agencies and top brass, who will never appreciate the responsibilities we hold.
and again, the biggest slap to all who are recipients in the healthcare system.
i just need to understand: what the hell are they thinking?????

They don't see the light because they are too busy trying to bribe our elected officials into passing "tort reform", which, once passed gives them a green light to understaff, and have unsafe working conditions, all they like. It never sees to amaze me how gullible people are. JMHO, and my $0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN
Spokane, Washington

[VickyRN]

That's just it...they're not thinking. It's just proof that you don't necessarily have to have a functioning brain to make it to the top of the managerial food chain. You just need to be able to make your facility have huge profit margins. You do that by slashing skilled, educated staff and replacing them with marginally trained people who have zero accountability. You just need to keep a token licensed nurse or two; that way if something goes wrong, you have someone to blame.

Exactly. And the excuse for this deskilling and deprofessionalizing of nursing is the "nursing shortage."

[pa0723]

I agree with you. These people are paying top dollar, and we owe them. But what is the state of PA, and other states using med-techs thinking? CNA's are great, they really are the back bone of nursing support, but because they are trained and they know what they are doing. When I think of the hoops that RN''s have to jump through just to get into school's it knocks me out. Let's face it, one RN or LPN on the floor cannot be at four or more stations at one time. They are not only risking their license, they are risking a law suit and possilbe jail time. I will not ever work as an RN in a place where. There are med techs. I don't blame the facilities, I blame the state.

[Nursedebra43]

I am an RN who is a healthcare administrator in an assisted living facility and an adjunct faculty instructor for the medication aide program. As such, obviously I am in favor of training medication aides. The primary safety issue is that medication adies are only to pass medications to a stable and predictable population. The safeguards are put in place by the RN who oversees the process.

To illustrate my point, an 80 year old man who has been on his medications for 20 years but often forgets to take them is not receivng the best medication therapy. A medication aide can safely administer the medications he usually forgets, within parameters set by the RN, and he then improves because he is actually getting the therapy the MD has ordered.

The problem comes in when the patient population is not stable and/or predictable and med aides are not properly supervised by the RN.

I think that medication aides are the way to go with an increasing elderly population and a decreasing workforce.

Originally Posted by WhimsieRN

I forgot to add that med aides in MD are licensed through the BON.

CERTIFIED....there's a BIG difference! RN's and LVN's are the only licensed health care providers in the nursing profession. All other allied health care providers can be certified but not licensed.

[pa0723]

Originally Posted by Nursedebra43

I am an RN who is a healthcare administrator in an assisted living facility and an adjunct faculty instructor for the medication aide program. As such, obviously I am in favor of training medication aides. The primary safety issue is that medication adies are only to pass medications to a stable and predictable population. The safeguards are put in place by the RN who oversees the process.

To illustrate my point, an 80 year old man who has been on his medications for 20 years but often forgets to take them is not receivng the best medication therapy. A medication aide can safely administer the medications he usually forgets, within parameters set by the RN, and he then improves because he is actually getting the therapy the MD has ordered.

The problem comes in when the patient population is not stable and/or predictable and med aides are not properly supervised by the RN.


I think that medication aides are the way to go with an increasing elderly population and a decreasing workforce.

Medication aides have no clue as to what they are giving. An elderly woman had diarreha for 2 weeks and could not figure out why, I saw that a med aide was giving her colace every morning and every night. Meds that need to be taken on an empty stomach are being given after meals for convenience, and when residents say the purple pill is making her sick they aides have stopped the prilosec instead of the percoset. Elderly patients may not be clearing their pain meds, and the aides are insisting they take them. I literally picked one resident up off the floor, and she had to be sent out to the hospital. I could go on and on, but with so little training and so little to loose the aides don't care, don't understand, can not assess the clients,and want to pass meds because the do not have to get up and do anything physical. They refuse to give baths, or to push wheelchaires. It is just any easy job for them, and easy come, easy go. Please look at my new thread "Loosing sleep..."


Sorry about my typo's, I have taken a sleeping pill that is not quite working.