[WitchyRN]

Originally Posted by methylene

I disagree, You can generalize.

Roles that require significant dedication to education and training are going to weed out anyone technically competent to perform the role but isn't sufficiently ambitious or motivated to do so.

You don't tend to see a lot of lazy advanced practice nurses, doctors, lawyers, and so on- they've all had to dedicate a huge chunk of their time and limited resources to achieve their goals and as a result aren't prone to being "lazy" at their jobs.

On the other hand, with the exception of people just starting out in an industry, anyone that maintains a job with minimal education and training requirements and has little desire or motivation to further their education is significantly more likely to be lazy.

I can say with n= close to 20 that some of the laziest people I've ever met are those in low end jobs for many years simply coasting by life doing the bare necessary to pay bills. Many such people were nurse's aides-- I know, because I worked with them as an aide for over three years and I had to pick up their abundant slack.

Many of the aides I've worked with that I respected for their dedication and care have gone on to nursing school and many are now nurses with the same level of dedication and care.

I think you are very brave to express your theory in this age of coddling everyone's feelings. I have seen some career CNAs that are awesome but I've seen more of the behavior you describe ie..doing the bare minimum with no interest in furthering skills or education. If some of them spent as much time on education as they do on their cell phones, then they'd be PhDs by now. Granted, I'm sure money is a factor sometimes but many of us have worked their way up the ladder with sacrifice and determination.

I stated this before in the other post, but they need to up the standards and training for CNAs- but with a nice pay raise to go along with it.

[kcochrane]

Originally Posted by NancyNurse08

Back to the OP. Yes, I have seen this behavior. There are some CNAs who are lazy. Some CNAs are burnt out. Some CNAs have no idea just how much the nurse has to juggle. Then there are the wanna be nurse CNAs.

I think, with a CNA like this, ask nicely, and if they give you grief, get firm. You have to not care about being liked by them. If they still give you grief, then you need to report the insubordination.

I think that was my initial problem. I wanted to be liked by everyone. Well as a leader, not everyone is going to like you and they may not even respect you. But as leaders we need to make sure our residents are taken care of. I answer to someone, just as my CNA answers to me if tasks don't get done. We all answer to someone.
I do think a big part of it is that some do not understand what a nurse has to do. There are also some that just don't want to work..period. And of course those people come in every job description as someone else mentioned. But when that type of person is taking care of your residents, and risking your license, it is really tough.

[wsuchic1]

I think if we're all really honest with one another, we'll admit that every hospital, every nursing home, and every clinic (worldwide) has lazy CNAs/PCTs/PCAs, as well as lazy, LPNS/RNs/APNs.

I am a full-time PCT/full-time nursing student and I work my *** off each and every shift, come home, sleep for 2 hrs, go to school/clinicals, come home and study, and then go back to work to work my *** off some more.

Just a few hours ago, I had to continuously track my patient's RN down so that he could receive 1 Percocet. Each and every time I caught up with the nurse to remind her that the patient was in pain and needed his meds, I found her at the nursing station (not busily charting or frantically gathering labs to report to the impatient MD on the phone) chatting it up with one of her RN buddies.

So, in conclusion, the "lazy employee" can be found on all nursing levels...no matter the pedigree, no matter the title, no matter the education.

[wsuchic1]

Oh, and by the way-

One of my pet peeves as a PCT is when a RN speaks to me as if I dropped out of school at the age of 5 and just learned to speak English 2 hours ago.

I believe that with some RNs and other staff members--not all--the assumption is that just because the job is an entry-level position that PCTs are uneducated.

I say this not to come across as better than or conceited--I say this only to make my point-- but I have more education than alot of the RNs on my unit. I have a Bachelor's degree in another field and am currently in a BSN program.

The sad fact is that alot of times some of the RNs that I work with don't even bother to treat me as a fellow human being until they find out where I graduated and what program I'm in.

[Ms Kylee]

We're all overworked, underpaid, stressed out and burnt out. Short staffing is rampant on my floor.

I also have one aide that calls off usually 3 out of the 4 days she's scheduled to work, so we're working 1 tech short. Last night, there were 3 of us on evenings, and 2 of them got pulled at 7:00.

Yes, there are some that are lazy. There are also ones that run their bums off all shift and get nothing but grief from the nurses. What bugs me is if I'm running my butt off and a nurse that I'm not working with asks me to do something because they can't find their tech... and they get snotty with me when I tell them I'm in the middle of something and I'll get to it when I get this task done. I don't mind helping, but I can't drop everything and come this minute sometimes.

[NancyNurse08]

Originally Posted by wsuchic1

So, in conclusion, the "lazy employee" can be found on all nursing levels...no matter the pedigree, no matter the title, no matter the education.

That is a given. As adult human beings, many of us have life experience prior to entering nursing, and are well aware of this fundamental fact of human nature. This is not what the original post is about. The original post is about a specific situation.

Delegation is an integral component of being an RN. We are taught about the Five Rights of Delegation in nursing school, and when we get into the real world of nursing, we must delegate in order to keep our heads above water.

Many CNAs do not seem to understand this. Some CNAs do understand this, but don't care about how their lack of work ethic affects the nurse, and thus, patient care. Of course, if I don't want my post to be quoted and everyone be reminded for the three millionth time that not all CNAs are like that, I must insert the obligatory disclaimer that not all CNAs are like that and perhaps even go one step beyond and say how much I appreciate all the hard working CNAs out there, and maybe even add a smiley like this or this .

Just last night, I was blessed with the Amazing Disappearing CNA. I had a busy admit, who came in from another hospital on a heparin drip, and since the other hospital's heparin was a different concentration than ours, and all the tubing was different and incompatible with our pumps, the bag of heparin and all the tubing had to be changed. Plus the patient needed to be assessed, weighed, vitals taken, tele applied, admission assessment, medication list, etc. In the next bed was a gentleman who needed his JP pulled. Down the hall I had a lady who couldn't breathe. In the next room, a man who thought we were saving his urine to flush his IV with. All of my meds were due, and I was pulling the JP, when the patient said he needed to be cleaned up and would like to go for a walk.

Yes, I tried to "track down" the CNA to clean up the patient and walk him. I had so much on my plate that I needed to delegate this. However, she had disappeared. Gone. Poof. Nobody knew where she was. She had already had her dinner break and had returned. Maybe she was in the bathroom? For an hour? I don't know. At any rate, I had to clean up the patient, but I told him I could not walk him at that time. When I finally saw the CNA again, I delegated that task to her.

Even with delegating that one task, I still did not get my dinner break. I was far too busy. Part of the reason I was so busy was covering call lights while the CNAs were at dinner.

All I had to eat was a cookie before my shift started, and a cup of Pepsi on my way out the door so I'd have the energy to ride my bike home.

And this is with a four to one ratio. I cannot *imagine* how those of you with six or more do it.

[Mave RN]

Having a lazy anything affects the care a pt gets no matter what position the person holds.

If you have a lazy doctor, the pt suffers immensely. I have seen doctors do their "assessments" from the doorway and then write in the progress notes that "pt to be d/c'd" and have that same pt code a few hours later.

If you have a lazy NP, both the doctor and the NP mistreat this pt, and the pt sufferes.

If you have a lazy nurse, the pt is even greatly affected because we are the eyes and ears of the doctors, and if we dont' do our jobs, the pts die, plain and simple.

If you have a lazy tech, pts take much longer to heal. If a pt gets very little hygiene help, then that pt's time to heal will be extended ten-fold. I have seen a pt get a UTI because this particular tech refused to clean the pt's privates because "the foley was there. I was scared it was going to come out." Exact words.

If you have a lazy dietary delivery person, the pt doesn't eat on time or ever. This also affects pt care.

If you have a lazy cleaning tech, the pt lives in filth. God knows there are a ton of things that go on the floor: food, meds, trash, bodily fluids. If these were never cleaned in a timely matter, again, pt care suffers.

My point is that everyone has a role to play and that role is key. Maybe one position has a bit more authority and responsibility than the other, but they are all important. We are a vital team for pts. We are there for them and only them. If one position is lazy, then everything else, more importantly the pt, is affected.

So, in a way, we're all slaves because we are all assigned to these pts and must give the best care possible in order to help the pt heal. No position is more important than another. The only real person that matters is the pt, and that's who we need to look out for. If there are people in the care team who are not doing their jobs, then they need to be counseled about it.

[Leaninstreet]

Screw lazy aids and lazy nurses. We are a team and should all help each other out. Anyone who isn't doing their job should be put in their place.

[wsuchic1]

Hey Mave RN-

I know this is totally off topic but I think we all grasp the theme of how important it is to work as a team...yadda, yadda, yadda.

I think this thread could use some positive air...

I love your alias quote about living life to the fullest! I'm a quote junkey and that one is definitely going in my collection ; )

[Mave RN]

Originally Posted by wsuchic1

Hey Mave RN-

I know this is totally off topic but I think we all grasp the theme of how important it is to work as a team...yadda, yadda, yadda.

I think this thread could use some positive air...

I love your alias quote about living life to the fullest! I'm a quote junkey and that one is definitely going in my collection ; )

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound redundant. *blushes* I just wanted to point out that everyone's important.

Thanks!! I saw the quote and I just had to put it in!!!