Getting put as an nurses' aid on shifts.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2015

Some people will have the urge to shout you down for admitting that you dislike working as a nurses aide, but I totally understand how you feel. I also dislike the more mundane tasks of bathing, toileting, feeding, transferring, grooming, and so on, even if they are all included in my scope of practice.

However, my stress level decreases when I work as an aide because I can simply say "Let me tell the nurse" whenever a demanding patient or difficult family member wants to monopolize my time. Therefore, I look at the bright side and try to make the best out of a sticky situation.

westieluv · Jan 23, 2015

Two things:

First of all, at least in the state where I worked in a hospital setting as an RN, we were not allowed to work outside of the role that we were hired for. As an RN, I was bound by my official job description within the organization not to work as an aide. I think it would be extremely difficult to work under my colleague who had the exact same credentials and job description as me. Sounds like a good way to cause dissention in the ranks, if you ask me.

Second of all, isn't this just making it that much easier for aides to call off if they don't feel like working? I mean, if you knew that there was someone on standby to take your place, it seems that it would be so easy to call off if you just wanted a day off, or a "mental health day" as we call them here in the U.S.

I think it sounds like a bad idea, and I would not be a happy camper if I was a nurse in that type of situation.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Jan 23, 2015

A nurse can do an aide's job but the aide cannot do the nurse job. So we might call in a nurse if we need extra help but they will be assigned patients. The difference is that there will be no one to do the aide work. The nurse does it. In my state the licensed person is still liable regardless of what the title of the day happens to be. The licensed person acting as an aide would be as responbile for the patient as the primary nurse. So it makes more sense to call off the aide and bring in another nurse, even though we are paying more for the nurse.

OP: Are you paid more than the aide? If so, that would be an advantage to you in some way.

allnurses Guide · Jan 23, 2015

We don't come in specifically as an aide here either. If they are short-staffed due to the one and only aide calling off sick and the floor is full, then a nurse will be called to see if he/she will work and the patients will be split up between the nurses. These nurses will then do the nurse and aide duties. Kinda like the ICU.

But coming in to work as an aide? No.

dexm · Jan 23, 2015

I've seen an RN assigned to be aide/PCT once - we had too many RNs scheduled and not enough aides/PCTs. Normally, the charge nurse would ask the RN if they want to go home since they aren't needed, and an aides/PCTs would be called to come in. That day I think the RN wanted to work, so they worked as an aide. It's not a regular thing though. If our unit doesn't have enough techs, either other techs are called in, we get techs from float pool, or we just don't have any techs for that shift. But we don't we don't call in RNs to be techs. I personally wouldn't mind working *a* shift as a tech as long as I was getting my regular RN pay, but it seems like a waste of money to the hospital to do this on the reg.

hybr1d · Jan 23, 2015

Oh, glad I haven't been shouted at yet! There's some who thinks it's bad nurses not wanting to take aides shifts but it's mostly the aids expressing it, at my workplace that is.

hybr1d · Jan 23, 2015

I wish it was like this here in Sweden! The nurses union say we can't say no to the direkt nursing care but don't need to do kitchen, cleaning etc but feels even worse making a point of this though I believe I will if it happens again. Exactly! It felt really awkward taking orders from a colleague. I guess one solution would be for the bosses to work out some routine of how work should be splitted if 2 nurses are put as a team.

hybr1d · Jan 23, 2015

I have my usual monthly plus extra for inconvenient hours so the same as if I was a nurse for the day. Our boss when I asked why I was put as an aide said that "Ohhh but it's not like that, it's more like 2 nurses", but everybody knows it doesn't work like that. More like fancy words. We have such a tight spot all hands on deck are needed. But I will bring it up with my boss that they should actually draft some real routines and make them known to stop the odd situations occurring right now.

Maremma · Jan 24, 2015

I get "pulled" to work as an aid too. Where I work though it is hardly "fair" and certainly not very smart how they decide "who" is getting pulled. (It is ALWAYS me if I am there that day. If I am ALREADY pulled and they need ANOTHER nurse to work as an aid THEN they pull only certain ones) It is not a matter of seniority (because at this point I now have seniority)or who is permanent full time (because I am the permanent full time 3-11 on my unit) vs part time or float or PRN. I worked as an aid before I got my LPN. Most of the other nurse's did not so they use that as justification for their insanity.

They will throw me on the floor as an aid and put a float or a PRN in my position that doesn't have the first clue what they are doing or what is going on and doesn't stand a snowballs chance in hell of keeping up. They will then expect me to not only work as the aid but ALSO do everything the fill in nurse can't manage to keep up with,all the treatments for my hall, stop what I am doing and go show her how to do whatever it is she can't figure out how to do or can't do because she is still passing meds and has the entire hall in the red.

THAT is the problem I have with them putting ME as the aid on the floor. My hall is extremely difficult as the second shift nurse all on its own but to then throw someone there that cannot stay afloat even is insane.It is even more difficult because the day shift nurse's they have in my hall at this time are on break more than they are working and leave all THEIR work for the second shift too. They simply say "its a 24 hour facility" as they smile and laugh going out the door. Hmm really? Cause third shift doesn't know how and refuses to learn how to do the brunt of the work. All the admissions come on second shift too. And the supposed second nurse for my hall for second shift is always the one that is pulled to fill in for call offs, other peoples days off, vacations and to do the 1 on 1 with behavioral residents.I actually have my partner maybe once eveyr other week if I am lucky(um she has had enough and is applying for other jobs. She will be gone right shortly too. She can afford to take a pay cut or fall back on her teaching degree) They don't even bother to attempt to cover any of that and simply use my partner as their convenient scheduling tool. Leaving just me to do the work of 2 nurses plus day shifts work and any and all admissions that role in. Yeah so throw a float in there and watch what happens to my hall:(

I do not mind in the sense that I am doing "aid work" I easily slide right into that role. I also do not have any issues with any of the aids being disrespectful to me trying to "be my boss". We are a team no matter what job I am doing that day. If you have that mentality all the time you are working as the nurse you will not have issues when you are working as an aid. Not to mention, tomorrow I am the boss again and I have a long memory.

I get paid LPN wage to work as an aid but I do not get paid double to do the work of two nurse's every day or the aid and nurse wage to do both those jobs at once. I do not get preceptor pay to have to constantly be training all the new people or fill ins. I am told that "it is just the way it is, get used to it".

Hahaha NO. And they wonder why they can't manage to keep second shift staff?

Dream Catcher · Jan 24, 2015

When we were short aids I have seen and participated in taking on all of the patient care. I did the job of the CNA and the nurse. I was never asked to work strictly as a CNA though, I have never heard of this until reading this post. Interesting. I would not be happy in that role and I would seek employment elsewhere. I was a CNA once. If I wanted to remain a CNA I would have. However, I have went to school for six years and still counting (still in school) and worked my butt off to become a RN. Why would an institution pay a RN wage for CNA work? That seems ludicrous.

Beautiful_Soul · Jan 25, 2015

I'm working at a diabetes/kidney acute medicine ward and have since I started in October noticed there's some nursing colleagues disgruntled due to the pressure nurses are under. A lot of overtime hours and since we have flex hours (not sure if it's called that in English speaking countries) we can put in to get a day off with those hours, we can be called to work though if a nurse is sick. The thing is that we are getting called in when nurses' aids call in sick too, getting put as aids to our colleagues for that shift. Sometimes we can see our names on the board days in advance too. A colleague who has been working against this got yelled at by our boss one day. It doesn't feel fair. Aids are obviously not getting called to work if a nurse is sick (aids think it's just fine that the situation is like this however). I had my first shift being an aid a week ago and it felt really awkward being put in a situation where my colleague was, even for the day, my boss. Has any of you experienced this? I'm all for working together for a common goal but I did not spend many years in school/university and have big loans to work as an aid but rather to use my skills to do nursing work.
Anna

Well I am a CNA and I know the work is very tough, that's why I can't wait to be done with it. Not saying I don't care about the residents but the workload is becoming way too heavy. With that being said you're right, you didn't go to school to become a nurse to do "aide" work, but you was taught those skills in school right? Honestly I would feel the same way, but like most aides are told now in days "somebody's gotta do it". The only thing I can tell you is that if it continues and you don't like it I would look for a job somewhere else. I had a nurse at one of my jobs tell me she doesn't mind working as a aide as long as she's being paid as a nurse. Maybe you can look at it like that. Good luck!