Older PCA/CNA

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I usually agree with the idea that with age comes wisdom, more experience, and improved quality because of these factors, but when hiring assistant staff, STOP hiring old people!!!!!!! Lmao, my floor was in need of an aide during the night shift and my hospital hired a lady old of enough to be my grandmother. God bless her soul but she works at snails speed, limps while walking, and can't lift for sh!t. What's the point? When we send her to draw labs she comes back and says "I cant see the vein" or when she supposed to be emptying coleus she complains of a bad back. I like the lady and I respect my elders, so I'm the dumb @as nurse who does it for her because I feel for her. I'm sure she's getting over on me, but what should we do?

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
of course ocn, i think everyone understands that.

but- what crux argues, is also a valid point.

what if 95% of staff has a disability that limits them?

is the remaining 5% supposed to try and do it all, or do they neglect the pts?

leslie

First of all, that's kind of a ridiculous scenario, unless the place you're working at has some kind of curse.

We (the nursing profession) accommodate people with all kinds of limitations, be they illness, disability, pregnancy, etc. To suggest people in these categories shouldn't work is to lose the skills and expertise of those nurses. I'd be ashamed if an experienced nurse were run off a unit because she had some sort of limitation or was pregnant and unable to do certain tasks.

Again, I'm really thankful I work where I do.

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When you were hired were you able to do the flipping job??? Have you ever been hired to do a job you were physically incapable of doing? Would you even apply to a job you were physically incapable of doing??

That's what the topic is about. Not about employees who've suffered injury at work, pregnancy, or with normal wear and tear cannot do some of the tasks required.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
When you were hired were you able to do the flipping job??? Have you ever been hired to do a job you were physically incapable of doing? Would you even apply to a job you were physically incapable of doing??

Yes. No. No.

You're not privy to the reasons why this woman was hired. Perhaps the DON saw something in her you do not. If this bothers you so much, write it up. Perhaps you'll get lucky and she'll be terminated.

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Yes. No. No.

You're not privy to the reasons why this woman was hired. Perhaps the DON saw something in her you do not. If this bothers you so much, write it up. Perhaps you'll get lucky and she'll be terminated.

Why else would she be hired, if not to meet the physical demands of the job? Just curious

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Why else would she be hired, if not to meet the physical demands of the job? Just curious

I don't know her, and I don't know the circumstances that led your employer to hire her. Like I said, if she's making your work situation that difficult, start writing her up.

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You know what, before anyone blasts me with insults, I just need to explain that I have been forced to clean and place the bed in the trendelenburg position to lift patients up in bed because the PCA's back hurts and can only be on light duty. Like mama Maria eluded to earlier these PCA's haven't been here twenty years, the one lady is a new hire

Ok, I will go gently here. I don't care what age a person is, not their creed, religion or their color. The only thing that I care about is, can they figure out how to answer a calllight. After that, the team can all work together to fill in the blanks. I hurt my back when I was a 19 year old CNA. I can pull up in bed, 2 person assist transfer and 1 person pivot transfer anyone. I will help transfer anyone. I put down my MAR (cuz we are NOT married) and I focus on the resident and my team. The rest comes with a team approach. I have seen very young, seemingly agile nurses apparently without movement below the waist, who move like slugs. I worry about them. I feel they will be enormous-ly dissapointed in the years to come. Who will give direct patient care if the RN's won't? I don't understand the mentality that has time to point out all the deficiences of their co-workers rather than mentoring and leading them. Am I wrong here?

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Yeah, about that not having the time to use the equipment...how long does it take to recover from a back injury? What if you have a patient grab you around the neck and pop a disc? (and I know how it's supposed to be done, but patients do reach out and do what they aren't supposed to :)) What will it be like when you or your co-worker can't work, and nobody is around to fill in?

Ok, lets see if I got this right.

Facility is a no-lift facility (good)

Facility provides lifts (excellent)

Staff don't use lifts (not good)

Staff unhappy (well..........correlation brewing?)

RN allows staff to NOT use lifts cuz (fill in the blank now _______________)

Adding up the plus and minus? RN not supervising and leading her/his team. Just saying.........

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Likewise. :uhoh3:

I understand youre ofended however that does not make my post less valid. As another poster said, what happens when every worker needs accomodations, or theres just 2 workers that have to do it all b/c no one else can? Where is the line drawn? Do we allow substandard care, pts in wet beds, no turns b/c the staff is unable? Im glad you have an accomodating workplace, but some places all it takes is one person to make or break your day.

Well, the answer here has really already been addressed, by some legislation many years ago. ADA rules that make all kiinds of stuff have to be handicapped accesible and other laws that make the work-place safer and L/I lawsuits etc. We are already a society that attempts to accomodate. The line is drawn at the individual case, can that person perform the work? End of story. NO mystery. NO secret negotiations and no catastrophic reactions to future shocks that might occur. Talk to your HR people and see exactly how they do expect all the differnt staff to perform, there are plans in place, guaranteed.

The only criticism I really have about any one concern is that I see this from a management aspect of people who seem to have a lot of time to criticise the work that others are NOT doing. I don't have that kind of time, never have. The only time I have is to try to do my job quickly, safely and stay resident/patient oriented and make improvements/adjustments along the way. I have never understood folks who find SO much fault with others, certianly those less fortunate. It reminds me of the other thread where the patient is to blame for all the terrible things he did while a patient. Yes, everyone should be held accountable, not all should go to the gallows.

A lot of what is being talked about seems, in my opinion, to be an educational deficit.

Vitals can be done by anyone, in hospitals, the critically ill are on machine vitals, so how woudl it take this CNA so long to simply go to the monitors and get the vitals? Can the RN do this?

Maybe I am reading this wrong, but as an RN, I do my own assessments. I don't rely on others to do my assessments, never have, never will. I can get vitals in 3 minutes or less and complete my head to toe in the other 3. I watch nurses all day long (in LTC/SNF) spend countless, COUNTLESS minutes and hours, ranting and raving and crying and whining ...all time that I see as having could have been spent on assessments, that they never have time for.

AM I wrong here? As a DNS in LTC/SNF, I often (still) toilet people. I answer calllights and get ice/water. I will fetch whatever I possibly can. I put bedpans under people, I help with all the new admits, if not do one or two myself. I hear staff all the time, bickering during report, so reportt takes 2 hours. Then, bickering about calling in staff to cover call-offs, rather than make the call themself, or cover the shift themself. WHAT is it about nursing that we cannot pull this team together? I know that healthcare is fractured and broken, but nurses's don't need tobe.

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Really, the lies spread? What did you write? READ YOUR WORDS

Yes, please...read your words.

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Ok, I will go gently here. I don't care what age a person is, not their creed, religion or their color. The only thing that I care about is, can they figure out how to answer a calllight. After that, the team can all work together to fill in the blanks. I hurt my back when I was a 19 year old CNA. I can pull up in bed, 2 person assist transfer and 1 person pivot transfer anyone. I will help transfer anyone. I put down my MAR (cuz we are NOT married) and I focus on the resident and my team. The rest comes with a team approach. I have seen very young, seemingly agile nurses apparently without movement below the waist, who move like slugs. I worry about them. I feel they will be enormous-ly dissapointed in the years to come. Who will give direct patient care if the RN's won't? I don't understand the mentality that has time to point out all the deficiences of their co-workers rather than mentoring and leading them. Am I wrong here?

Ok OP, did you not post these words?

"I was forced to......

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I usually agree with the idea that with age comes wisdom, more experience, and improved quality because of these factors, but when hiring assistant staff, STOP hiring old people!!!!!!! Lmao, my floor was in need of an aide during the night shift and my hospital hired a lady old of enough to be my grandmother. God bless her soul but she works at snails speed, limps while walking, and can't lift for sh!t. What's the point? When we send her to draw labs she comes back and says "I cant see the vein" or when she supposed to be emptying coleus she complains of a bad back. I like the lady and I respect my elders, so I'm the dumb @as nurse who does it for her because I feel for her. I'm sure she's getting over on me, but what should we do?

Draw labs, not an RN responsibility?

Empty foleys,

Nurse does it for her......Are these patients your patients, or hers?

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You know what, before anyone blasts me with insults, I just need to explain that I have been forced to clean and place the bed in the trendelenburg position to lift patients up in bed because the PCA's back hurts and can only be on light duty. Like mama Maria eluded to earlier these PCA's haven't been here twenty years, the one lady is a new hire

FORCED TO CLEAN AND PLACE THE BED......TO LIFT PATIENTS UP IN BED......'

Also, seems the PCA WAS on light duty?

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