Replaced by Certified Medication Aide!

Nurses LPN/LVN

Published

Yes, fellow LPNs, its happening here in Northeast Ohio! Trained and oriented CMA and was then given extreme partime hours(as were the other LPNs) while CMA gets 40hrs and benefits! And of course, they are paid less per hour. The entire program is a disaster for us LPNs as well as the patients we care for and thet dont get a choice either. No such thing as patient care...its all about money and its sickening

Specializes in geriatrics, IV, Nurse management.

At my last place, it was more nurses didn't want the work. No one applied but UCPs so they took them up on the offer. The majority of the UCPs went on and got their nursing.

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I totally agree. I'm an LPN in VA working in a nursing home taking care of 60 patients at night 11-7 with 3 CNAs. On the day and evening shifts, there are 2 nurses working this floor. Majority of floor is total care and with the massive amount of paperwork I have; if an emergency comes up it puts me way behind. How can the patients get the best care when we are working with a skeleton crew? Management is always down your throat about overtime but when you don't finish your work , you have a write up waiting. Virginia doesn't want unions and we as nurses don't stick together. We keep putting up with the bull@#$$. It's time to stop the insanity!

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You said a mouthful! and usually we abuse one another as nurses. The lying, the gossiping, the manipulating LOL it's a wonder I've been a nurse this long:down: As far as working conditions , we as nurses at times are asked to do some unethical things to keep our jobs. To keep management happy, to not speak up when we should. How many times have we not had a lunch break? Worked straight through and not had a supervisor sign the sheet giving us permission because we didnt want to hear their mouths about overtime?

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Specializes in LTC.
At my last place, it was more nurses didn't want the work. No one applied but UCPs so they took them up on the offer. The majority of the UCPs went on and got their nursing.

Yep. I would sooner flip burgers than pass meds. It's just not something that I happen to be good at; the passes are insanely heavy and I can't handle that level of stress, I'm like the deer in the headlights. I've probably said before, but the med aides I have worked with are actually pretty amazing at their jobs.

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Specializes in LTC.
Med pass is a major part of my job as an LPN in extended care. Working short a Nurse is not even an unusual occurance, it just results in 2 Nurses splitting up the work of what is supposed to belong to the third Nurse. I dont for one second think that if we had med aids it would mean we would get to spend more time with residents to provide more nursing care. I think it would just mean a Nurse is going to lose their job, those left would have double the residents to provide treatments, nursing care, chart, etc. The bottom line is money and that is the only reason I can think that managment wants to hire a med tech anyway.

You do have a point...some of the buildings I have been in (I work agency) will give the nurses 20-30 skilled patients and it's all you can do to keep your trachs suctioned. :(

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It's unfortunate that the disabled and elderly get so little respect in my country of residence, the U.S. These people are at the most vulnerable of their life when receiving institutionalized care and need the most compassionate, caring, and skilled staff they can get. I know this is old school but, yes, I am for nurses, RNs/LPNs/LVNs administrating meds because how are you going to properly assess what you did not administer? A nurse needs to know if his/her patient is having problems with swallowing or how that G-tube site looks and functions, etc. IMO, only a nurse can properly assess the receipt of medication and report and document that event. Even though there are many great assistants that work in LTC, licensed nurses have the best tools, obtained though at minimum a year or two of schooling, to take care of changes in patient status in relation to medication administration and response.

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Specializes in LTC, Education, Management, QAPI.

I do have to say I agree so much with what much of you say, I DO. Only a nurse can do many things that are important. But look around at nursing in LTC now. MANY MANY MANY of the nurses now are just pill pushers. They don't have time for anything else, it's not even their fault and it's sad, but it's true!! And- It is about money. OF COURSE! It's a business. The company has to balance (which is impossible, especially know-a-days) the budget to stay open. Nursing homes and care facilities are *NOT* huge money makers! I hate that fallacy, but they're not. They barely break even sometimes. So yes, it's about money. Without money, nurses don't get paid. Without nurses, the whole system will fall apart. I know this, you know this, we all know this. We're drowning ourselves! But... This is now the challenge!! This is true nursing, hardship turning planning turning to change and implementation!! This knowledge should lead the nurse to assess the situation- there's no way facilities can pay nurses what they are now demanding and stay open, so in the end, unfortunately, it's a total system issue that is causing the problems and it will eventually collapse. It's not fair to say that a facility is "just firing nurses to pay someone cheaper to do the job." IT IS TRUE, undoubtedly, but it is the nature of business. Without a balanced budget, the company doesn't make money. Without the company, there will be a COMPLETE loss of all of those nursing positions, hurting nurses even more. I agree, I would rather not have medication aides passing meds, but if I had to chose between closing the facility I work at and dropping 27 nurses versus staying open and dropping 5 nurses and hiring 7 med aides to balance out, I will. I have to stay open. I need my job and so do the nurses. Then my goals will change and shift, as happens in nursing daily. YES it's wrong, YES it's sad, but YES, it IS a business.

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