UAP's and nursing responsibilities in NY

Published Aug 18, 2005

1,329 Posts

Hi All. I posted this up in the general nursing discussion too, but someone suggested bringing the issue direct to the NY nurses.

I am halfway thru my associates program at MCC. In class last night we discussed what UAP's can/can't do.

At my job as an ER tech, I think I am doing things that are out of scope! I put in caths, put antibiotic cream on wounds before I bandage them (post-suture which the doc does). Caths are done by the techs on their own after doing them three times with an RN overseeing. The abx cream is just done, I am being trained in that by other techs and that's what they say we do and no one has questioned. Docs have even said 'put some poly. cream on that before you bandage it". Is this even legal?

Caths are in the job description. Enemas are too but I don't know if that is considered a nursing duty or one that can be delegated/assigned.

One tech told me that he put lidocaine on the foley before inserting it because the patient had prostate trouble and this made it hurt way less. The patient love him for it but where is this legal? This is a HIGHLY respected tech and my preceptor.

We don't document anywhere when we put a cath in. The only things we document are bg's and vitals. Caths, bandages, ekg's, blood draws..not all that needs to be documented anyway but what if someone sues. Is it the nurse who is assigned to the patient who gets in trouble because there really is no way to know which tech did the cath anyway.

According to what I learned in class last night, caths and meds are things that cannot be assigned to a UAP.

Am I working outside the NY Nurse Practice Act? My instructor said that UAP's should not be doing anything sterile or applying any meds.

I am not licensed, so I don't have a license to lose. But what if a year down the road when I AM licensed, someone sues the hospital and it has to do with something I did as tech? Can I lose my license?

And ethically now I am wondering if this is the right job for me. I believe there are regulations for a reason and although I love the job and I am getting the clinical experience I crave, I am not so sure how I feel about it now.

Comments are welcomed. I am feeling a bit confused. :uhoh21: