CNAs in L&D

again, not currently working, but it has only been 3 months since i left. we got to do a lot, and it is great experience, especially if you want to become an L&D nurse. the cna's were highly trained because it is a very busy hospital (about 5500 births per year)

triage:
vital signs
collect urine specimen
help change into gown
start IV saline lock (no fluids or meds) or draw blood as delegated by RN.
transport to sono if ordered

Labor and Delivery:
set up sterile delivery tables.
insert foley catheters.
assist RN during delivery by recording birth time, baby gender, weight, etc.
start assisting in resuscitation if necessary.
clean mom up after birth and put bed and stirrup back together
break down and clean up table and instruments.
open and hand supplies to nurse or physician (vacuum, forceps, gel)
call for additional help from other L&D staff or NICU during emergencies (shoulder dystocia, hemorrhage, meconium, baby code, etc)

Postpartum:
assist mom to bathroom.
transfer mom and baby to mother/baby unit. some hospitals dont have separate units.
assist MD during circumcision
baby baths
draw blood on babies as needed (CBC, CRP, PKU, Bili)
transcutaneous bilirubin.

antepartum:
fill water pitchers, answer call lights, etc.
bed pans and bed baths/linen changes for clients that were high risk and on complete bed rest (yes, some L&D techs have med/surg duties, just for women of child bearing age!) some of our ladies would be there for several months.

between patients:
set up delivery rooms, ensuring that all supplies were readily available and stocked, setting up warmers, ensuring that it was stocked, suction and ambu bags were ready, etc.

clean triage beds in between patients.

environmental staff cleaned delivery rooms between patients.

we did not have enough IV poles and epidural pumps for each room, so the techs obtained them if asked by the nurses.

we would help transfer patients from delivery room to OR if needed, and from PACU to mother/ baby unit.

I was never trained, but some of the CNA's that started working before me were trained to scrub c-sections. when i started they kept the techs on for scrub that they had, but only hired new surgical techs that were certified.

everything that the techs did could be done by the RN, but we were trained for all of the above to assist the RN when delegated.

At my old hospital we had a few CNA's that were unit secretaries. But my old manager decided to not hire any new CNAs. I work in a military hospital now. We have Air Force and Army medical technicians. They are like a CNAII-LPN hybrid. They start our IV's, draw blood, but they are not allowed to administer medications.