Are CNAs being phased out?

neuron · May 25, 2016

In my state you can't pass meds in nursing homes unless you are an RN or LPN.
You can't provide hands on care in even a home care situation unless you are a CNA and you can not give medications...can't even touch them or the container they are in.... you can only remind a client to take them.

If medication aides are certifed in your state then they can pass meds. It might just be a facility policy?

When I worked home health, the policy was that an hha or cna couldn't give meds but when that hha or cna was actually doing the care or got called for a shift, they were givng the morphine, oxygen, breathing treatments no quarrels by the home health agency. If the pt. is on hospice, they can't administer the medication themselves. and most of the time the families call for a break or other needed assistance.

neuron · May 26, 2016

Super. I haven't said anything negative about med aides. I just answered the question and gave my reasoning.

Cool.

If it is an 8 hour class, great. It is just that those 8 hours sure don't speak for what really the job is. With the currect staff ratios here, they pile on the meds to these med aides till they can't catch a breath.

PlzClarify · May 26, 2016

I think it depends on the area. In my neck of the woods, our local hospital phased out CNAs and LVNs a few years ago. Some long-term LVNs were able to petition the board successfully to take the NCLEX-RN and were allowed to remain on staff if they passed. The RNs then had to do total patient care, which was obviously overwhelming. The hospital had to save face later on by hiring patient care techs (who must be CNAs:rolleyes:).

I know a few hospitals further away from me still have CNAs. I think most probably do, in general. It might just seem like they are being phased out if the hospital/s in your area are doing so.

Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

Feelgood RN · May 28, 2016

In Colorado you can attain a QMAP (Qualified Medication Administration Person) that allowed a CNA to pass medications in assisted living care environments. You still could not do so in long term care and you had to be tested and cleared by the Nurse on the floor as you were basically working under their license.

kassiahgp · May 29, 2016

Where I live you don't have to be a CNA to work as one in a nursing home or assisted living facility- they call them RAs (Resident Assistants). If you want to have the ability to pass meds you must be a CNA and take a short class to be a Med Tech, or you can do so if you are a CMA. Where I live it is very hard to get a CNA job in a hospital- they are coveted, but it seems like anyone can work in a Nursing Home. I live in rural Georgia.

neuron · May 30, 2016

In Colorado you can attain a QMAP (Qualified Medication Administration Person) that allowed a CNA to pass medications in assisted living care environments. You still could not do so in long term care and you had to be tested and cleared by the Nurse on the floor as you were basically working under their license.

I don't see how you would be cleared by a nurse. By the facility yes. The nurse is an 'employee'. The nurses where I have worked have cheapened the nursing profession. So getting cleared by them is a laugh. Meds wrong, orders wrong, pain meds not ordered.

neuron · May 30, 2016

Where I live you don't have to be a CNA to work as one in a nursing home or assisted living facility- they call them RAs (Resident Assistants). If you want to have the ability to pass meds you must be a CNA and take a short class to be a Med Tech, or you can do so if you are a CMA. Where I live it is very hard to get a CNA job in a hospital- they are coveted, but it seems like anyone can work in a Nursing Home. I live in rural Georgia.

Those hospitals and nurses still treat the cna's and techs like cr$% from what I've heard :banghead: . So I don't covet those jobs

kassiahgp · May 30, 2016

Amen lol

Tashbun · Jun 3, 2016

-I've seen some hospitals try and phase out cnas bc on paper they look like a frivolous cost, but tbh they're super important for pt satisfaction scores (considering tele and med/surg unit nurses would have to do total care for 4-5 alone).

-I've also seen some facilities expand the role and switch the title to pct and add such responsibilities as accuchecks, ecgs, and Bladderscans.

-I know that assisted living does a med tech position but the training lasts anywhere for a couple of days. But the med tech is not responsible/not allowed to call the dr about other medications like a nurse would (eg bp or pain meds). They literally read the chart and administer those meds.

-I have a acquaintance that when asked how I became a cna and I told him about the programs he stated he "took a one day class that they basically told these people on how to become a cna"...and that ~he's basically a cna~...I said no. Not the same thing. No one would hire you.

Tashbun · Jun 3, 2016

-Also depending on some facilities licensure's you don't need to be certified cnas or pcts. That does vary to state to state. But as far as SoCal most group homes or assisted livings you don't need to be certified (I think this may be because most group homes or assisted livings market themselves as "place for blah blah blah" and are Noninvasive like one place I worked at refused "clients" that couldn't take their own blood sugars bc finger pricks are considered invasive...but this particular "client" was in their dementia wing).But I heard awhile ago that the state was trying to mainstream it so that anyone working in a healthcare setting needed to at least have a cna.