Are nurses "above" menial pt tasks?

[trauma_lama]

Okay, today (on mother's day), having lunch with my mother resulted in an argument. She seems APPALLED that the thought of wiping someone else's butt does not upset me in the slightest. She seems to think that "ass-wiping" is only for lowly, uneducated CNAs and thank GOD that once I'm a nurse, I won't have to do gross things like that anymore (not to mention that I'm hoping to work as a CNA until I get my RN, so that kind of feels like she thinks I'm a "nothing" until i get my degree). My argument was that being a nurse is not about being able to pawn off the "gross" things on nurse aides; it is about whole patient care. Yes, nurses do not wipe butts as much as CNAs do (because they are busy doing a lot of other important things that other members of interdisciplinary health teams can't do), but I'm under the impression that whatever is best for the patient goes . So if that means rolling up my sleeves and wipin' up some poo to give a sick person some dignity and prevent skin breakdown, I will NEVER be above the task. I realize that once I'm a nurse I may have more emergent issues that force me to ask a nurse aide to step in for jobs like that, but unless something is more pressing I think it is not appropriate for a nurse to think that they are "above" doing the work of a nurse aide. What is this situation like in the field? Are there nurses who really think that they are too good to do an occasional diaper change? And if so, are they frowned upon or do people let it slide or call them out on their behavior? Am I right to think my mom is being ridiculous and snooty to think that a nurse (or anybody for that matter) should not have to do "gross things" like clean up poo? I told her that she is welcome to tell me about music ANY time (she's a pianist/organist) but that when it comes to health care, she should be asking questions, not shoving her opinions down people's throats.

[LTCangel, ADN, BSN, LPN]

Sorry for the spelling errors in the above post! My fingers were typing too fast!

[Katie5]

My nursing unit (Family Birth Center) has no CNA's.....so yes, the RNs do all the menial tasks, including washing the beds and emptying the trash.

Who assigns status to these things?I do these daily for myself, it's not considered menial.

[Batman25]

I don't think anyone in patient care from doctors to nurses to aides to admin is above performing any form of patient care within their scope of practice. I don't consider any care given by anyone in the hospital as menial. I bet the person sitting in poop doesn't think so either. I bet to them you are a blessing and a hero at that particular moment of such vulnerablity.

[justavolunteer]

I a 'justavolunteer' on a pt unit. I have sometimes helped with at least turning a pt who needs to be cleaned. Sometimes, because of the particular situation, it may be hard for the CNA or RN to reach all the spots. I take some wipes & do it myself. Not fun, but it's life on a pt. unit. If I can get pulled in as 'justavolunteer', nurses can certainly expect this.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

Where I work, we are often short cnas so if the nurse didn't do it , who would? never saw a place (from volunteer, clinicals, work)where nurses thought they were, "above this." If they thought it or not they got the job done anyway.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

it's just goes with the territory. You can't have the attitude that you are too good to do anything. The first rule of delegation in effective management is to never delegate out a task you wouldn't do yuorself. Sometimes we will get to laughing about how "glamorous" our job is.

[Heidi the nurse, BSN, RN]

Well, I have been an RN for 20 years and most of my career has involved wiping butts :) I did home care for a good chunk of years - mainly with children and babies, so wiped alot of butts then. I now work in the school system and although its rare, I still do it occasionally. In our state only a licensed person is allowed to apply creams, be they for ring worm, or diaper rash or anything (unless the child can do it). One of my students needed something for diaper rash, and on the times I am in the building and it needs to be done, I clean the student up before applying the cream. Not beneath me at all.

[Aeterna, BSN, RN]

On our unit, we have no aides or personal support workers so us nurses perform all patient care - baths, transferring to and from chairs, feeding, changing bed linens, etc. It can get pretty hectic but by now, we are used to doing all the "menial" tasks.

We're supposed to trial a couple of PSWs on our floor soon (because our workload reports always show us far above what we should be taking on) and there is some concern that the "lazy" nurses will dump whatever they can on the extra help, but me personally? If my patient had a soiled brief, I wouldn't want him/her to sit in it while I go and find the PSW when I could easily clean them myself in the same span of time.

The PSWs will come in handy, though, when it comes to helping answer call bells when we can't get to them or for patients who need help with feeding (especially when we're trying to get our meds handed out while the patients' meals are getting cold!)

[Poi Dog]

No disrespect for your mom but I pictured her saying "uneducated and lowly CNAs" while holding a cup of tea and sipping it.

I am a CNA and I work with some(read 4) nurses who will jump in, clean patients up, and shower them *gasp*. They do it without being asked. I have so much respect for them and because of that, I jump through hoops for them.

It is all about teamwork and the good of the patient.

[newyorkgroove]

I like patient care. I'm thankful when the CNAs clean the poo but I'll never think I'm above that.

[steelydanfan]

Okay, today (on mother's day), having lunch with my mother resulted in an argument. She seems APPALLED that the thought of wiping someone else's butt does not upset me in the slightest. She seems to think that "ass-wiping" is only for lowly, uneducated CNAs and thank GOD that once I'm a nurse, I won't have to do gross things like that anymore (not to mention that I'm hoping to work as a CNA until I get my RN, so that kind of feels like she thinks I'm a "nothing" until i get my degree). My argument was that being a nurse is not about being able to pawn off the "gross" things on nurse aides; it is about whole patient care. Yes, nurses do not wipe butts as much as CNAs do (because they are busy doing a lot of other important things that other members of interdisciplinary health teams can't do), but I'm under the impression that whatever is best for the patient goes . So if that means rolling up my sleeves and wipin' up some poo to give a sick person some dignity and prevent skin breakdown, I will NEVER be above the task. I realize that once I'm a nurse I may have more emergent issues that force me to ask a nurse aide to step in for jobs like that, but unless something is more pressing I think it is not appropriate for a nurse to think that they are "above" doing the work of a nurse aide. What is this situation like in the field? Are there nurses who really think that they are too good to do an occasional diaper change? And if so, are they frowned upon or do people let it slide or call them out on their behavior? Am I right to think my mom is being ridiculous and snooty to think that a nurse (or anybody for that matter) should not have to do "gross things" like clean up poo? I told her that she is welcome to tell me about music ANY time (she's a pianist/organist) but that when it comes to health care, she should be asking questions, not shoving her opinions down people's throats.

Since your mother seems to know nothing about your job's scope or depth of practice; and seems to want to TELL instead of listening, it seems best to avoid those topics all together

[Five&Two Will Do]

I do not think anyone likes cleaning up a big BM or emesis or a big load of pulmonary toilet. It is part of the job. I do like straightening up the patient's room and bed and untangling all of the wires and stuff. I want them to feel good and all of those things help. I am not opposed to shaving a patient and certainly not bathing them either. We do not have CNA's on this floor so we do it oursleves and help each other with the bigger patients. At the end of the day who really gives a **** what other people think. I love my job and I tell people all of the time that the things I thought would bother me the most( like the list of things I mentioned at the start of this) really don't.