Are you obligated to get the morning people up

yousoldtheworld · Nov 9, 2011

If the rule at your facility is that you need to get then up, then you do. THere is no universal rule, so we can't really answer this for you.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Nov 9, 2011

^Agreed.

What do the other aides do when they work your shift? Are they getting people up? Maybe you should ask them how they do it. If call lights at the end of your shift are a problem, then maybe you need to tweak your routine a bit- lay out supplies ahead of time and dress someone a bit earlier. Every shift has to deal with call lights so you can't really pass the buck on account of that.

Bruce_Wayne, ASN, RN · Nov 10, 2011

A general tip about call bells is to try to anticipate your patients' needs.

If you notice that there are some residents that call to use the potty when they first wake up every morning, maybe do a special round around 5am where you make a noisy safety round on those patients. When they wake up you can say, "well since you're up why don't you go ahead and use the bathroom."

That way they won't have to pee later when you're more busy.

Also along the same line of thinking, do you potty the residents immediately before putting them in bed? That might help too.

parumph · Nov 11, 2011

Soloing 37 patients? Dang. I always ask the next shift if there is anyone they want me to get up in particular. Tend to be the more 'troublesome' ones I get up for them. They are grateful in return, even tho i may have only gotten up a handful. And during the shift change report I always end it with "Any questions?" That way if I managed to forget something, they have a chance to ask.

As for if you normally have 2 aides and one calls in and its a floor of button mashers on their lights, do what you can do and maybe stay late to help the next shift. I would rather triage call lights and get a few people up vs. trying to get them all up and ignore lights. Thats when falls happen, and then you have that much more paper work.

yousoldtheworld · Nov 12, 2011

I've worked 3rd shift at 3 different facilities, and while two were pretty reasonable when it came to expectations, the third was ridiculous. They wanted 8 residents up and dressed (per aide), we left at 6:30 and weren't allowed to start until 5. On top of that, it was a very call light happy facility, AND they expected to come into every resident dry. In 90 minutes, I was expected to wash/bathe and dress 8 residents, change/toilet and reposition 16 residents, and answer usually at least a dozen call lights. Can you see why I quit? lol

But if I were you, I'd ask your supervisor directly if they expect you to get people up.

interceptinglight, CNA · Nov 12, 2011

The LTC facility I worked in had 60 beds and the ideal was 4 CNA's on 3rd shift. Sometimes the NOC shift was short and there would only be 2 or 3 CNA's which would be a nightmare for them to work; nevertheless the last hour of their shift occurred when 1st shift would arrive. The NOC shift would give report to the arriving day shift and then still be responsible for getting 3 or 4 people up before clocking out. The residents that the NOC shift was to get up were the sames ones each day, in other words they were assigned to the NOC shift aides so they'd always know which ones were get-ups for the day. Since the last hour of the NOC shift overlapped with the first hour of the day shift aides, by the time the NOC's left for the day, there would be a whole lot of people that were up in that first hour. It made the rest of the morning much easier for 1st shift.

rainbowskin · Nov 12, 2011

It doesn't matter what the other shifts think, just take care of your 37 in your shift, get up the ones who want/need up and answer call lights best you can.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Nov 12, 2011

The LTC facility I worked in had 60 beds and the ideal was 4 CNA's on 3rd shift. Sometimes the NOC shift was short and there would only be 2 or 3 CNA's which would be a nightmare for them to work; nevertheless the last hour of their shift occurred when 1st shift would arrive. The NOC shift would give report to the arriving day shift and then still be responsible for getting 3 or 4 people up before clocking out. The residents that the NOC shift was to get up were the sames ones each day, in other words they were assigned to the NOC shift aides so they'd always know which ones were get-ups for the day. Since the last hour of the NOC shift overlapped with the first hour of the day shift aides, by the time the NOC's left for the day, there would be a whole lot of people that were up in that first hour. It made the rest of the morning much easier for 1st shift.

That's what I've been pushing for at my facility. A lot of 1st shift aides would totally come in an hour earlier to start doing get-ups.

I have 8 residents to get washed, dressed, and OOB. I also have to help the other CNA with her 8 residents (they're pretty much all ax2 for transfers). Plus, I have some very frequent bell-ringers. Usually it takes me about an hour and a half to do this but I run like the wind! lol.

volcomcna · Nov 14, 2011

I start at 0430 and I get up 6-8