assesment, and reasessment, IV push and so on so forth. Just like Physical Therapists Assistants are not Physical Therapists, Pharmacy Techs are Not Pharmicists, Deacons are not priests, Physician Assistants are not physicians, LPNs are not RNs, RNs are not Nurse Practicioners or Doctors,or nurse anesthitists, or midwives. Just like Personal Care, Home Care Assistants, and Direct support PCS workers are not CNAs, and know matter how many times they call themselves one, they do not assist nurses or perform tasks delegated by a Nurse Supervisor, and did not attend an OBRA NATCEP CNA training course and cannot work as a CNA until they go through the 3-5months of training, and get their certification and are listed on the registry.
I was always taught in my CNA class by an EXCELLENT Gerontology Certified RN instructor that you should never focus on what you are not, but what you are. We are Nursing Assistants. Vital tools to nursing. We are healthcare professionals assistants, certified by the state to do the basic nursing tasks on stable residents or patients. We are a part of Nursing, we do perform basic old school style nursing services under the supervision of a Registred Nurse. In long term care facilities we are held liable for our actions. If we carelessly drop a resident or forgert to lock the bedwheels, or carelessly feedthem til they choke, etc. we will be held responsible, and this negligent behavior will be placed by our name on the state CNA registry, and we will never find a job or be elidgble for CNA Certification again. We do have a Scope of practice established by the DHH and OBRA, in Long Term Care (all states) and Subacute Care (Some states).
And it is ILLEGAL to work as a Nursing Assistant in Sub Acute care in some states, and in a Sklilled Nursing Long Term Care Facility in all states as defined by OBRA 1987 and NATCEP. With all this being said we are NOT NURSES. At the end of the day nurses are Nurses and were Assistants. Nurses have much more comlex and advanced roles in patient care than we do. RNs have to maintaing a 3.5 GPA while in college to get accepted into nursing programs. They have to study their rears off to finish. They earn the title Registred Nurse. They dont want a Licensed Practical Nurse who went through 9-14 months of Vo Tech training assuming their responsiblities and acting like they know more than them. LPNs dont want CNAs who went through 3-5 months of training at a Votech, calling themselves Nurses and assuming their roles and responsiblities ILLEGALLY. LPNs go through 9-14 intense months of training to sit for there boards licensing test. Just like CNAs dont want uncertified personal care and support workers or other unlicnesed assistive personell not certified calling themslves a Certified Nursing Assistant.
CNAs go through 3-5 months of moderately challenging tarining. They learn signs and symptoms of many diseases, how to measure vital signs, the 5 step ADPIE nursing process, HIPPA practices, how to assist the Nurse with various procedure an much more stuff. WE ARE NOT NURSES. WE ARE NURSING ASSISTANTS. WE NEED TO BE PROUD OF WHO ARE, AND BE HAPPY TO HELP NURSES IN ANYWAY WE CAN. BUT THE KEY WORD IS HELP/ASSIST THE NURSE, NOT BE THE NURSE! Whether we are State Cerified Nursing Assistants or some type of other Unlicensed Uncertified Assistive personell such as medical assistants, Patient Care Technicians/Assistants and so on so forth. So lets make nurses stop ripping there hair out and professionally introduce ourselves as Nursing Assistants or or Assitive Personell (if uncertified) and respect each others levels of traininig and work together!
The top of the page was a comparison to how LPNs have a differnt scope than RNs and cannot pretend to be RNs are assume duties of an RN that are not within there legal scope. THIS POST IS TO EXPLAIN WHY Nursing Assistants are not nurses!! Some of the top got cut off some how. Btw I am a CNA state certified.
