Being micromanaged by a CMA?

[%D#2]

One of the day medication aides is starting to literally micromanage everything I do and it's driving me insane. I'm so over worked and spread thin. im the only nurse in charge of 50 pt with no medication aide. So yes I may leave a darn medication rapper in the cart because I forgot to put it in the shredder. Or maybe I didn't date the applesauce that I just opened. Well now she's writing emails to the boss lady. I'm just fed up. Getting very depressed and frustrated here. I own up to my mistakes but I keep making them cause they don't staff me adequately. I think I've had it.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

The MA reporting and carrying on is over the top.

Do you "hand off" the cart to this MA on the day shift? If so, you have the opportunity to go over a couple of things that may have happened on your shift. And a chance to just clean up the cart (wrappers, applesauce). It may also remind you to document what you may have missed. If a resident refuses a med then document right then. (and perhaps address the nausea with a med at that time).

You are "delegating" the cart to the MA. So I would make sure all is correct, as that could be on you. If your manager says anything, I would be sure to ask that you hand off the cart to the charge nurse of the next shift, who would in turn make the assignment to the MA.

It gets to be a slippery slope when licensed nurses start delegating to UAP's things that are classically a nurse's skill set. So make sure you cover yourself. Yes, the applesauce dating debate is dumb, as is the med wrapper left on the cart. But I would think that part of the task of the MA coming on is to be sure that the cart is stocked and clean.

And with this level of foolishness, I would be absolutely sure that narcs are counted with another nurse. Painting with a really broad brush here, but anyone (nurse or not) who starts setting up a series of "mistakes" that they send in writing to management can also be the ones who collect a narcotic or 2 and blame the nurse who has a papertrail of written complaints.

This MA is up to something, just not sure what. And hopefully, the manager can see through it as well.

If you do not have malpractice insurance, get it.

Best wishes

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

There is one thing I should add... the fewer things you have to do during your shift, the more time you have to get into everyone else's business. So, as the nurse, you end up doing a LOT of things that the Med Tech doesn't have to do. Therefore you don't have the time to go over someone else's stuff. As stated before, petty minds do petty things. They can also do petty vindictive things. On my last day at a previous employer, my supervisor asked me to collect my narcotics and turn them in. This supervisor was of a similar mind as your Med Tech... this particular supervisor wasn't exactly thrilled when I required that we both count the narcotics and document their return to company stock. I was actively working as a Paramedic back then. Yes, I kept a signed copy. Had I simply returned the meds to my supervisor, they could have been "lost" and I could have been reported as having stolen them. It would have resulted in a Felony charge because of the amount of medication involved. Well, I sit here today, still in possession of my Paramedic license and I've not seen the inside of a courtroom as anything other than a juror. Of course, I'm also now an RN...

So let this be a lesson to you about that kind of mentality you may be dealing with. At the end of your med pass, just be certain you've cleaned up your cart so that it's ready for the next shift. What does this mean? It just means you simply must take an additional 20 seconds and pick up wrappers and used pudding/apple sauce containers and dispose of them. This way you won't leave anything behind for the Med Tech to grumble about that is within their area of concern.

Then, if necessary, start keeping track of behaviors of concern against you and report those to admin. Do not retaliate. Just be sure that those behaviors actually did occur before you report them. You don't want to be seen as being vindictive or retaliatory yourself. Tough road to hoe, but if necessary, you may need to do it and be darned sure you're right because if you're not, your own future there could come to a very swift end.

[Farawyn]

I've never dated an applesauce, like ever.

I haven't dated applesauce either, but we did hook up at a party once.

[sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN]

My board of nursing, does not allow unlis, assistive personnel to monitor and direct my scope of practice...

[sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN]

Awe, FaRAWYN, love you for the gut wrenching laugh you caused me to have, re dating applesauce....

[sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN]

I so want one of those individualized guided imagery tapes. Where did you get it if you don't mind sharing.[/quote']

Amazon

and google

they have everything

maybe even predates applesauce...

dont blame me FaRAWYN got me going

[needlesmcgeeRN, ASN, RN]

I am not saying it's right, but we never dated the opened applesauce/pudding cups - it was used only during that med pass and then tossed IF there was any left.

Or maybe I didn't date the applesauce that I just opened.

[stilcantbeliv]

I will say quit. That's a heavy workload. Besides your license is more important. You don't have to wait for a year to apply elsewhere. Any place that makes you stress on your days off is not worthworking at. Life is too short for all this stress we go through sometimes in the name of loyalty. No place is easy in healthcare, but you can find a place where you will be able to balance work life and personal life. If you find yourself stressing on your days off about work, then in my opinion that's not aplace for you. And yes you may have to quit from a couple places to find theright fit for you. But at the end you maybe one proud nurse that can say I worked at this facility for 10years or more and I still love it” just saying!! As for the med aide just let him/her know that you have the authority over him/her and if the facility can't see that then they are not worth your time either. Those are frivolous complaints from the med aide

[NanaPoo]

Interesting article. I knew very little about Med Aides prior to this thread.

https://www.ncsbn.org/safety_and_regulation_article.pdf

I think your med aide has her roles reversed. I'm pretty sure she shouldn't be supervising your activities.

[NanikRN]

You can find a ton of them on YouTube!

Actually this didn't come from amazon or something like that. I had a phone session with hypnosis person.

She asked me what I wanted, what my goals were, what my fears were. She asked about prior positive nursing experiences and tied those feelings in to areas I was nervous about.

She used all this info to make a cd that really rocked

If you're serious, let me know. Im sure i have her name somewhere in my stuff. The whole experience with cd was around $50. Of course, that was 5-6 years ago

[Alisonisayoshi, LVN]

I'm going to agree, this Med Aide needs to chill. You are the nurse. You can delegate cleaning the cart to her if you darn well please. Really.

[OHNBJL]

Sounds like harassment to me. If I were the supervisor that she was reporting to I'd be questioning why she had so much time on her hands. I'd be watching her!! Your doing the right thing by. Keeping a notebook. I also think passing meds on 50 pts is too much. What are the regs in your state?