Several of my non nurse friends are working as overnight sitters. IT is a low stress job. I am wondering if I can do this even though I have an RN license? The companies aroung here also hire CNAs. Am I allowed to do that job? I am in Maryland.
At some point if I let my renewal of my RN license lapse will I be able to do a CNA job or are you always denied these positions by having an RN license. Its seems unfair to me.
Thanks for any input, I am looking for a low stress part time thing.
Again check with your state board. I believe that even if you are working below your license, you are still held to the liability of an RN. So say your unit has no techs for the day but an extra RN who works as the "tech;" this RN is still held to the legal responsibility of an RN when interacting with pts on the shift.
That is also my understanding. You can't say, "Well, I was just the sitter." if something goes wrong that an RN should have been able to recognize.
You would not be judged as a prudent sitter, but as a prudent RN.
Speaking as an RN that recently worked as a sitter (when my hospital was desperate and called me in, paid me time and a half), I still functioned as a RN. I assessed my patients as did the RN that was assigned to them--we worked as a team. It was a good thing that I was there, as I ended up catching some things that had gotten missed on a previous shift, when they didn't have an RN as a sitter (had a CNA.) I knew that I would be held accountable to catch anything going wrong at an RN's level instead of a CNA, so I made sure to cover all my bases w/assessments, charting, etc.
Regardless of anything else, if you are an RN sitting with a patient, and you notice something wrong, aren't you going to do something about it, or go and get help if it's something that you can't handle on your own--to use the line, "I was just doing what a prudent sitter would do" knowing full well that tomorrow you will come to work and be an RN, and could very well be caring for that same patient, that's pathetic...An RN is an RN is an RN, I don't care where you are--if someone is over at my house for dinner and they start choking, I don't say, oh well I'm not an RN right now, and I can't do anything to help because I'm not at work, better call 911 and wait for them to get here...
Why all the anger? No one said you would not do you best in ANY situation., The question here is CAN an RN legally work as a sitter. Thats it, thats the question. You pit bull response is one of the reason I don't like working with nurses.
My understanding was that you are held to the standards of your license, regardless of what title a client, or agency, puts on the job. So handing a pt an aspirin, a sitter could do, but a nurse would need DO's for. SO it makes for a very challenging situation for the nurse.
In Florida, an RN put her own ad on craigslist saying that she wanted to be a sitter and that she would be willing to accept a job as a sitter or aide for $8 an hour.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I've been looking all over the place out of curiosity about this concept of being "held to the standards of your license" if you are working and being paid as a CNA or sitter.
If anyone has a link to anything that explains this in detail, I'd love to see it, because while it sounds simple, it isn't. Say, for example an RN is working as a CNA. Her patient has an IV, but she isn't responsible for it, and if working as a CNA, might not know what's in it. The patient has an adverse reaction. Is she held to the standard of an RN in her response to that situation even though, as an aide, she would not know the details of the drug. Therefore she does not know what to look for?
What I'm getting at is how can a nurse "be held to the standard of an RN" while working as an aide, without her being able to use the full set of implements and knowledge of the details of her patient that the RN taking care of that patient would have access to?
An RN working as a CNA would take vitals, and perhaps make some sort of assessment based on an elevated temp, but would not be able to listen for abnormal lung sounds that might be a logical next step. If she simply informs the RN, as a CNA would, there's no chaotic non-measurable way to place liability on the nurse.
Sorry for appearing thick, but I know somebody will probably know the answer here. It's been bugging me.
The responsibility to report to the RN in charge of the patient is what is being referred to. When an observation is made that is out of the ordinary or it is observed that the patient appears to be having problems the nurse (working as a CNA) must report to the nurse in charge. If s/he does not do so, or does not do so in an expedient manner, then they are liable and their license can be disciplined. The CNA has no license to discipline (although in extreme cases, they can have their own set of problems). When I worked as a CNA, the nurses shared with me info that a nurse would get during report, although they had no requirement to do so. In one facility, we were required to give report to the CNAs at the same time as the nurses, so the CNAs would have access to the info whether or not they understood nursing ramifications beyond CNA responsibilities.
I asked the RN working as a CNA or LVN question in nursing school, BSN program, and was told by my instructor at that time about the legal ramifications. She stated outright that it was not a good idea and not recommended that RNs work lower than RN for just this reason. There can be blurring of responsibility that could harm the nurse in such a situation.
Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.
As a nurse you can do all your duties as an RN plus any duty/ task that you would delegate to someone under your supervision such as to the CNA. They means that you can act as a sitter or as they are not being called "constant monitors". But most hospitals will not pay an RN to do that job because an RN is too expensive. Plus... how boring.
I have been wondering about this myself. I accepted an offer to work as a sitter for a family when I was in nursing school and they paid me pretty well. I wouldn't mind doing it again but I'd be worried about the liability that may be involved in doing so with a license and if you could even identify yourself as a nurse in a situation like that...speaking as an LPN without anyone to work under.
Orange Tree
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That is also my understanding. You can't say, "Well, I was just the sitter." if something goes wrong that an RN should have been able to recognize.
You would not be judged as a prudent sitter, but as a prudent RN.