can an unlicensed nursing assistant empty foley's?

[believeallispossible]

Can an "unlicensed" nursing assistant empty foley's? or do you have to be certified to do that?

[mamamerlee, LPN]

Just curious - why do you ask?

[jennifers]

first off I want to answer by saying yes. Secondly, I had to think about why you would ask. the only answer I can think of is the assessment involved. Is it more than 30 ml per hour, does it smell foul, how is the color. These are all assessments that the nurse may need to know.

Personally the aids on our floor do peri care and i dont want them doing that. I need to assess the bleeding, amount, smell, color and if there are clots. I cant do that if they change the patient...but thats just me. I just go do it before they get a chance and they think i'm doing them a favor...win win

[elizabeth321]

patients empty their own foley bags all the time...both in and out of hospital

[mappers]

Response to serveral posts....

Interesting thoughts about the assessment. That is true, but I can empty it once and do my assessment. I don't have to empty it everytime for that, unless there is a particular problem. But emptying a foley bag is something that can be deligated to an aide.

Also, to op...nursing assistants aren't licensed, they're certified. In my state you don't have have certification to work as and aide in a hospital. You do in LTC however.

Also, we teach patients to do all kinds of self care at home, that in a hospital would have to be done by a licensed person. People outside of healthcare settings who do not have any type of license or certification can do whatever they want without a doctor's order. They have no "scope of practice" that limits what they can do. For example, patients and family members are taught to change foleys and straight cath. They do not have to maintain sterile technique, etc. But in a hospital a patient shouldn't be allowed to do that and you would have to maintain sterile technique. Same with dressing changes. Different sets of rules apply.

I had a brother who was a quad. When my parents were looking to hire a caregiver, anyone who was certified and worked for an agency could not cath him. They were limited by their scope of practice. But my parents could hire a noncertified person themselves and teach them how to do it. That's exactly what they did.

[LETRN]

I work as a patient care tech doing everything that certified NA's do, which includes emptying foleys. It's not exactly splitting atoms, after all

[Nurse2B80]

Yep. I'm a pct We can empty foleys, d/c foleys, draw blood, d/c ivs, and a lot of other undesirable things.

[Marvie]

I believe that it would be a yes however, information that might be clinical important such as I/O needs to be accuratly recorded if not by them then by a supervising RN.