CNA Anyone?

Nurses General Nursing

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I was just curious if there were any CNA's on the board? It not, can someone please tell me what they do? I am condidering talking a 9 week CNA course at my local Adult School.

It's a really long story, but to make it a little shorter... I couldn't be added to the chem class at the CC I'm going to., so I opted for an all daySaturday Sociology class that I know I will eventually need anyway. Then my boss who had said .. "I'll defenitley work around your school hours".. decided it was just better for me to resign (Ahhh:( ) so that's what I did. My last day is next Friday... so I can either find another customer service job or take the CNA course, but before I sign up officially.... I wanted to know what they really did and where they are usually employed, i guess monwy isn't the biggest issue, I'm looking at it from the aspect of getting into the medical field while I get my ADN...

So, any one out there to answer my quetion?

S

i'm glad to hear that there are cna's who enjoy their work. i have a few nursing assistants in my nutrition class and they complain constantly about the nurses at their ltc facility. i just want to say..

stop complaining because you will be a nurse someday and things will look differently to you.. :eek:

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Specializes in Women's health & post-partum.

Hi, Mario. There was another step or two between tasting urine (ugh) and machines. First there was a blue liquid (boy, am I having a Sr. moment) that you added to urine, or maybe added the urine to, and heated it. The color change told you the amount of glucose in the urine. Then there were the tablets, which generated their own heat. Can anyone help me remember the names of those products?

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Flo1216, I know straight cathing is quite invasive. About a year after I became a CNA I worked in an acute rehab hospital. They checked with the state, NH, and took a core group of CNA's (these included me and another night CNA, and one CNA from each of the other shifts). They trained us and kept an eye on whether or not infection rates went up by having us do a majority of the straight caths. They didn't, so now all CNA's are trained when ready. At an acute care rehab, we end up with quite a few patients--spinal cord injuries mainly--that need to be straight cathed every 4-6 hours. RN's get anywhere from 8-15 patients, depending on the shift they work. Having the CNA's straight cath is a HUGE help, and they were properly trained. Not unheard of, and I liked the chance to learn new things. I just used it as an example to say that depending on the area of healthcare you work in, you may be trained in different procedures that may be helpful to that particular facility.

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I have a question about caths. I am a male, 37, and have never been cathed, but I've seen some folks with caths as a CNA.

I asked the RNs where i work if its harder to cath a man or woman. I thought it would be much harder to cath a woman, since the eurethra is shorter. They said its easier to cath a man. i can not imagine being cathed. Then I asked if they have to sedate men before they cath them. They said no.

I couldn't imagine what it must feel like to have a cath placed through me like that. I would involunarily squirm and not be still. I would have to be sedated. If someone cathed me, i can imagine seeing my eyes get wide as a bug. Wouldn't that make you really upset you to be cathed?

And I hate to sound like a dunce, but what is the difference between a straight cath or some other cath?

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Mario:

A straight catheter is an in and out cath... i.e. it is inserted just to get a urine specimen and then removed.

A foley catheter is an indwelling catheter... it is placed in the bladder, a balloon filled with sterile water is inflated to keep it there, and it continually drains urine into a collection bag.

And I've been cathed before. It wasn't pleasant. I now refuse every time the doc wants me to be catheterized (which, thankfully, isn't often).

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I am a CNA 1 and after this semester a CNA 2. It is a wonderful way to get introduced into the world of Nursing and see if that is what you want to do. It is what made me decide to go back to Nursing School (which I am currently in). You do all the hard, "gross" (except for if you really love it, it won't be gross to you, but you develop a need to learn about it) stuff that the nurses have graduated beyond. I worked at a Nursing Home for a long time before I had to cut my hours back for nursing school and you do everything from feed to dress to talk to to make beds to wipe butts to clean up vomit to this and that and the other. everything you can think of that doesn't involve meds. You should definately take the course, but if you don't like that, they do not go to nursing school. Hope that helps, good luck, you will prolly love it.

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I'm a CNA & work in hospital on a med-surg floor. I help with meals, feeding, collecting trays, ambulating pts, transporting, colostomies, foleys, NG tubes (emptying the containers). Vital signs, bathing, & just helping out the nurses anyway I can. They know I'm going on to be an RN, so they're always happy to have me help or let me watch a procedure. I was lucky enough to get a job on a floor that 99% of the nurses (RN & LPN) are wonderful to work with... they treat me as an equal & when I leave at night, I know I've done a good job & that they appreciate me as much as I appreciate them.. we thank each other.... & mean it. :D

As a side note, before I was certified, I worked in a rehab facility that didn't require you to be certified. Don't get me wrong, it was a good place, but they expected teh "rehab techs" to do things (straight caths, helping with dressings) that I wasn't comfortable with, & wouldn't even as a CNA unless I had some training or something. Go figure.

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Wow! This really turned out to be an active thread... now I'm really excited the course is only nine weeks. Hopefully I'll have new job in my chosen field by Thanksgiving! By the way, I loved ALL of your answers... lots of information. Mario... I actually thought you were a nurse already... I love to read all of your posts... Honestly... this is the BEST bb I've ever been on...

Thanks for everything.

S

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I was a CNA for 8 years before I went to nursing school and the hospital I worked for temp let me do in & out cath's and BS checks.They trained me there and it is essential that any CNA gets trained on how to do an invasive procedure before they go and perform it, and to get checked off on it before they preform it. Both were in the LPN curriculm and after you know more about the body and what can happen if you do an invasive procedure wrong it makes you start thinking.

I was an EMT-B so the squad I was on allowed us to perform BS on pt's with S/S of hypoglcemia or CVA or anything else that we thought it was necessary. I'm an EMT-Cardiac Tech ( one step away from a Paramedic) and our protocols allow us to do it without calling and having to get an order for it.

LPN & EMT-CT

Support your local Rescue Squad and Fire Dept.!!

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To answer Mario's question re caths:

Cathing men is much easier than women. It is so much easier to visualize the urethral opening. If the person has an enlarged prostate, it does make things more difficult.

Zylocaine can be instilled into the urethra prior to inserting the catheter. This numbs the area temporarily.

Another reason for straight cathing a person is if they have a condition such as neurogenic bladder -- where they cannot pass their urine any other way. Some people consider straight cathing the person throughout intervals of the day to lower the risk of infection as opposed to just wearing an indwelling catheter all the time.

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I couldn't imagine what it must feel like to have a cath placed through me like that. I would involunarily squirm and not be still. I would have to be sedated. If someone cathed me, i can imagine seeing my eyes get wide as a bug. Wouldn't that make you really upset you to be cathed?

Mario,

I have never been cathed either, but I have seen this proceedure a dozen times and most times I help hold a leg or just a hand and I have never seen anyone freak out....the nurses usually tell the patient to take a deep breath and they're in....

Once, saw some trouble getting past an enlarged prostate, but even then the man just winced a little. I think that most of the men are more focused on the embarassment than the pain.

It is more difficult to cath a woman because it is harder to find the urethra, even though it is shorter.

I hope you never have to be cathed, but if you do, it won't be so bad! :kiss

Gator

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originally posted by flo1216

i don't understand that. if the nurse is straight cathing the pt then why doesn't she get the sample at the same time?

good question. i've said it before, i'll risk saying it again, only the boards know why they made this so. logic? i dunno.

flo, as a cna, are you comfortable performing those procedures that may be invassive that your boards say you can do?

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