be kind to your CNAs

[AuntieRN]

I want to appologize ahead of time. This is mostly a vent really. I have worked with 2 different nurses (besides the regular nurses on my floor, the past 2 weeks. One was a traveler and one has recently transfered from our "sister" hospital. I work nights as a nurse tech. Now comes my vent...I want to know why SOME nurses treat their CNAs like they are not smart and are their own personal assistants. They can not answer a call light, won't help you turn your patients or change them...that is until....someone pipes up and says....so...you finally graduated huh? When are you taking your boards....once they realize you are a graduate nurse they treat you differently. Then they start helping you and talking to you like you are human and want to know why you did not tell them you graduated from nursing school. Well my question is...what difference does it make and what does it matter that I graduated from nursing school. I am still a tech in the eyes of my employer even though they pay me new grad pay to do CNA work until I pass my boards. They should be treating their CNAs with respect anyways...and what I learned in school is it is all nursing regardless of if it is passing meds or cleaning dirty behinds. Sorry this just really upsets me. Perhaps it is because I have been on both sides now and made a HUGE promise to myself that I will always respect any CNA or secretary that works with me. I will always remember what it was like. I just do not get why it should matter that I am a graduate nurse and not a CNA. I am still doing the same job.

[melmiche]

I was going to start a thread that read something like "Nurse vs tech" and then I read this thread.. I think everyone here has valid points and I have a friend who was having a discussion with me where in nursing school she was actually told that nurses should distance themselves from their aides. She was told things like not to eat lunch with them etc.

Now I am a CNA and a nursing student myself and actually have more expereince in the nursing field than her and my point is this. I think it creates alot if resentment when people over delegate (Yes it does happen) and it creates alot of resentment when the over delegation is brought to the forefront by the aide. Everyone here is working towards the good of the patient but I think it is terrible how because they have the RN or LPN behind their name that they should be considered better or more valuable. I have seen this happen and it is very frusterating. I understand the liability and responsibilty of the RN and their time constarints but the ratios are never as high as an aide's it would be considered unsafe.

I did not write this to start a flame war but to gather opinions on if you have seen or heard about this situation?

Thanks for reading!

[chadash]

I really dont mind that the nurses do not have lunch with me. I have to talk to them so much, asking questions and reporting stuff, that I am sure they need a break from interacting with me. That may be why, they just need some time to clear the ol' brain. I am an overboard extravert, but still need some quiet thought time myself.

[chadash]

.....

I guess I have made peace with being treated as less than the nurses, which sets me up to be pleasantly suprised by the really kind nurses I work with now. It also innoculates me from the occasional scoldings and hand slapping from people much younger than I. :)

The fact is, I chose to me a nursing assistant, and I have chosen to continue to be one. I have done it long enough to know that status is not part of this job. If you continue to do this work, you have to get over that, or you will not enjoy the great stuff about it. It is really a wonderful job.

[Chaya, ASN, RN]

Was floated last night to a floor I had worked on infrequently. I was so relieved to be paired with a CNA I had worked with previously and who was familiar with our patient group. I did delegate to her the tasks of getting patients ready for bed as they requested assistance-and she in turn "delegated" to me the tasks of getting pain meds for a pt who requested them of her, or assessing a potential pressure spot on a pt she was working with...I relied on her knowledge of these people in asking her who tended to go to sleep earliest so I could order my med pass accordingly, and if a patient who seemed lethargic to me was behaving differently from usual in her experience with him. She was worth her weight in gold; we helped each other provide some really high quality pt care and at the end of the night I let her know how grateful I was for her help and expertise!:flowersfo

[AuntieRN]

Why would RNs not want to eat lunch with the CNAs? That makes not sense to me. When I was a CNA we always ate lunch with the nurses and now that I am a nurse we still all eat lunch together....that just does not make sense...we are all human beings regardless of what letters are after our names. One set of letters does not make anyone better then the other set of letters....heck even our head nurse and nurse manager eat lunch with us and the CNAs most days....

Sorry I guess this just hit me wrong and really upset me that someone would suggest that an RN needs to distance herself from a CNA. Like being a CNA is some sort of disease or something. I'm gonna tell you what...I may be a new nurse and still on orientation....but...I could not make it through my day without the help of my CNAs/Techs....ok I will be done now....sorry....

[chadash]

I don't think nurses shun NA at lunch, it just is not practical to go to lunch with anyone, frankly, and if you can you would have a tendency to go with someone you have more in common with.....

But, it is strange for a nursing instructor to actually suggest that you not....

[ns lpn]

I agree with babynurse some people just don't respect others. It happens in all fields not just nursing and it is very frustrating.

My personal pet peeve is "it's not my job" I hear more RN's, LPN's and CNA's say this at my work to each other and I just hate it. There are lots of things not in my job description but well with in my scope of practice or just basic human things that I do to make life easier for my patients and my co-workers. I don't understand how staff can be so kind to a patient and so mean to each other?

[melmiche]

I think it puts a barrier between the 2 fields and yes it is upsetting which is why I brought it up. RN's are not different, better, etc than anyone else and it bothers me ( I wrote a letter) to the school in question stating so. That they should not foster that type of attitude towards the 2 disciplines.

[jelorde37]

im an lvn and ive seen the abuse first hand. from what i heard, its always been that way. NP look down on RN's, RN's thinking LVN's are unqualified, Lvn's belittling MA's and NP,RN,LVN treating CNA's second class.

.

i believe that its a power struggle between the different ranks. sometimes i just dont understand it either. Even though we may have different tasks, our main goal is to better a patient's quality of life.

For all the CNA's out there, thanks for your help.