CNA/Patient care tech duties in a hospital

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Hey guys quick question, what does a CNA with phlebotomy and EKG cirtification do in a hospital ? I was told that you dont really bath patients and change diapers and stuff like that you only so things like that in LTC. I dont want to sound silly or anything but im not into that kind of stuff :no:

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I think it is silly. It is hard for patients to have help getting dressed, bathed and changed try and think of it as helping them. I just don't see what the big deal is. As a nurse you will see all kinds of bodily fluids, so to me it makes no difference.

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Specializes in Cardiac ICU.

i'm going into my second semester of nursing school and, over the summer, i started a job as a student nurse intern at a local hospital. basically, my duties are the same as the cnas (pcts) and will progress more toward the nurse's duties with each semester completion of my clinicals.

i work on a cardiac stepdown unit. right now the duties of the pcts on my floor include:

  • taking vital signs
  • accu-checks
  • bed making
  • shower set up/assist or bed bath - we do for everyone daily on our floor
  • assisting to toilet and clean up
  • changing incontinent patient's disposable briefs
  • getting specimens (urine, sputum)
  • assist with set up for eating/assist with feeding
  • walk patient as ordered
  • remove iv/saline locks prior to discharge
  • set up telemetry monitoring
  • extending care, compassion and kindness
  • transporting patients to xray, ct, etc when needed
  • escorting patients via wheelchair for pick up on discharge
  • applying ted hose or sequential stockings
  • ordering air mattresses/bedside commodes/walkers etc when needed for certain patients
  • bladder scanning with doppler machine to evaluate urinary retention
  • clean up post mortem
  • document i & o, empty/measure output from foleys

so, yeah, there will be some yucky stuff....but on the other hand, you are making a difference in someone's life. everything you do is helping that patient to feel better about themselves on top of all the stress of being sick in the hospital. i have never met a patient who enjoyed exposing themselves and having someone else clean up their mess. they are embarrassed, frustrated and upset. these patients are fortunate to have you - someone they can trust to help them with what they can't do.

i really don't know any area of hospital care that would never have to deal with yucky stuff. you could check into working for the lab or cardiology dept. however, if you want to stay clean, youmight consider a doctor's office or clinic. in the hospital setting, no one is above the mess.

i hope this helps!

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i'm going into my second semester of nursing school and, over the summer, i started a job as a student nurse intern at a local hospital. basically, my duties are the same as the cnas (pcts) and will progress more toward the nurse's duties with each semester completion of my clinicals.

i work on a cardiac stepdown unit. right now the duties of the pcts on my floor include:

  • taking vital signs
  • accu-checks
  • bed making
  • shower set up/assist or bed bath - we do for everyone daily on our floor
  • assisting to toilet and clean up
  • changing incontinent patient's disposable briefs
  • getting specimens (urine, sputum)
  • assist with set up for eating/assist with feeding
  • walk patient as ordered
  • remove iv/saline locks prior to discharge
  • set up telemetry monitoring
  • extending care, compassion and kindness
  • transporting patients to xray, ct, etc when needed
  • escorting patients via wheelchair for pick up on discharge
  • applying ted hose or sequential stockings
  • ordering air mattresses/bedside commodes/walkers etc when needed for certain patients
  • bladder scanning with doppler machine to evaluate urinary retention
  • clean up post mortem
  • document i & o, empty/measure output from foleys

so, yeah, there will be some yucky stuff....but on the other hand, you are making a difference in someone's life. everything you do is helping that patient to feel better about themselves on top of all the stress of being sick in the hospital. i have never met a patient who enjoyed exposing themselves and having someone else clean up their mess. they are embarrassed, frustrated and upset. these patients are fortunate to have you - someone they can trust to help them with what they can't do.

i really don't know any area of hospital care that would never have to deal with yucky stuff. you could check into working for the lab or cardiology dept. however, if you want to stay clean, youmight consider a doctor's office or clinic. in the hospital setting, no one is above the mess.

i hope this helps!

thank you sooooo much i have been looking high and low for a good response and you have helped alot:yeah:. i really do understand what your saying, in fact, it made me feel really sad and upset at myself to think i could be so mean and insensitive to this:sniff:. if it was me i would want someone to take care of me "good" i have chnaged my outlook on this, i know its going to take some time to get use to but i know i can do it:wink2: i am going to be a nurse:nurse:

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Specializes in Cardiac ICU.

don't kick yourself for not wanting to do the yucky stuff...i would prefer not to, as well, but, but like i said...no one is above the mess. at this stage as a pct, i'm just "doing it" and not even thinking about the gross factor as much. the clean up is usually our duty but i have had nurses who take the opportunity to clean up/bathe in order to assess the patient's skin integrity, circulation, etc. these nurses are great and that is the kind of nurse i want to be...one who cares for the whole person - not the kind of nurse who, while in the room next to the patient's bedside, hits the call button to get the pct to come and give the patient a bedpan. :scrm:

the good part about working as a pct is that any area of patient care will never be foreign to you. i learned a lot in my first semester clinical skills, however, i never had a chance to practice the skills (my clinical patient didn't have a foley, wound dressing or was on insulin). being on the floor i've participated in urinary catheter inserts/removal, chest tube removal, thoracentesis, observed electrical cardioversion and numerous wound dressing changes. this kind of experience will give me a great advantage when i start my second semester clinicals next month. :rckn:

someday i would like to concentrate in one area: the cardiac cath lab. until then, i'm starting at the bottom and adding to my collective experience. i wish you well! :weathersunsmall:

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Please tell me if registered nurses also have to do the yucky stuff?

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Specializes in CNA.

I worked in a med-surg/oncology unit in hospital for a couple of years.

The RN's did everything the CNA's did. I can't generalize to every hospital everywhere, but depending on who had time to do what and what was needed at a certain time, the nurse might well do the 'yucky stuff' instead of the CNA (patient care tech which was the CNA title at this hospital).

Actually, of course, the RN's did more yucky stuff like wound care that PCT's were not allowed to do.

The list with the bullet points of duties (done by another poster) was an excellent list of duties.

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Hello everyone,

What you have just wrote is exactly what I do in the hospital that I work. The tech's are there to help the patient and observe any changes. We (techs) see first hand the patients and know how they feel. Any changes we observe we immediately tell the nurse assigned to that patient . The nurses appreciate our input because we work every day and see the same patients.

This happens because the nurses dont come everyday but every other day or once a month.

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Specializes in Med-surg.
Please tell me if registered nurses also have to do the yucky stuff?

Yes...nurses do the yucky stuff as well. I am a SR. nursing student and I work as a tech in the hospital. You will have RN's who feel as if they are above helping out with bed pans and making beds, you have some who won't even so much as take vitals, and then you have some who will stand shoulder to shoulder with you while you are giving a patient a bath. I stand firmly on the fact that I will not be one of those nurses who look down on a mess and feel as if it is "tech work" these are the nurses who I am never in a hurry to help. Your tech will be your right hand man and one hand always washes the other. You want to help out your tech's they make the nurses job a whole lot easier and I don't think I would want to work with any tech who didn't think to highly of their nurse. Besides...I was truly sick and in ICU and couldn't get out of the bed when I got sick...It was a tech and a RN who helped me get cleaned up and who eased my embarassment, and who changed my linen and did what any caring, compassionate, health care professional would have done. Health care can be GROSS but it's the appriciation that you get from your patients that make it worth while.

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I have 2 questions. As part of my prereqs for getting my RN I am taking a class for CNA. I will most likely be put on a waiting list. I want to work as a CNA or PCT until I am able to get into nursing school full time. Is it best to tell the hospital that my goal is to get into nursing school as soon as I get in, I will give you my notice? Or will that hurt my chances for a job in a hospital? I think it is really important to work as an assistant to the nurse to give me more experience.

My second question is: What is the difference between a CNA and PCT. I have a friend that is a PCT for 25 years and she told me to try to get to be a PCT but not really the differences. Does anyone have any info on either of these questions?

Thanks,

Lisa

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I have 2 questions. As part of my prereqs for getting my RN I am taking a class for CNA. I will most likely be put on a waiting list. I want to work as a CNA or PCT until I am able to get into nursing school full time. Is it best to tell the hospital that my goal is to get into nursing school as soon as I get in, I will give you my notice? Or will that hurt my chances for a job in a hospital? I think it is really important to work as an assistant to the nurse to give me more experience.

My second question is: What is the difference between a CNA and PCT. I have a friend that is a PCT for 25 years and she told me to try to get to be a PCT but not really the differences. Does anyone have any info on either of these questions?

Thanks,

Lisa

I think the difference is that a CNA is licensed and a PCT is not. I could be completely wrong, but that's my understanding. As far as job duties, probably exactly the same. Re: applying for a job, I would definitely tell them you are applying to nursing schools as it shows ambition and a desire to learn. I'd leave the quitting part out. You never know what might happen down the road and you might decide to keep working some during nursing school and summers. Just my 2 cents.

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