CNA - What is the typical routine in a hospital

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Hello fellow NA-Cs and nursing students

I was just hired at an agency in Seattle, Washington that staffs throughout Washington and other states. The agency staffs nursing homes and hospitals and assisted living.

A little background about me is that I am taking a few more prerequisites until I apply for the Practical Nursing Program. I have already earned an Associate in Technical Arts Degree (Computers, basically) I plan to use this with a Practical Nursing Certificate. Technology & Nursing

Anyhoo, I will be placed in hospitals and I have never worked in a hospital. I have worked in nursing homes and it goes back to 1984; although, I have not worked in hospitals. Most agencies require one year of acute care experience as with hospitals in Washington State. My question is the following: Can anyone tell me what the day to day routine of working in a hospital as an NA-C? What does the NA-C do, specifically, with admits/discharges, for instance. Is the agency NA-C required to set up EKG monitors? Help!! Anyway, God Bless

it all depends exactly what job as a cna you have in the hospital. some just take vitals all shift and others do the same tough stuff that are done in ltc.

It just really depends on the hospital and the floor. In the unit I work in, I'm on a 12 hour shift. I do vitals every 4 hours. When surgical patients come in, I set up the room, help transfer the patient off the stretcher, plug in oxygen, set up the Dinamap to do post-surgical vitals, assist the nurse with whatever s/he needs.

On a regular day, I pass trays at 7, noon, and 5. Then we do baths and changing linens and toileting all morning, basically. In the afternoon, I&O. We also pick up all the meal trays and put them back on the cart for nutrition to come get. We also just do regular rounds to see if anybody needs anything.

Then, in between all the stuff you're supposed to be charting and doing on a regular schedule for the patients, call lights are going off like lights in a pinball machine, and you're running all over the place answering them. People want pain pills, or to go to the bathroom, mainly. Sometimes they want the bedpan, sometimes they want the bedside commode, even though the actual toilet is only 2 more feet away. Sometimes they are in briefs and have to be changed along with the bedclothes, and sometimes you have to wait for another CNA to get done with whatever they're doing so they can help you do that. Sometimes they want to get up and sit in the chair. Sometimes they need to ambulate per doctor's orders. You may pop into 5 rooms in 20 minutes, or you may be in 1 room for half an hour.

There are CNAs in other parts of the hospital that do things like work with O/R nurses, or in CCU, or in the ED. I do work with post-surgical patients part of the time, and patients on the way to rehab after a serious illness, or patients who are gravely ill and not expected to recover. CNA's in other parts of the hospital have different tasks, though, but the core things remain the same - vitals, ADL's, patient personal comfort care.

I'm still new where I work, so I'm sure I'm missing something, but that's the gist of it. You don't really have any time to stop and rest. You'll be worn out. But if you have a good crew (CNA's & nurses), you help each other and the work goes by quickly.

Specializes in Float.

I work on Telemetry but I've floated to the ED. On my regular floor vitals are done as soon as you come on shift, the ice is passed, pts are fed, you go on morning break, do am care, do 11 am glucose, feed pts lunch, go on your own lunch, empty foleys, endorse to second shift and then punch out. This is the ideal. These are the basics, they don't change day to day.

In reality, you hit the floor running because on more days than not, you have EKG's, lab and blood bank runs, emergency blood work (elevated glucose levels requires blood to be drawn and sent to lab), countless call bell/bed pan runs, multiple incontinent bed changes for one pt, switching used for unused code carts, assisting the RN's with whatever they need and releasing the 1:1's.

In our ED, we do EKG's, glucose and restock the cubicles. If it's really busy sometimes the RN's will ask us to do blood draws but other than that, the ED is suprisingly light.

Of course this depends on hospitals and departments. For instance, in our ICU/CCU/MICU's the tech's do minimal on hand's care of the pts. They're really just there for blood bank/lab runs, code cart run's etc. Either way, I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience. Something warm and fuzzy happens in your chest when you walk past your pts room and see them as comfortable as they can be under the circumstances. When they brighten when you walk on shift and when that mean one softens up because you held your temper, understood their pain/fear/anger, listened to them vent and then still offered them assistance with whatever they needed that's within your scope of practice. Sometimes though, you just have to walk away. :p

I seriously appreciate that you took the time to respond. :)My major concern is that I have not worked in the acute care, or hospital. I mean, working directly at a hospital means that you will receive an orientation, ever a couple days of orientation and some additional training. I guess, I just have to decide if I will work in the hospital through a nurse staffing agency without any experience in the hospital.:confused:

God Bless You Truly,

Before this, I've never worked in acute care. Didn't even work in a nursing home. I worked a year in one woman's home, and she had dementia, but she took her own baths, voided on her own, got herself dressed, etc.

Everybody who works in a hospital, had never worked in a hospital at one time in their lives. Even doctors.

My orientation is about over. It lasts 4 weeks for me. There was 2 or 3 days of patient services orientation, then I was sent to the floor, where I've been working about 60% of the time alongside a veteran CNA.

They don't just throw you out there and tell you to get to work. At least, a good hospital won't. If they expect you to do your job, and make their hospital run like they want it run, they're going to train you adequately. I'm just now getting to the end of my orientation. The CNAs I've worked with, even the nurses, have for the most part been great and very friendly and very open to questions and even hands-on assistance with a patient if I need it. And even a month into my work, I'm still slow as molasses in winter, still having to remind myself of what needs to be done, still building confidence. It takes time... and you definitely do have to start somewhere.

I was really calm reading your first paragraph, the ideal. Well, any job is stressful. I really need the hospital experience; although, I was hoping to get that experience with an orientation. God Bless,

Specializes in Float.
I was really calm reading your first paragraph, the ideal. Well, any job is stressful. I really need the hospital experience; although, I was hoping to get that experience with an orientation. God Bless,

I didn't mean to scare you. It's like Girl Scout said. I had never had any healthcare experience before this Tech position. I got in because I did my Certified Clinical Medical Assistant clinicals at this hospital and was hired on in the outpatient dept as a CCMA. When the posting for the Tech position came up I applied. I took a 4 week course and then was placed on the floor for 1 month of orientation. During orientation I worked with the other Techs. All the patient care I know I learn during that one month orientation. Just like Girl Scout, I was slow when I first started. Now I move with the best of them and believe me, you will to. It's an amazing opportunity for you, please don't pass it up. :)

Holy cow!!! And what sort of pay do these CNA's make in hospitals? Just wondering....and what part of the country are you? Thanks! :confused:

in my area, cna's at hospitals start at around $11-12 hr. being a cna in a hospital is much easier than being a cna in ltc, it's just like most things, people that do the hardest work don't get the higher pay.

I can only tell you what I'm making. And keep in mind that Arkansas is notorious for being one of the very lowest-paying states for CNAs and nurses in general.

After taxes, I'm making $30 less than the 2009 federal poverty guideline.

Yes, it hurts. Yes, I'm actively seeking work elsewhere. Although the hospital itself is wonderful, and most of the people I've met and worked with are genuinely caring, hard-working people, I'm not even "surviving" on this.

If I understand correctly, though, because of the current economy, administrators get away with this kind of behavior because they can justify the need to bring in professional staff at a higher rate, because they're harder to get, and non-professional staff at a lower rate, because of the high turnover. Yeah, I know. It doesn't make a lick of sense.

Anyway, not trying to derail the topic, but FWIW, that's what I make in what I'm doing.

Specializes in Float.

I live on the East Coast and @ my hospital techs start @ $14.35. I know of one other hospital where the position is posted as $17.00 on their website. Since I've never worked there, I don't know if it's based on experience or what.

Dude

I don't know what area you're from or what their hospital's CNA's do, but I beg to differ with having it easy because I'm in a hospital. We do CNA work in addition to other trained skills. Our pts are not static, we get an overturn on a regular basis, so we don't get used to one pt where we can develope a routine. Each pt needs something different all the time.

Maybe we can compare notes, however, I'll accept that LTC is different that hospitals, but definately not easier.

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