CNA's Not Wanting to Listen to Student Nurses

[jjhunt]

I had a situation with a CNA that has a real problem with working with student nurses. As students we have to learn that at times we have to prioritize and delegate some duties but how do I handle a CNA that doesn't want anything to do with student nurses?

[jjhunt]

I really appreciate your comments. This is exactly the message I was trying to get across but you were able to state it in a much better way. Thanks!

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Delegation is part of the nursing responsibility. While you need to be able to perform every aspect of the job, you don't have to on every pt every time it's needed. The tech primary job is to support the RN. That's you (or will be soon). And if you need something done like vs or a bath, and you are doing something nursing specific, like meds, a procedure or assessment, then there should be no hesitation in requesting a tech perform the ADL assignment. It's their job.

This part of nursing takes some getting used to, especially if this is your 1st career. Some suggestions:

- Don't order the tech. This isn't the service. Be polite (see next item)

- "Please" & "Thank you" go a long way.

- Don't say "do me a favor". It's not a favor, it's their job.

- Help out the techs when you can, especially on the other pts they have, not just yours.

- And let the tech know you're available to help them. I used to say just that at the beginning of the shift after I introduced myself, "Grab me if you need another set of hands". I worked with them and they worked with me.

Good luck.

[truern]

An important thing to remember is that the CNAs are employees of the facility....not of you or your school. A little respect will go a LONG way in gaining cooperation when delegating to them.