what is a day like as a MSICU nursing aide?

[meghan91]

hey guys, i currently work at the hospital as a patient transport aide but i want to actually be with the patients more and see whats going on actually and gain more experience while in nursing school. i want to apply as a N/A in the MSICU part time and during evenings. the only thing stopping me is i am nervous they wont be too flexiable with my school schedule but that is besides the point. i know what an aide does and all of that but i was wondering N/A's what do you do normally that might be a little different than just regular floor work?

and nurses what do you have your aides do differentlly or wish they did differently?

also nurses and N/A's in our ICU the rooms are huge and have a closet like thing where all general supplies are kept for each patient like flushes etc, is there anything as nurses you want more of always in there or what do you preffer to have in there?

i have heard the icu nurses saying they wish the aides would stock certian things more in there.

thanks everyone!

[RNperdiem, RN]

The CNAs in my unit spend a lot of time stocking our bedside cart. We like having supplies on hand.

Part of orientation is being shown where to stock everything; that part is easy.

The majority of ICU patients need to be boosted up in bed and turned every 2 hours. The nurses need another person to help with that. A CNA can stay very busy helping with turns, helping clean patients and assisting with transport to CT scan, MRI etc.

The main difference between ICU and floor is that nurses take care of their own vital signs. The other big difference is that the nurse is almost always there for patient care, your will really be assisting the nurse rather than doing a lot of patient care on your own.

All of our CNAs are nursing students, and most of them work hard to develop a good reputation so upon graduation, they can get hired into the unit.