Do you have time to give baths?

KJStarling · Mar 17, 2011

Has anyone read that "basin baths" are more likely to cause infections than "bath packs?" I read that on a bulletin board on an ICU...

I bathe my patients, but other issue may take priority...

I agree with the "stable and stinky" idea... Better punky than expired!

susanlwins · Feb 5, 2012

I'm an RN in a hospital. All of the above mentioned are the responsibilities of a nurse. Nursing assistants are there to help us with our responsibilities. That being said, I find it interesting that you asked if I worked in a nursing home because I've found that nurses in nursing homes don't do any ADLs.

Amen! I am a nursing assistant in a hospital now, and I see my job as assisting my RN's with WHATEVER they need help with/don't have time for. I realize not all CNA's have this understanding of their job responsibilities, or this attitude, but I feel that it really helps me have good ripor with my coworkers and supervisors, as well as helps my patients receive excellent care. Most of the RN's I work with (with very few exceptions) understand that basic patient care duties are an important part of their job description, and they also understand that I am there to help them. I usually have anywhere from 8-14 patients on our busy Neuro floor, and day shift CNA's are expected to do up to 6 baths. I hate to say, I rarely get all 6 done. But I do as much as I can, in-between doing hourly rounds during which we do the 3 P's (Pain, Position, Potty). When RN's and CNA's work together to accomplish the basic patient care, it seems that then the RN's have the time they need to do the advanced care that is expected of them, and the CNA's feel appreciated, useful, and not overly burdened.

I have also worked in Skilled Nursing facilities where most of the nurses wouldn't be caught dead helping a patient to the bathroom, and walked 300 yards down a hallway from the patient's room to tell the CNA to come put a sheet on the bed, instead of just doing it themselves. I understand that in a nursing home, the nurses' patient load is usually much higher, but I think that the above-mentioned concept of the effectiveness of teamwork still applies - the more we help each other out, the more gets done, the more fun we have doing it, and the less we end up bickering with each other about our job descriptions. Interestingly, in the nursing home I worked at, it was the LPN's, and not the RN's, who had the biggest problems doing ADL's. It almost seemed like the LPN's carried around an entitlement attitude (I have a degree, so I shouldn't have to do peri-care), while the RN's (who are fewer and farther between in SNF's) were much more likely to help out and work together as a team.

Ok, I will get off my soapbox now. I am finishing up prereqs for nursing school, am thrilled with my job as a CNA and love that it is giving me so many experiences, and also showing me what kind of nurse I want to be, and what kind of coworker I want to be, in the future.