Don't flame me for this

[future_RN, CNA]

I am a CNA with a few years of experience, and am also in Nursing School right now.

I have followed the advice of many and left my comfortable job as a tech in a freestanding, acute psych facility and am now working in a hospital that I've been trying to get into for awhile to better network and hopefully open doors for me when I finish school. I say my job in psych was comfortable because it was a relatively small (180+/- bed) facility, I knew all my coworkers, loved the patient population and constant new faces, and the physical labor was not as tough as other CNA jobs I have had.

I love being a CNA. Many people always say "how can you do that job?" and "Do you have to wipe people's butts? eww." But as all of us know, though 9/10 times it is a part of our day, wiping butts is about the easiest thing I do during the shift. I work on a VERY busy tele floor (as most are), and I love the patients and my coworkers are fine. My manager is the kindest, professional, structured, and fair boss I've ever had.

However, one thing I do notice is that a lot of the male nurses seem to call my phone and ask me to do things a lot more than the female nurses do. Maybe it is just my unit, maybe it is just the ones I work with. (Not all of the ones I work with of course). I get many calls while I'm in the middle of changing patients, feeding them, taking them to dialysis or downstairs to wait for their ride, etc. "Can you go give room ___ a cup of water." "Can you give ______ a blanket." "Can you take the stool specimen I already collected in the room and send it to the lab." "Did you check the blood sugar on room ___?" When I'm on my break and the blood sugars aren't due for another hour

I understand delegation and am always compliant. I am not the type to ruffle feathers, I'm not scared of confrontation but I never want an uncomfortable work situation, and I'll do anything to help someone out. But some things are easy fixes. If my linen cart is right outside the room that so and so needs a blanket in...... Meanwhile I'm rolling a 250lb isolation patient and doing a complete bed change by myself (not complaining, it comes with the job).

Don't take this to heart, I am also a male, so as to say I'm not gender-bashing or whatever. Maybe its just my unit, maybe not. Has anyone any input on this?

[Sour Lemon]

It could be that some males are more assertive. Beyond that, I only have one thing to add...

I commonly hear CNAs complain that they're asked to do one thing while in the middle of an alternate task. I understand that can be frustrating, but it's going to get a whole lot worse when you become a nurse. The nurse asking you to grab a cup of water might have a long list of higher priority tasks to complete, themselves. Learn to say, "I can grab it right after I finish changing Mrs. X." That's pretty much what we have to do as nurses when radiology, doctors, families, lab, nursing managers, etc. ask us to do something as we're already trying to do 6000 other things.

OK, two things to add ....if you're going on break, your supervisor (or nurses' assigned to your patients) should be notified and someone should be assigned to cover you. You shouldn't feel obligated to answer your phone.

[future_RN, CNA]

No i totally get it they are constantly prioritizing. And have much higher priority things to do than things that I can do. Also, I always notify the charge nurse when I'm going on my break and make it a point to let the other CNAs know when I'm going on break.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

It might be time to stop bringing the phone into the break room, or silence it. For 30 minutes per shift, you are off the clock and not being paid. If that 30 minutes is interrupted, the DOL requires that you are paid for that 30 minutes. They need to start approaching the CNA who is covering for you, especially since you told them you are going on break. Heck you don't even have to stay in the hospital while on break -- you are off the clock. What would they do if you left campus to buy lunch? Exactly what they are supposed to do now: approach the CNA who is covering for you.

Get into this mindset, because this issue only gets worse for the nurse.

[future_RN, CNA]

I make it a point to leave the unit for my break, as I had learned that if I wanted to eat my food in peace that is how I can do it. As far as the phone thing when I was trained everyone brought their phones on their break and answers them while on break, but I'm gonna look into policy and see if I can maybe hand over my phone for break.

[HelloWish, ADN, BSN]

I think that a male nurse isn't afraid to delegate whereas females are less likely to ask for help or delegate. That seems to be a more common feminine trait. Constantly getting interrupted will escalate as nurse. All I can say is one day, when you are a nurse, you will understand why the nurse asks you to do all the seemingly simple tasks. Their burden is heavier than you can possibly imagine right now and involves life and death! I appreciate the CNA's who make it possible for me to complete my impossible list of tasks as a nurse. I do as much as I can without calling a tech/CNA, but sometimes I just have to pass on the tasks that can be completed by a CNA so I can complete my nursing tasks. A CNA's role is vital to health and safety of the patient!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I think that a male nurse isn't afraid to delegate whereas females are less likely to ask for help or delegate. That seems to be a more common feminine trait.

I concur. Also, many of my female counterparts are more likely to drop hints and cues rather than give straightforward directives.

Before people accuse me of being misogynistic, there are proven differences between female and male communicative patterns. Women are, in fact, more likely to engage in hinting. We also use conversation to build and maintain workplace relationships. Conversely, men are more likely to skip the hints and be direct.

http://personal.tcu.edu/pwitt/Wood.pdf

Gender Issues: Communication Differences in Interpersonal Relationships | Ohioline

[quazar]

I concur. Also, many of my female counterparts are more likely to drop hints and cues rather than give straightforward directives.

Before people accuse me of being misogynistic, there are proven differences between female and male communicative patterns. Women are, in fact, more likely to engage in hinting. We also use conversation to build and maintain workplace relationships. Conversely, men are more likely to skip the hints and be direct.

http://personal.tcu.edu/pwitt/Wood.pdf

Gender Issues: Communication Differences in Interpersonal Relationships | Ohioline

I agree. It's a socialization thing. Women are socialized to not be direct, men are socialized to be direct. Women are trained to read subtext and speak in subtext, men are not. This alone has probably been the number one cause of disagreements in my own marriage: miscommunication because we just plain communicate differently. He says what he means, meanwhile I'm trying to read the subtext when THERE ISN'T ANY. I could go on for hours about this....

At any rate, on the phone at break thing....leave your dang phone at the desk with another tech or with the charge nurse when you go on break. Problem solved. That's what our techs AND nurses do. When they are on break, someone else gets their phone. Peace and quiet.

[future_RN, CNA]

All very good points. People always tell me I'm so "blunt." I should have already reasoned this lol.

[NuGuyNurse2b]

I can't really gauge the unfairness when you aren't specific in your description of the situation. You say you get called a lot by the male nurses...but are you assigned to those patients for whom the male nurses are calling you? If so, I don't see the issue.

If those aren't your assigned rooms and you are getting calls to help the patients, then I can see the problem. At my place, we have the stupid rules where everybody answers a call bell whether it's your assigned room or not. I get the idea behind that, it's just not feasible. I can't answer call bells asking for a cup of coffee while trying to figure out a PCA pump, so I'll ask a tech to answer the call bell if I see them available. They don't like it when it's not their assigned rooms either, but the chain of command needs to be followed in order for the system to work. A nurse can do an aide's job; an aide cannot do a nurse's job. I'm not saying grabbing a cup of coffee is beneath me, but my priorities are elsewhere.

[quazar]

All very good points. People always tell me I'm so "blunt." I should have already reasoned this lol.

Well, I don't know you from Adam's housecat, BUT, many people with Asperger's syndrome report being told they are "so blunt" often in their adult lives. Just throwing that out there. I have an autistic kid so that kind of stuff is always on my radar, can't help it.

[DeeAngel]

When you go on break or to meals hand your phone to the charge nurse to monitor.