how to be efficient

[567 SeaOtter]

Hello!

I am looking for tips from experienced CNAs for how to care for multiple patients.

I'm starting a new assignment with more patients than I'm used to.

Does anyone have tips about how to cope with a larger workload (10-15 patients per CNA?)

Please help! Thank you!!

[caliotter3]

As long as your partner is a good one, working with another person is a lot of fun, too. It never seems like as much work when you have a "friend." I can't stand assignments where I don't have a partner.

At a former facility, we did the system with 2 teams of 2 CNAs each, plus a person to answer lights and do vitals. It worked amazingly well, until some people didn't feel like pulling their part. They thought it was faster to work an assignment by themselves, but that was because they did a terrible job and just "tossed" people in bed without changing them or doing oral care. We were only doing that system as long as all of the CNAs were unanimously agreeing to do it, so the charge nurse made us go back to the old system. It blew.

It is the responsibility of the nurse to supervise and insure that everyone does their part, teams or not. When the nurse doesn't do their part, nothing will work, because there will always be a lazy but clever person who doesn't want someone else around to see that they don't do what they are supposed to do.