EMS hitch this one takes the Cake!!

[downsouthlaff, LPN]

Ran an EMS call today to a Nursing Home (one I'm not familiar with) in a town I'm not familiar with) and in a town I'm unfamiliar with patient had a fall. We go in paperwork isn't ready this is a weekend. We go in talk to the LPN In charge of patient. She informs is that she's busy with a PEG tube machine that's malfunctioning and all the while the family is outside fussing about the machine! The weekend RN sees our frustration and offers to take over handling the tube functions while the LPN comes and gives us all our required documents. What does the LPN reply? "I'm The only Licensed Nurse, so I'm the only one who can actually do the skills and be liable for them, the RN is only Registred to supervise but no licensed. " I look at my partner and I'm like at are you kidding me? Did that really just fall from this ladies mouth. She must not know that when we get to the ER a skilled RN who is very much licensed will be doing nursing skills not just supervising, and she must not know that I've been a CNA for over a year in the nursing home so I happened to know a little about nursing. Me and my partners theory is that she's just one of those type of people who don't like authority and tried to downsize the RN to make herself look better and more accomplished or shes just plain dumb and ignorant and really thinks this! Either way this takes the cake!!

[downsouthlaff, LPN]

Really it's almost unbelievable and ridiculous! And kinda scary that someone who has been granted a license to perform high liabilty skills wouldn't be aware of the scopes of there superiors and inferiors. WOW! Wast ready for this one

!!

[SleeepyRN]

Pretty sick of EMTs and people who have worked as CNAs who think they know everything or at least better than the nurse. Was there even a point to this post other than to show off your own knowledge? I was a CNA, I was a PCT. It prepared me for a LOT. But until you are a nurse, YOU DON'T GET IT.

[SleeepyRN]

If your account is accurate, then the LPN wasn't prioritizing and using her resources (the RN). But really? Again, the point if this post is???? OK, I need to sign off now. Forgive my crankiness. I've just read too much lately about EMTs looking down on LTC LPNs and RNs.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

With all due respect, all of the rigamarole about who is in charge of whom-- where was the patient that fell? Still on the floor?

If this was an unfamiliar facility and staff to you and your partner, who's to say how they run their facility. Who knows, maybe this RN was just a supervisor, and hadn't touched a PEG tube in years. (and there are multiple RN's with MSN's that are supervisors, and have never done/haven't done bedside care in years). And when ya'll leave, the LPN will still be having to deal with what went wrong with the tube and try to fix it. With all that being said, still not your issue. Hoping that all of this conversation happend briefly AFTER the patient was assessed and packaged for transport.

[redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN]

I pray she was joking.

[SleeepyRN]

Someone just isn't using their common sense when they come to a nursing website and complain as an EMT, with a whole whopping year of CNA experience, about a nurse. Wow

[downsouthlaff, LPN]

Wow Sleepy RN you seem to have issues with EMTs that you need to resolve please stray away from the topic of this nurse saying this and what you think of it, this post was to show what some nurses actually say and how in the works can someone who was educated as an LPN a proffesional nurse could degrade her own supervisor and say what she said. As a Nursing Aide I am very aware of the chain of command in nursing and I know that I report to an RN/LPN as an aide and I'm very much aware of that an RN is a licensed nurse. So don't go insulting my knowledge. The purpose of this post was to show how ridiculous that comment was and what we as EMTs deal with sometimes and are told! And don't worry about my patient my patient was taking care of, by protocol of my EMS agency I don't need you going draw conclusions and worry about the patient that fell. The whole point of this post was the ridiculous comment that this nurse made and I just wanted to share with you all how ridiculous and unprofessional that sounds. So please reply about the comment or don't reply at all thank you!!

[downsouthlaff, LPN]

And jade lpn Cms governs how facilities are staffed and ran, an RN is a licensed nurse who can do everything an LPN can do that doesn't change by facility! It's not my issue but that comment is pretty darned ridiculous. If I were the RN I would deff be insulted.! Shouldn't an RN know how to do all tasks that are being supervised?

[downsouthlaff, LPN]

And sleepy RN again I'm not a licensed nurse, I don't know about meds and advanced nursing procedures, but I work under nurses every day as an aide so I do pick up a lot of operational knowledge,and I do not look down on LTC nurses because I'm am LTC aide. I understand the 50:1 patient ratios not as a nurse passing meds but as an aide doing bed strips, taking vitals, changing briefs, turning, feeding, doing paper work on 50 or more residents! That's not the case it was the rudeness and falsely educating and insulting the knowledge of the Registred Nurse who is the top of nursing and is the boss hands down!! Why would she feel us that the RN is not a licensed nurse! I don't know sleepy RN but your giving me the pression that you would be one of those Nurses who is very controlling very demanding and very hard to get along with!! Just saying!

[downsouthlaff, LPN]

Once again, I will clarify this post is not about me insulting LTC nurses it's not about how I handled my patient as an EMT, it's not about what responsibility the nurse has when we leave its about and educated Licensed Practical Nurse telling us "An RN is not a licensed nurse, they are not Licensed to do skills, they are only Registred and can only supervise" that's what I was told by licensees nurse that's what she's telling the public. Someone who doesn't know might belive her and call the state and report an RN for giving meds if they don't know any better that's not right!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Shouldn't an RN know how to do all tasks that are being supervised?

Yes, an RN should know how to perform all tasks that are delegated and supervised.

However, the reality is that some RNs do not know how to perform the tasks they are delegating and supervising. I spent 6 years in LTC/nursing homes, the first 4 years as an LVN and the last 2 years as an RN. To be perfectly blunt, some of the RN supervisors did not know how to do some procedural skills such as starting IVs, PEG tubes, indwelling urinary catheter care, etc., and depended on the floor nurses to do these things.