Getting flack from techs (vent alert)

Nurses General Nursing

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Ooooh. Someone needed a new one ripped today.

I'm passing meds and a patient tells me another patient needs assistance. I find her standing in the smoking room with a puddle of charcoal-induced poop on the floor around her and covering her legs and feet. Pt seems not terribly concerned by this fact, as she continues to smoke. She just gives me a "what caused that?" and keeps on puffing.

Poor student nurse is nearby - one of us hangs onto the patient and the other grabs some towels, alerts the custodian, and we get her into the shower. Wrapped her IV site, got all the supplies. Pulled tech who had just brought her breakfast up (we'd been on the floor for a grand total of 1 hour) and the tech is irritated that I pull her away to do the shower so I can finish passing meds.

I get questioned, "Well, can't she do it herself?"

No.

"She looks like she could do it herself."

Well, she can't. I need you to do this.

"Well, I'm sure not gonna feel like eating my breakfast after this."

(Afterward, she apologized and said it was clear after she showered her that the patient wouldn't have been able to do it alone. Well, thanks for the update, Mr. Obvious! I think she also sensed my irritation, as I am generally a pretty easy-going person.)

I commented to the charge nurse, "X is really just going to have to start taking my word when I say something needs to be done." Charge said she'd talk to her.

I get very tired of having to explain my requests. It's one thing if I was asking her to do something outside of her scope of practice, but that's her JOB!

OK - feel better now...

I'm a CNA/CMA right now while I'm going to nursing school. I work hard at what I do and I take a lot of pride in it.

Granted, for a new Tech it often seems like LPN/RN's just sit around on their butt behind the nurses station a lot. If you don't know the responsabilities of the nurse that might get you upset.

But the fact is that while the Nurse is "sitting around on her butt" she is filling out paperwork, charts, noting Doc's Orders, etc. And anything and everything she writes on those papers can be pulled in court years later and used to sue her A$$ of. And while she is trying to concentrate on all the charting and passing meds and checking IV pumps that are going off, she has to finish up the slack of the Tech's, respond to emergencies, and put up with hatefull doc's.

And thats why they make the "Big Bucks", which is way to little I might add.

Originally posted by SmilingBluEyes

just can't get good help nowadays, huh? what an awful day for you...seems this sort of thing is becoming more and more common. NO one has a work ethic anymore, it would seem.

I agree that it has become very common. Almost every time I go to work on the floor, and I politely ask a CNA or PCA to do their JOB, I get either an eye-roll, a sucking of teeth, a big sigh, a mumbling under the breath, and once in a while a flat out refusal. And a lot of the time these CNAs are sitting at the nurse's station reading or talking on their private cellphones. OR they're taking vital signs, and God forbid if we interrupt them from the vital sign taking. My favorite is when I hear, "Nurse so and so never helps me!" Well, this nurse so and so DOES help. And when my paperwork starts to fall dangerously behind, forgive me for sitting down and doing it so I can go home only an hour late instead of 2 hours late. And Miss Complainer, when you walk out the door on time and sometimes leave early, and I'm there late, I'm not whining to you the next day about how you can't help me do MY job (meds, charting, IVs, on and on) but you always EXPECT me to help you do yours. Even if you are SUPPOSED to be the NURSE's assistant. Maybe that's why the title CNA is slowly being changed to PCA, so the "nursing assistant" argument is no longer valid. Whew! Thanks Nurse Ratched, I think I needed a vent myself. :)

I happen to have a friend who is Hispanic. She doesn't work in a hospital, but says even in her job, which is a business office, the "lower-ranking" people always complain that the higher-ups aren't doing anything, and look how much THEY get paid... My friend grew up in Mexico. She has said many times how thankful she is to have a job, and her relatively meager wage is much more than she could ever dream of making in Mexico, so she's happy to be able to go to work, put in a good day's work, and come home with a paycheck. So it's all in your perspective, I guess. Sure makes you wish that some of those lazy techs could walk a mile in my friend's shoes, growing up without anything, and then coming to a country where she can make money just by doing her job!

I have found, though that if you don't insist that lazy people do their jobs the first time they spout off to you or refuse to follow direction, you will never get them to see you as their superior, and they will never just do what you ask without protest. My policy is this: I ask very nicely once, and only once. If I hear a refusal, you will be assimilated, and it won't be as nicely done. It's about the patients. I fight more for my patients than I would for myself. And it's OK to flex your muscle when you have to, for the benefit of your patients. That's differrent than just being mean and grumpy all the time.

Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

Plenty of the same here in my LTC facility-which happens to have the best staffing,pay and benefits in our area.I have closed my complaint window permanently.I worked as an aide for years-I know how hard it is.I am so tired of being mouthed off to when I ask someone to do something that is clearly their responsibility...But I will continue to ask-I'll hunt them up all day even though it means more work for me and leaving late....And complain about staffing -we usually have 6 aides to 44 on my unit (often 7 and even occas. 8) with 2 and often 3 nurses......I used to work on that unit yrs ago when we had 54 beds and worked many a evening shift as the only nurse with 3 or 4 aides....I have been in the don's office twice because of mouthy aides-when I stood up to them they complained about me! They love to keep things brewing on the unit.Talk about bullying in the workplace-they are like a pack of wolves and there is always a victim-some nice quiet, politeand competent aide-new to the facility....I have decided that if the don dares to call me down over something someone says that I supposedly said that they took offense to I am letting her know that I will be updating my resume....

I seldom work with PCT's but at some facilities where I have done agency, they seem to feel they are way above wiping azzes. They feel their job is to do bedside glucoses, VS, caths, dressings, and 'tasks'...and it is therefore the NURSES job to do poop patrol, baths and answer lights while they do their work..uninterrupted (now...what is THAT like? Must be nice eh? hehe)

Amazing, ain't it?? I feel your pain Ratched. Hang in there! I'm glad you mentioned this to your manager...sounds like she needs a little 'attitude adjustment'!

I was a cna for 6 years, always did what was asked of me. but I too would look at the nurses behind the desk, as I ran from room to room answering call lights and think to myself, why cant they help me? Now I know, and unless one goes to nursing school they will never know why. I was never rude though. I always did what was asked of me, and in turn they would let me watch their dressing changes, assist when they gave tube feeding ect... and I thought that was so cool.

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