HELP! Am I asked to be doing something SAFE and Legal??

And what happens if I just can't show up?!!! I already hurt my back once!

You are right to question it. If you can't safely lift the patient you must say so. And I think you know the answer about being asked to "covertly" do anything. Your CNA training should have covered what you are allowed to do. Good luck.

You absolutely cannot administer medications except as allowed by applicable laws and in accordance with you company's policies, the physician's orders, and the company's agreements with this family. [ALL of those elements must be met, not some or any of them]. So that's a huge no.

Whether your company tells you to or not, you should not attempt to lift this gentleman. You are a human being, not a people-mover. So, if the family or your company instructs you to do this, don't - even if you must resign from the case. You need to be strong about these kinds of things because your handling of matters like this helps inform people of the kind of treatment you will tolerate. You wouldn't want to be rude, but you would want to pleasantly and firmly state, "I'm sorry but I can't safely do that."

You should report both of these concerns to your supervisor neutrally and carefully: "Mr. X's family has asked me to administer benzodiazepines during visits in the home. I have not complied with their request."

"Mr. X's family would like me to physically move him from one place to another and I am unable to do that safely so I have not complied with their request."

An important word of caution: We had a post here where a care aide was the victim of sexual abuse by a patient. As soon as the patient sensed her unease - but before the aide informed her supervisor of the situation - the patient made up a lie and reported the aide to her company. Be aware that when people feel threatened they do things like this. This family knows that what they are asking is wrong. Please inform your supervisor right away.

That was very, very helpful. Thank you JKL, I had no idea such things happened. And, thank you all. Very helpful information. So I work with an agency, but also know people (that got me into the field) that work independently with no agency. I would assume in a case like that then they would have to take care of it themselves and say no, as there would be no protections without an agency (of course!). I will keep this information in mind as I become better trained.

Absolutely no way. Remember, if they go around procedures now, if you are injured or reported, they will again do whatever is easiest on them. They might say "we'll take care of you if something happens." They don't have the abiilty to fix an injury or regain your integrity. This is a no brainer for me, but as a young nurse I could easily have been sucked in by promises and manipulation. Don't waver on these issues.

In what capacity are you employed and by whom?

In my state, if you are a CNA employed as a home health aide, you cannot administer meds. If you are trained as a CNA but employed as a PCA, however, you can administer most meds.

I once had a patient when I was a home infusion liaison whose stepmother was a CNA and I believe was working either as her PCA or HHA. I was teaching stepmom and Dad to administer home IV antibiotics and they had to schedule them in such a way that they weren't scheduled during stepmom's shift because she could administer the IV meds as a stepmom but not as the unlicensed caregiver.