Help with hopeless horrible nurse's aides

Nurses General Nursing

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What to do when stuck with a few bad nurses aide's ?

I have reported and written up . I am getting no back up from my DON ? What's a nurse to do . Any advice would be helpful . I find myself running like a madwoman , toileting people , answering call bells because my aides have disappeared , or are hiding in pt's rooms on their cell phones ? Ughhhh so frustrated .

I have several coworkers who believe that since their name tag says LPN or RN after it, that they are too good to wipe a butt or walk someone to the bathroom, or answer a call light. As an aide, I had a nurse that would go way out of her way to find me when I was busy taking care of 12 patients on an acute med surg floor, just to tell me that someone needed a blanket or a clean gown, instead of taking care of HER pt herself. I dont care if you go to school for 10 yrs, there is NO degree that makes you too good to take care of YOUR pts needs, no matter what it is! Teamwork should be enforced, and those that can't adapt, should find ... new jobs ! If you dont like pt care, and dont like taking care of people, your in the wrong field! I will always help my aides, and if you have ever been an aide, I think you make the best nurse..its all about understanding where they come from!

Well, that's why aides are aides. They are supposed to aide the RN or LVN. This is coming from an ex-CNA like myself who worked in acute care and CONVALESCENT hospitals. I can't stand whiny CNA's who can't handle their patients. I used to give showers on the swing shift which is unheard of in a LTC setting. CNA's usually gave baths during the day, I did some on the PM when I didn't have to. Was I the perfect CNA? no! but looking at all these CNA's today cracks me up. During my time as a CNA (1992-1998), I took pride in answering my callights before the helpful RN/LVN did and I didn't care if I worked with a lazy RN because I knew it was their *** on the line rather than mine's. CNA's during my time drew blood, did EKG's Qshift, inserted foleys, changed dressings, and all the other basic CNA stuff.

I also hurt my back twice working as a CNA (none of that sissy hoyer lift bs).

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Yep. Me too. BTDT. I was an aide before I was a nurse, and I felt the same way. Used and abused. Overworked. Lazy nurses sipping coffee at the nurses' station, a zillion call lights going off, me running like a crazy person and sweating buckets, and them saying, "are you gonna get that (call bell)?"

:angryfire

I wouldn't answer them either SINCE it's technically the CNA's job.

My job is making sure I pass my meds, do treatment, talking to the doctors, AND "SUPERVISE" all these CNA's on their cell phones.

I don't give a rat's butt about callights. If I had to answer callights, what's the point in having CNA's? I'd rather do primary if they paid me a little more.

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Yep. Me too. BTDT. I was an aide before I was a nurse, and I felt the same way. Used and abused. Overworked. Lazy nurses sipping coffee at the nurses' station, a zillion call lights going off, me running like a crazy person and sweating buckets, and them saying, "are you gonna get that (call bell)?"

:angryfire

I wouldn't answer them either SINCE it's technically the CNA's job.

My job is making sure I pass my meds, do treatment, talking to the doctors, AND "SUPERVISE" all these CNA's on their cell phones.

I don't give a rat's butt about callights. If I had to answer callights, what's the point in having CNA's? I'd rather do primary if they paid me a little more.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

i was a tech before i was a nurse and i was good at my job because i put the patients first, but i was also frustrated at the abuse i put up with day in and day out from the docs and nurses. the bottom line is hospitals need to staff appropriately and pay more...to cna's and nurses. i think it is so sad that a person can go work at a burger joint and get paid more than a cna who has to do baths, heavy lifting and a crap load of other things all day. being a tech encouraged me to get my RN and now that i am a RN i still do just about everything i can myself for my patient and delegate when i need to. i have respect for our techs/cna's and appreciate the help, but i will not beg someone to do a job they are hired to do. my motto with this issue is ...."you are not doing me a favor, if you refuse to take care of the patient then get another job, because it is not about us, it is about the patient". this usually results in a positive response. sometimes people need to be reminded why they are in patient care careers, because in the end the person who suffers the most is the patient.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

i was a tech before i was a nurse and i was good at my job because i put the patients first, but i was also frustrated at the abuse i put up with day in and day out from the docs and nurses. the bottom line is hospitals need to staff appropriately and pay more...to cna's and nurses. i think it is so sad that a person can go work at a burger joint and get paid more than a cna who has to do baths, heavy lifting and a crap load of other things all day. being a tech encouraged me to get my RN and now that i am a RN i still do just about everything i can myself for my patient and delegate when i need to. i have respect for our techs/cna's and appreciate the help, but i will not beg someone to do a job they are hired to do. my motto with this issue is ...."you are not doing me a favor, if you refuse to take care of the patient then get another job, because it is not about us, it is about the patient". this usually results in a positive response. sometimes people need to be reminded why they are in patient care careers, because in the end the person who suffers the most is the patient.

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I wouldn't answer them either SINCE it's technically the CNA's job.

My job is making sure I pass my meds, do treatment, talking to the doctors, AND "SUPERVISE" all these CNA's on their cell phones.

I don't give a rat's butt about callights. If I had to answer callights, what's the point in having CNA's? I'd rather do primary if they paid me a little more.

Nice attitude. :rolleyes: WHAT IF YOUR AIDE HAD 18 TOTAL CARE PATIENTS THAT SHE HAD TO DRESS, BATHE, AND MAKE BEDS FOR BY HERSELF BEFORE BREAKFAST???

It's "technically" the secretary's job to answer the phones on my unit, but I still soil my precious little hand and pick up that nasty phone and answer it. All without breaking a nail or letting my coffee get cold. A girl's gotta have priorities, you know....

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I wouldn't answer them either SINCE it's technically the CNA's job.

My job is making sure I pass my meds, do treatment, talking to the doctors, AND "SUPERVISE" all these CNA's on their cell phones.

I don't give a rat's butt about callights. If I had to answer callights, what's the point in having CNA's? I'd rather do primary if they paid me a little more.

Nice attitude. :rolleyes: WHAT IF YOUR AIDE HAD 18 TOTAL CARE PATIENTS THAT SHE HAD TO DRESS, BATHE, AND MAKE BEDS FOR BY HERSELF BEFORE BREAKFAST???

It's "technically" the secretary's job to answer the phones on my unit, but I still soil my precious little hand and pick up that nasty phone and answer it. All without breaking a nail or letting my coffee get cold. A girl's gotta have priorities, you know....

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Maybe I'm wrong here, I'm a CNA and nursing student, and I was under the impression that we were all supposed to work as a team to take care of patients.

There's been times that I've stopped what I'm doing to help the nurse give treatments when I could've said "sorry, thats not my job". Some nurses I work with don't think twice about helping me transfer someone or at least put someone on the toilet if I'm busy. Thats what being a team is, doing what needs to be done to take care of the patients.

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Maybe I'm wrong here, I'm a CNA and nursing student, and I was under the impression that we were all supposed to work as a team to take care of patients.

There's been times that I've stopped what I'm doing to help the nurse give treatments when I could've said "sorry, thats not my job". Some nurses I work with don't think twice about helping me transfer someone or at least put someone on the toilet if I'm busy. Thats what being a team is, doing what needs to be done to take care of the patients.

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Ditto tmiller...it's ALL about teamwork..and guess who benefits...we ALL do..pts first and foremost ;)

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Ditto tmiller...it's ALL about teamwork..and guess who benefits...we ALL do..pts first and foremost ;)

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
There's been times that I've stopped what I'm doing to help the nurse give treatments when I could've said "sorry, thats not my job".

I am all for teamwork. That's how our busy unit functions. I help our techs, they help us, and the patients benefit.

However, please look over your employee job description. I'm sure that if a nurse needs you to help position a patient for a treatment or assist with the patient while the nurse does the treatment, it IS part of your job, and refusing will only get you in trouble for insubordination.

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