Hey nurses!!! WE ARE PEOPLE TOO!

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"Hey you" "You in the blue scrubs" or just an uncomfortable stare is how I am called when a nurse needs my help.Ive been a nurse assistant for 7 years and everyday is a learning experience. Some days their just experiences I wish I could avoid. I wish nurses could see WE CNA"s ARE THE BACKBONE OF NURSING. We are social workers,housekeeping, play parents,clerks,security you name it we do it.But this day really made me realize "Am I needed?"

7pm aka change of shift aka all hell breaks loose our patient comes back from the OR. Because my 7am nurse is leaving and giving report to the 7pm nurse I the lovely smiley CNA takes the initiative to make sure the baby vitals are in,he's dry,etc etc but unfortunately that was a huge mistake. "What are you doing to my patient? Shouldn't you be checking the trash? Aren't you housekeeping?" She yells loudly across the room. Embarrassed is an understatement of what I felt.Not only did she embarrassed me but she wasn't paying me any attention when I introduce myself to her and the parents. I never knew I could turn so red in the face until that very moment. As soon as I was about to defend myself our patient stops breathing and a code blue is called. All of a sudden she knew my occupation. Wow what a miraculous turn out I thought in my sarcastic voice. Long story short my patient lived and his parents said they were thankful I was there to help regardless of my occupation. All I could do is laugh. So to answer my question, Am I needed? Do I feel appreciated? Am I respected? 8 times of 10 yes but that doesn't bring me to work everyday. Seeing my patients up and smiling or when they give me hugs makes my day. But also respect comes a long way, at the end of the day we are all a team and we should treat each other with respect regardless of our job title or degree. So nurses give your CNA"s love and let them know they are people too. : )

Sorry the nurse was rude to you.

But, dang, you really come across as having a huge chip on your shoulder. I think you should probably check your attitude.

No attitude at all I absolutely love my job. But sometimes when a person is constantly rude it makes you think.

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There is a quote feature, please use it, thanks.

Well farawyn this is my first time posting so curb your attitude í ½í±Œí ¼í¿½í ½í¸‰

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Since you aspire to be a nurse, you will learn in nursing school that delegation and prioritization are essential parts of the nursing practice. I'm not doing vitals because I'm not lazy; I have assessments to complete and you can't do those. I have blood to hang and you can't do that. I have to notify the doc, write a chart note, and document on a patient after an episode of hypoxia. I have actually had a CNA ask me to do vitals for her in the last week. I did, because I was tired and just not up for the argument. But if it happens again I will explain that she needs to work this in to her time management, especially if she expects to one day work as a nurse. And since you want to work as a nurse one day, the first thing to do is to lose the attitude. Conflict doesn't go away once you're a nurse, if anything, it increases. You will have charge nurses, NPs, MDs, and PAs all order you around if you stay at the bedside. Your post is passionate but comes across as unprofessional.

Well I'm sorry you have horrible cnas and just like it's horrible cnas it's horrible nurses.Like I said to another nurse on here the nurse I was referring to is ALWAYS rude to clerks,cnas etc so this was nothing new. I definitely understand the pressure it is to be a nurse especially an ICU. But at the end of the day they should have respect for others regardless of their title. Also can you please explain to me how MY post is unprofessional? I didn't say any names or where I work..

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Actually, nurses are the backbone of nursing.

That's why it's called nursing.

Join the club.

No. Nurses can do your job.

In fact, your job is a small part of the nurse's job.

The nurse made a mistake. She thought you were housekeeping. I'd be freaked out too, if I thought a housekeeper was handling the babies.

Hopefully, she apologized when she realized she had jumped the gun.

:sarcastic:

Phew! You showed her...

Yes, it does.

Yes, we are.

We will if you will... it's a two way street.

I 99.9% of the time do... but for some reason, your post kinda/sorta frosted my nuts.

I think it's crappy when someone takes such a pleasure in showing someone up...:sarcastic:... and then at the expense of a baby coding.

Your post came across as self-important, entitled and disrespectful.

Lol your comments are my fav I can't wait to write more post for you : ) THANKS : )

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Let me clear this up cnas are the backbone of nursing in nursing homes. Shockingly a nurse told me that.

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Meh. All the career CNAs where I work are worthless. They lie, hide out in confused patients' rooms ( or off the floor all together, don't answer their phones, and rarely answer call bells. They manage to stay employed because the managers are afraid to fire them, despite paper trails. Only the CNAs who are nursing students are flexible, available, and don't cop an attitude when a nurse delegates something to them.

So sorry you have bad cnas.Sounds like you need a better support system : ) But the point I'm making is allways show respect regardless.

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Woah, I get super tired of nurses coming onto bash CNAs when they vent. We do the same thing -- it may be unreasonable or irrational but when a nurse vents on here it's "hey get it out, it's how we keep sane" but when the CNAs vent its "You don't know what we do, stop complaining". Jesus they aren't the enemy, they are our co-workers -- they can vent as well, even if you do not agree with the point of view. I am not saying I agree with everything OP said but she is entitled to a good vent once in a while. We are ALL the back bone of nursing, I couldn't do half a good as a job without the CNA. And it also goes for the CNAs OP, we are your co workers, not the enemy, you will run into nasty people no matter their title. You can't let others dictate your worth. I used to do this - not anymore. I do a good job for me, not for my employer or co-workers, but because I feel its a trait I value as a person - being a hard worker. I don't let other unhappy people invade on that anymore, I am also a naturally cheery person and refuse to be made bitter/pissy when others do not appreciate me the way I think I should be.

Thank you so much for understanding!! Your the only one that didn't take personal at all. I appreciate your support : )

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Well farawyn this is my first time posting so curb your attitude í*½í±Œí*¼í¿½í*½í¸‰

A directive and Please indicates attitude?

No wonder you are having problems at work.

Slow your roll.

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Let me clear this up cnas are the backbone of nursing in nursing homes. Shockingly a nurse told me that.

Still incorrect, but thank you for the backpedal.

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At the end of the day people YOU DONT KNOW ME. You don't know what type of worker I am nor do you know what type of nurse I was dealing with.I have every right to share my experiences on this website as much as you do.I absolutely love my job because it's a stepping stone for me and I learn something new everyday.So while some of you angry RN"s and LPN"s type vicious and UNPROFESSIONAL things I still love nurses regardless.I forgive some of you for your rudeness because you probably could never understand what it's like for your support staff. The point of this article was to just show respect to EVERYONE. I don't need a gold star or a "pat on the back" for what I do.See you in 2016. : * -Your favorite CNA

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Specializes in Telemetry.
Let me clear this up cnas are the backbone of nursing in nursing homes. Shockingly a nurse told me that.

Not sure why a nurse told you that but - no. CNAs are certainly an important part of the staff, but I do not think you have any idea the responsibility that a licensed nurse bears.

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At the end of the day people YOU DONT KNOW ME. You don't know what type of worker I am nor do you know what type of nurse I was dealing with.I have every right to share my experiences on this website as much as you do.I absolutely love my job because it's a stepping stone for me and I learn something new everyday.So while some of you angry RN"s and LPN"s type vicious and UNPROFESSIONAL things I still love nurses regardless.I forgive some of you for your rudeness because you probably could never understand what it's like for your support staff. The point of this article was to just show respect to EVERYONE. I don't need a gold star or a "pat on the back" for what I do.See you in 2016. : * -Your favorite CNA

You've made 4 or 5 posts. You haven't even scraped the surface for the favorite CNA award.

Good luck.

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