I'm in a very competitive CNA program in which you will get dropped if the instructor doesn't think you're right to be a CNA. She is very passionate about nursing and we're her 72nd CNA class.
Today is day 4 of the program. Up until today we've only had lecture. Today we actually got to apply some of what we learned about mechanical lifts. We have a Marissa lift and a bed to practice with. We were told that everyone in the class needs to rotate into 3 different postions for practice; the one who operated the lift, the assistant and the patient/resident.
Our instructor was busy but still in the room. Everyone was practicing as she had said until it was the loud (the one who knows everything, and interjects it), heavy set women's turn. She did all of the positions except the patient because of her size. She didn't want to get into the cradle to be lifted. She was loud about her objection, but my instructor didn't notice. Finally I get to practice... I did all of the positions until it was time for me to lift the student next to me who is also a very large women. In fact, her and the other women that objected are usually together because they are about the same age, both have been CNA's before, and they both are mothers. They're friends, in other words. Well, the large lady that I was supposed to lift didn't want me to lift her. I agreed. She has had two knee replacements and it seemed to be fine to not be lifted because the loud girl wasn't getting lifted. Practice continued and two more heavy girls decided they wouldn't get lifted.
After all was said and done, we sat down and the instructor asked if we were done.
FINALLY, loud girl gets up and says "Fine! I'll do it, geez!". She made a show about how the people around her were pressuring her to do it, although it didn't seem like they were...
Loud girl finally gets into the cradle and gets lifted, but never off the bed because she was yelling the whole time about having an audience and joking about wanting to speak to the charge nurse because she was being "threatened".
Amongst it all... She says, "Since I'm up here doing this, all the rest of you better do it!"
My teacher got real ****** REAL fast and demanded to know if there were people that didn't get lifted. My teacher said it's part of the exercise and EVERYONE must participate. Loud girl said she didn't want to rat anyone out so they better do it.
I started sweating... The heavy lady next to me hadn't done it...
No one said anything about those that didn't get lifted. Those that chose not to be lifted didn't say anything. My teacher was FURIOUS and said she absolutely couldn't believe it. She said she didn't know if she would ever get over it. She said we were ALL liars. Every single one of us. She said we can't be trusted to be honest. She said that if we saw someone doing something wrong on the job or abusing an elder that we wouldn't report it. Finally, I don't know how, but the heavy lady next to me was found out. We all had to do the exercise again.
Class ended afterwards and I felt HORRIBLE.
I waited for the students to leave so I could talk to the instructor to explain myself. I didn't want to be thought of as a liar. Especially when it's OBVIOUS I knew that the heavy lady wasn't lifted because she sits next to me.
My teacher kinda let me know she wasn't mad at me and shifted the blame onto those that chose not to lift and didn't confess.
I still feel terrible though... To be told that I wouldn't report elder abuse! I've wanted to be a nurse for such a long time, and I know I'll be a good one. I work very hard and I LOVE it.
I dont understand why the students would be so resistent to riding the hoyer to begin with. Yeah you might look kind of foolish, but if everyone does it, who cares. If their knees are so bad, how are they gonna work as a CNA? Im pretty sure a lot of patients/residents who regularly use a hoyer have bad knees, along with bad everything else.
Still, if the student had been an aide before and had probably lifted people a thousand times with a hoyer, I doubt her not riding in it is going to somehow compromise patient safety in the future. I guess its an integrity thing on her part, as for you not reporting it, dont sweat it. There is a world of difference between failing to tattle on a student over some petty crap like this, and failing to report elderly abuse or neglect.
i have struggled with weight all my life so i can see why someone would not want to ride the hoyer. most types of equipment have weight limitations of 250 lbs. i've fluttered from 160lbs-220 most of my life....obviously being the most content with the 160.
i remember asking about a tanning bed package one time that was advertised as 29.95 for an unlimited month and the clerk said they had "bigger beds" that were appx. $40 per month with tax. i realized quickly that she was implying that i would need the "bigger bed" as at that time i was pushing 240. technically, i could've argued that i could take the 29.95 package and use a regular bed....but how humiliating would that be? i quickly said, "nevermind. i'll just pay for this right now (referring to some items i was buying).
i know that some people think, "oh, well, that's your fault that you let yourself get to that weight." actually, it was solely my fault that i was overweight most of the time. at that particular time in my life....i had been taking a SSRI that caused me to gain 25lbs within 4-5 months. i stopped taking the medication because of the weight side effects. i weighed more at that time of my life than i had weighed when i was nine months pregnant....both times.
you can't possibly understand the reason that someone might be uncomfortable doing a certain task....like riding a hoyer with a weight limit...unless you've been in the shoes of the person who might break the hoyer and be mortified.
on the flip side...i had lost so much weight at one point without even realizing it that i was shopping in the "plus size" section for a swimsuit when an employee approached me and said, "you're in the plus size section....you might want to look over there," and pointed me to the "average size" section.
i guess my point is that people with weight issues have their personal issues and if you haven't experienced them then there's no way you can comprehend.
you can't possibly understand the reason that someone might be uncomfortable doing a certain task....like riding a hoyer with a weight limit...unless you've been in the shoes of the person who might break the hoyer and be mortified.
i guess my point is that people with weight issues have their personal issues and if you haven't experienced them then there's no way you can comprehend.
I am bigger now that you have ever been and that's why I made a comment on not having a problem with the Hoyer lift. They have a weight capacity of much higher that 250lb btw. When you put it into perspective what are the reasons a hoyer lift is used? Often times its to safely transfer someone that can not be transfered manually due to infirmity or weight.
When half the class refuses to play the role of the patient they are denying their classmates the opportunity of experience. Who are they to make that decision? We have to do lots of things in nursing that make us uncomfortable.
So yes I DO comprehend and I still call BS
Btw I fit into a regular tanning bed so they were just trying to upsell you.
minnymi
246 Posts
i have struggled with weight all my life so i can see why someone would not want to ride the hoyer. most types of equipment have weight limitations of 250 lbs. i've fluttered from 160lbs-220 most of my life....obviously being the most content with the 160.
i remember asking about a tanning bed package one time that was advertised as 29.95 for an unlimited month and the clerk said they had "bigger beds" that were appx. $40 per month with tax. i realized quickly that she was implying that i would need the "bigger bed" as at that time i was pushing 240. technically, i could've argued that i could take the 29.95 package and use a regular bed....but how humiliating would that be? i quickly said, "nevermind. i'll just pay for this right now (referring to some items i was buying).
i know that some people think, "oh, well, that's your fault that you let yourself get to that weight." actually, it was solely my fault that i was overweight most of the time. at that particular time in my life....i had been taking a SSRI that caused me to gain 25lbs within 4-5 months. i stopped taking the medication because of the weight side effects. i weighed more at that time of my life than i had weighed when i was nine months pregnant....both times.
you can't possibly understand the reason that someone might be uncomfortable doing a certain task....like riding a hoyer with a weight limit...unless you've been in the shoes of the person who might break the hoyer and be mortified.
on the flip side...i had lost so much weight at one point without even realizing it that i was shopping in the "plus size" section for a swimsuit when an employee approached me and said, "you're in the plus size section....you might want to look over there," and pointed me to the "average size" section.
i guess my point is that people with weight issues have their personal issues and if you haven't experienced them then there's no way you can comprehend.