Do your aides, techs, UAP's, whatever your facility calls them seem like they are interested in learning about things such as meds and side effects to watch for and to tell you about? Or about pathophysiology, reasons for doing things we do to patients who have a certain diagnosis, or other medical and nursing topics? I guess we can't generalize. Some are interested, some aren't, I guess.
I have UAP's who seem to only want to do their work and then leave. They don't seem interested in learning new things. One is planning on RN school and another on OR tech school, although neither seems to be doing anything to move ahead with their stated goals at this time. I try to be encouraging, I take Nursing journals and books to them, I try to post interesting info on the bulletin board where they can see them. But mostly it seems like they are not interested.
I feel frustrated by what I perceive (misperceive?) as not much interest in learning. Maybe they feel stuck due to finances and responsibilities for children, aging parents, etc. I try to help them get scholarships, too, and try to be encouraging, if they are at all interested.
I'll be honest....I don't think they should be expected to.
First, is the hospital planning on paying them more money for taking the time to learn these extra skills?
Most likely not....if you want someone to do more, you need to pay them more.
They can easily say, and be 100% accurate in, "That's not my job, that's a nursing responsibility."
And it is.
Perhaps I misled you. I did not mean to say I wanted them to do more work or learn new skills. I meant to say that I was focusing on anatomy, physiology, perhaps microbiology, meds and the side effects we need to watch for. I don't expect any of that knowledge to translate into more work for the aides. Sorry for the confusion. Human communication is so fraught with it.
I have a different perspective. It's the aide who already believes she is at least as knowledgable as the nurses (and probably moreso because she's been there longer). Or the aide who tells a patient what meds they should take, or shouldn't take, or whatever, and the poor schnook in the bed thinks she IS a nurse. And she doesn't correct that misconception.
I love teaching when the opportunity presents itself, and I LOVE the aide who asks questions and wants reasons to go with what they're asked to do. I too wish there were more of them, and less of the ones who are already darned sure they're 'mostly' nurses already
Yes, it is very, very wrong for an aide to "impersonate" a nurse and that aide needs to be disciplined. She should never tell a patient to take or not take a med or hold herself out to be a nurse. These are probably criminal actions on her part, at least the latter.
I have no aides who do that. They are mostly good at doing their work and a couple do have some goals for further education, as I mentioned earlier. I also accept that the others do not, as they are either very, very busy with rearing their kids (single moms, very tough task) or are older and are content with their lives, I suppose.
aides are what you make them i think, treated with respect and leaving the "title's" behind, showing them that even as an RN i am not below doing the tasks i expect from them does much to foster their pride in their work. if there is something particularly important i want them to look for and report to me, i simply ask them to keep an eye out for it and to let me know. we are a team, one depended on the other, all for the good of the patient......as it should be!
Vito Andolini
1,451 Posts
Perhaps I misled you. I did not mean to say I wanted them to do more work or learn new skills. I meant to say that I was focusing on anatomy, physiology, perhaps microbiology, meds and the side effects we need to watch for. I don't expect any of that knowledge to translate into more work for the aides. Sorry for the confusion. Human communication is so fraught with it.