Is it me or the nurse?

[emily12]

Hi,

I am new here and I needed people to talk to this about. I try to talk to people in my nursing class at school but very few of them are aides and they don't understand.

Okay here is what happened. I don't know if every hospital is the same but at the one I work at the aides are supposed to get baths done, do accuchecks and answer call lights. When I last work there was a nurse who did one of her baths, two of her patients did their own baths and I had the other one. I got so busy all day that I never got to it. I had a patient that I had to turn and change every two hours because the nurse didn't do it. I had another one that kept having accidents on their way to the bathroom. I had another one the one of the nurses wanted me to walk with the patient. I had a couple of people I had to walk to the bathroom when they needed to go. I actually ended up helping nurses the other aide had too. I was all over the place. I was able to get lots of beds done but not a lot of baths but none of the patients complained and the one patient the first nurse gave me to do a bath did really care to get cleaned up anyway after I apologized towards the end of the day for not getting it done. That nurse every hour was like did you get the bath done and I told I was trying to get to it.

Throughout the day I actually saw her go into other patient's rooms who were not hers to help them and I saw her sitting at the computers quite a lot talking. I walked by and thought now why can't she just go do the bath if shes sitting there. Later on the charge nurse asked me while I was in another room if I could help a patient to the commode and I said yes. I left my patients room and went to the other room and that same nurse was in their helping the patient. I left. The nurse came out and asked me if the charge nurse asked me to go into that room and help the patient 45 minutes ago and I was like yes and I shoudl have said it was way less than 45 minutes ago. She also asked me to help a patient off the commode who required two people but would not come help me. She came in after the other aide and I got the patient into bed. One of the other nurses I had had a patient who was being combative and we were trying to change them and I was in there a lot. I was told to keep them in bed. That one nurse was mad I was in there a lot and later when I left put that patient in the chair without telling the patient's nurse. The patient's nurse wasn't to happy.

This nurse was the only nurse who didn't get any new patients that day.

I guess my question is, am I a horrible aide or was it the nurse? She kind of made me feel like I was a failure at the end of the day. That makes me feel like I will be a bad nurse.

[yousoldtheworld]

Everyplace I've ever worked, it is extremely unrealistic to expect the nurse to turn and change your patient and do their baths for you. That is usually one our main roles. Sure, it's nice of the nurses to help out when they can, but it's YOUR job. Making time to do everything is one of the challenges of being an aide, but if you're not doing it, no matter where you work, expect to have something said to you about it.

That's not to say that you're a bad aide, but nurses have a lot more on their plate and they can't do everything for you. I have 12 baths to give every day when we're fully staffed, and no matter what is going on, they have to be done.

You're planning to become a nurse, from what I gather? Think about it from her perspective. The aides are there to do things like bathing and toileting to allow the nurses to focus on the other nursing tasks. If she'd already done some of the baths herself, I can certainly understand her expecting you to do at least one yourself. Many nurses I've worked with in the past wouldn't dream of giving baths or changing patients for you (which is not a good thing), so consider yourself lucky.

That doesn't give her a right to treat you like a failure, though.

Try to do all your baths at the very beginning of your shift, before the craziness of the day starts. When I worked days at the hospital, I always did mine right after breakfast so they'd be out of the way. One less thing to worry about when you have things like walking patients to do. Definitely work on your time management, because that will ALWAYS be a struggle, it's just a reality of working in healthcare.

[Qbert]

It's pretty ridiculous how they expect NAs to get x amount of bathes done in a given amount of time.

I figured out a while back that the charge nurses/floor directors care less about patient care and more about looking good (clean rooms, floors, patients, clutter) rather than individualized patient care.

Just do all the bathes you can and do as much patient care you can.

The RN/LVN wont get in trouble for bathes not getting done.. YOU will. This is the unfortunate truth.

Good luck!

[JDZ344]

Qbert; the RN does run the risk of being "taken before the board" if patient care is not carried out, even if its delegated. They are still responsible for it being done, not the NA.

That said- the NA is more likely to get disciplined by the place of employment.

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

I figured out a while back that the charge nurses/floor directors care less about patient care and more about looking good (clean rooms, floors, patients, clutter) rather than individualized patient care.

Yup. Our admin is obsessed with having spotless floors and fresh-smelling halls. Patient care, not so much.

[jb2u, ASN, RN]

You will have good days and you will have bad days. That is just life. I've seen nurses crying because of the workload!! Many see nursing as a "great way to make money" and find out that you work hard for that money with little or no thanks!! Some see nursing as a "way to truly care and give back" and then find that with high nurse to patient ratio's and a billion and one things that need to be done now, you don't get the time to "care" like you would like to!!

Nursing is a wonderful, and I mean wonderful, profession...., but it is not for the weak hearted. This nurse's lack of gratitude has discouraged you, but wait till you have busted your butt all day with 7 patients, did not take a lunch, did not stop to even use the bathroom...and then at the end of the day have patient one tell you how "you don't even care", patient two's family is demanding to see you NOW because daddy said he didn't get his bath, the cna is telling his coworkers how you were just at the computer all day, and the doctor is upset because patient three did not get walked around the unit today. Meanwhile, the next shift is waiting for report and your still trying to pass meds on your other four patients.

I guess my point is just, hang in there. If this is what you truly want, then it really is all worth it!!! I love nursing!! Your next four shifts may be great, and you may not even have to deal with this nurse. I worked as a cna, and I know that it is demanding work. Maybe this nurse has never worked as a cna. Maybe this nurse has forgotten the struggles of being a cna. I can't really speak for her. But no one should decide your career for you. If you have done your best then don't worry about this nurse. Just go home with a big smile on your face knowing that you gave your all for the patients....and then get some sleep....cause your going to need it for the next shift!!!

Best of luck to you

JB

[vampcna]

Nursing is just like any other job, in that, you

will have coworkers and supervisors who are jerks.

Don't get discouraged, just do the best you can.