I'm a new NA on a very busy GI Med-Surg unit and often have up to 15 pts. We do q4h vitals (unless they're post-op then it's q15 or q30 minutes for the first 2 hours), hourly rounds, strict I/Os, along with all the usual NA duties. I hit the ground running every night crazy busy trying to get my vitals/glucose checks in because many nurses will start calling me wanting them done ASAP so they can pass their meds early, along with tending to call lights that have been on for some time due to the chaos of shift change (we get written report so the day shift is gone at 7 on the nose).
However, the other night I was in the middle of vitals and had to stop to assist a bedbound pt who had soiled himself (no briefs per hospital policy) and was up to my elbows in stool when an RN called me 3 times until I answered to inform me that I needed to put one of her pts on a bedpan. I politely told her I was in the middle of something, and asked if I could get to her in 5 minutes, to which she responded NO, I needed to go now. I told her I will finish up as quickly as I can and get there ASAP, but alas, I didn't make it in time and the pt soiled herself.
The thing that really bothers me is that as I was running to that pts room, I spotted the RN sitting at the nurse's station on Facebook, and I couldn't help but want to say something to her! I didn't, but I was so upset that she demanded I perform this task NOW while she had nothing to do! This is just one isolated incident of times when nurses call me to perform random tasks when I'm in the middle of something else that is difficult for me to get away from immediately, and I was wondering if it's okay for me to sometimes say NO, I can't get to that right now without repercussion? I want to do my best and I don't want to jeopardize anyone's safety, but I'm only one person and I'm beginning to feel very distressed by trying to accommodate every RN immediately when they call throughout my entire shifts.
Ugh, that is absolutely ridiculous. I was a CNA before I was an RN and I definitely worked with nurses who would do exactly what you described. I would have nurses ask me as they are LEAVING the patients room to help a patient onto the bedpan, and by the time I got in there the patient had already soiled themselves. Like, really?! She could have at least put the patient on the bedpan and then told me, "hey, I just put patient so-and-so on the bedpan, would you mind helping him off once he's finished?"
But I digress.
I had no problem telling them no when I was busy helping another patient, and you shouldn't either. As an RN now, I have no problem helping a patient to the bathroom or cleaning them up after, especially if I know the CNAs are busy. It's not fair to the patient to make them wait or cause them embarrassment by soiling themselves because the nurse claims to be "too busy" (and charting doesn't count as being busy….patient care comes first!). That's absolutely unacceptable in my book.
You poor thing. I wouldnt even say " Im busy in here, Ill be there in 5 minutes" I wouldnt give a time frame because then that'll put pressure on the nurse to get off her butt and actually help the pt if she doesnt know how long it will take you to do it for her. Tell them you are "busy, dont know how much longer it will be, would you be able to find another team member to help? sorry." It is perfectly acceptable to be busy and not able to help 100 percent of the time.
Wow! I'm sorry you have to deal with this. I was taught in nursing school that we are never above nurse's aides, and should never act as if we are. If I ever need something done, I usually just ask an aide for an extra hand, not to go do it themselves (unless I'm absolutely too busy at the moment). Besides, it's a good time to do a good skin assessment and see how well your patient ambulates, etc. If this continues to happen, you should bring it up to the nurse or your nurse manager. If she has time for Facebook, she definitely has time to assist a patient!!
I truly appreciate all your responses and I'm so glad to know there are so many nurses out there with a great sense of teamwork and appreciation for assistants. The one thing that keeps me staying positive right now is that I'm learning what not to become as a nurse and know I'll always find my aides invaluable because I'm seeing how hard it is on this side.
Someone a few posts back mentioned nurses not answering call lights, and I'm finding this very common on my unit. Just yesterday there were 3 lights on in front of the nurse's station with 4 nurses there talking and not one got up to answer them. But one did find the time to phone the NA who had one of the rooms to ask when she's going to get to that pt. I just don't get it. The majority of these nurses have graduated within the past year, and many of them came from NA/Tech positions. I am in disbelief that so many of them quickly forget what it's like on the other side, and lose their sense of teamwork. It really saddens me, because I see other NAs who've been there for many years as this is their career, and they work so very hard for much less than what the RNs earn, yet get treated with little to no respect. I will, however, say that I thankfully do work with a handful of exceptional nurses that I hope emulate once I graduate.
I just got my CNA yesterday and i'm so terribly afraid of things like this happening when I get a job! Im a people pleaser and don't like if anyone is dissatisfied with me. The whole reason I became a CNA was to learn how it feels to be the bottom of the totem pole so when I advanced through my careers I wouldn't be so careless as to the feelings of those below me.
Im sorry this happened to you, I agree with others, when you bring the situation up, "inadvertently" expose her behavior and actions while remaining "curious" how you could've handled it!
You should not feel bad for saying no ever as long as you are polite and have a valid reason. If appropriate I would tell the nurse you are in the middle of cleaning up another patient and will be done in xx minutes.
I think she was rude regardless but maybe she thought you were taking vitals or do something you could easily walk away from? Maybe she too had been busy 5 minutes earlier and sat down thinking you had gotten to it? Thats probably not the case but everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt at least once.
The NAs that I work with "No" is the polite response. More often than not I don't even get acknowledgement that they were asked to do something. I've never seen a unit secratary of NA go without lunch or breaks. When the patients are most in need seems to trigger the mass exodus to "break time". I wish I worked with more NAs who took patient care as seriously as you. From my point of view- that gives you the right to say "NO" when appropriate. A simple "I'm tied up here for a while and don't believe I'll get to that any time soon is an appropriate response. You aren't slave labor- you aren't going to be taken out back to be beat if you don't jump at every request. Be conscientious in you efforts to provide good care, that way you retain the right to tell the nurse to get off her/his lazy bum and care for thier own patient. If this is a frequent problem you have an obligation to report the nurses lack of responsibility up the proper chain of command. I've never said NAs were there to do the baths and bed changes so I don't have to. I just don't want the NAs seeing themselves as the caregiver of last resort- like: if everyone else is maxed out and the nurses are running from room to room- maybe they'll answer a call light- and tell the nurse that the patient is laying in poop before I take my 90 min lunch"...
Here is what you say "Sorry (insert name here), I am with a patient right now. If you can't do it the patient needs to wait".
If it were me, I wouldn't have answered my phone.
Next time, stick your head out the door and let someone know you're going to be tied up for aprox. 15 minutes, etc. and could they please let your nurse know.
You should not feel bad for saying no ever as long as you are polite and have a valid reason. If appropriate I would tell the nurse you are in the middle of cleaning up another patient and will be done in xx minutes.
I think she was rude regardless but maybe she thought you were taking vitals or do something you could easily walk away from? Maybe she too had been busy 5 minutes earlier and sat down thinking you had gotten to it? Thats probably not the case but everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt at least once.
Since when is it okay to sit down and spend your time on Facebook while at work. I think that's the issue the OP has. While she was doing her work some lazy RN who could have gotten off her butt to put her patient on a bedpan was using work time that she was getting paid for to check her facebook status. IMO that doesn't deserve the "benefit of the doubt".
Don't let it scare you off...remember it when YOU become a nurse. I worked my way through nursing school as a PCA and frequently ran into this. I learned to handle it in one of two ways: if I knew I was going to be unavailable for any period of time, I would let the nurse and unit clerk know. When I finished, I let them know that as well. If I was in the middle of something that I didn't anticipate, my reply would be "Sorry,___________, I'm in room ### doing XYZ and will probably be here another X minutes. Please see if someone else is available. Thanks" Every time I saw a nurse sitting NOT doing something nursing related while I was running my butt off really irked me and I swore every time that I would not be that way when it was my turn. And I'm not! My view is that my patients are my responsibility first and NA's are just that: nursing assistants meaning they were there to assist me with my patient's needs. Hang in there and good luck!
Since when is it okay to sit down and spend your time on Facebook while at work. I think that's the issue the OP has. While she was doing her work some lazy RN who could have gotten off her butt to put her patient on a bedpan was using work time that she was getting paid for to check her facebook status. IMO that doesn't deserve the "benefit of the doubt".
dexm
73 Posts
Ugh, that is absolutely ridiculous. I was a CNA before I was an RN and I definitely worked with nurses who would do exactly what you described. I would have nurses ask me as they are LEAVING the patients room to help a patient onto the bedpan, and by the time I got in there the patient had already soiled themselves. Like, really?! She could have at least put the patient on the bedpan and then told me, "hey, I just put patient so-and-so on the bedpan, would you mind helping him off once he's finished?"
But I digress.
I had no problem telling them no when I was busy helping another patient, and you shouldn't either. As an RN now, I have no problem helping a patient to the bathroom or cleaning them up after, especially if I know the CNAs are busy. It's not fair to the patient to make them wait or cause them embarrassment by soiling themselves because the nurse claims to be "too busy" (and charting doesn't count as being busy….patient care comes first!). That's absolutely unacceptable in my book.