Do other LVN's agree with me?

[eastxlvn]

i have been an lvn for about 1 yr. i work at a smaller hospital that employs both rn's and lvn's. the other day i overheard an rn instructor telling her students that they would never have to do bed baths or help pts to the bathroom because CNAs did that. this bothered me because i know at my hospital both RN's and LVN's take pt's and if their pt needs help going to the bathroom we help them regardless of title. we do have CNA's but they are usually busy theirselves and many times it is just easier do it yourself than tracking down a CNA. i just wanted to know some opinions on this. i thought mabey at bigger hospitals they do have well staffed CNAs that take care of those needs and mabey at those places RNs never have to do those things. (unlikely). anyway it just bothered me because i thought it was unrealistic what she was telling them but didnt want to tell them wrong.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

I'll take a peek there.

[Jules A, MSN]

I've been thinking about this and since the OP isn't a student I do think the comment should be brought to the attention of someone, possibly the program director at the college. I am really offended that this kind of attitude is being taught, sheesh there are enough lazy people without encouraging the trait.

:angryfire

Edited to add: in my area its a great privilege to secure a clinical site due to competition. We are guests at that facility and I can't imagine the facility would appreciate their site being used to train nurses not to put the client's needs first.

[Elektra6, ASN, BSN, RN]

Our LTC fired a new-grad RN for having that attitude. It was a shame, but he simply would not help any residents with personal care. He finally refused to help someone in front of mgmt and that was the end of him.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

In my opinion, the day a nurse thinks he/she is too good to empty the urine bag is the precise day that he/she should consider leaving the profession. It's time to return to the basics of nursing care.

[NC Girl BSN]

I toilet my patients from time to time. I don't mind if I'm not in knee deep in a med pass and the CNA is busy doing someone else. Like others have said, its much easier to take them to the bathroom than go all the way to the desk and page them. The only down side is you will work yourself to death if you have a lazy CNA working for you and think that I'm gonna do their work and mine too. This don't happen too often because I know how to nip it in the bud.

[caliotter3]

You're right NC girl 35, there are CNAs that will take advantage of you and you have to nip that in the bud. They can't be lollygagging around while you work yourself to death doing their work too.

[eastxlvn]

:yeahthat:

Exactly, 100% right!

Once upon a time I was an LPN working on a med-surg floor doing patient care. I worked with one group of RNs who would spend 15-20 minutes tracking down the LPN or CNA to fill a water pitcher, put a patient on a bedpan, etc etc. Another group would do some of those things themselves. They were also a lot more willing to help turn a patient, pull the patient up in bed, etc etc. Guess which group got more help and more respect?

Once I was in the middle of a massive tube-feeding "code brown" (shoulder blades to knees!) with a CNA helping me. The RN called in to the room to tell me Mrs. CVA in the next room needed the bedpan. I told her we were cleaning up this patient but I would be in there shortly. The RN called me three more times! And yes, she knew what we were doing. (She actually stuck her head into the room to see!) Finally the CNA looked at me and said "just go ahead, I'll stay here and hold this patient on his side." I went to the next room. Mrs. CVA could roll herself over, she just could not get the bedpan for herself. She rolled, I put it under her, she rolled back. Went and finished the Code Brown, went back and took Mrs. CVA off the pan. She rolled over, I wiped her bottom, took the bedpan, she rolled back, I helped her get settled. No real physical exertion involved for me, at all. The RN told me she "couldn't put anyone on the bedpan because of being pregnant" (just barely showing). :angryfire

The plastic fracture pan wasn't that heavy, even with urine!

wow, that makes me appreciate the hospital i work at even more. many times i do have to toilet and bath my pts becasue the CNAs are busy and sometimes we dont have any at all. But ALL of our charge nurses are very helpful and so are the ward clerks, they act as CNAs many times. i cant imagine anyone telling their pt that they couldnt get them on the bedpan because that wasnt their job. anyway thanks for everyones feedback, i will try and educate these new nurses!

[GeauxNursing]

our instructor makes sure we know how to do bed baths, peri-care, and changings. and we do them WELL. (1st semester LVN program) our 1st 2 clinicals consist mainly of bathing, feeding, sheet changes. for 12 hour shift.

[ethiopia]

Take it from me as a former cna I appreciated anytime a nurse helped by taking a pt to the bathroom or gave a bedpan in the hosp, because the LTC that I worked in the nurses refused to do those things, and I could never understand why. I always said to myself if I ever became a nurse I would never be like that. Now that I am a nurse I will take a pt to the bathroom or change a diaper, and I think its such a compliment to hear pts or cna's say you are the only nurse that helps. but i don't look at it as helping i look at it as part of my job.

[eastxlvn]

Take it from me as a former cna I appreciated anytime a nurse helped by taking a pt to the bathroom or gave a bedpan in the hosp, because the LTC that I worked in the nurses refused to do those things, and I could never understand why. I always said to myself if I ever became a nurse I would never be like that. Now that I am a nurse I will take a pt to the bathroom or change a diaper, and I think its such a compliment to hear pts or cna's say you are the only nurse that helps. but i don't look at it as helping i look at it as part of my job.

AMEN!