I am in a bit of a predicament. I worked as a CNA for 4 years before I fell pregnant and at 8 months my Doctor limited me to 10 pound lifting and my employer wouldn't let me work until after I was released to full lifting. After I had my son I decided to be a stay at home mom and go back to school to become a nurse. I went on and completed my first year of nursing school and decided to stay home with the kids for the time being. Last year I went on to achieve my LPN and took the class and took my NCLEX and passed. I was hired at a long term care facility to work as a LPN last September. About 5 months ago my scheduler asked me if I could help out and work 3 CNA shifts as we were extremely short on aids. I said I would do those 3 shifts. However, over the last 5 months she has taken advantage and on average I work 10 out of 12 shifts a month as a CNA. I had made the decision to do an online LPN to RN bridge program I am starting this month. At this point I need all the nursing experience I can get to help me be successful. Over the last 3 weeks I have asked my scheduler to please not schedule me as a CNA anymore yet it continued. I decided to speak with my DON who stated she was very appreciative of me helping out. I explained to her what I explained to my scheduler and she said she was working on it. The next week, 3 CNA shifts in a row. I have no asked 4 times to please allow me to do the job I was hired for with no luck. There are about 4 of us nurses who are being used as CNA's on a regular basis. There are some nurses who told them if they were scheduled as a CNA they would quit. There are nurses who are newer than I am and were hired after me who don't have to work as a CNA. They are letting PRN nurses work the carts and forcing me to be a CNA. I don't mind helping, don't get me wrong. But 5 months of only getting to do my job 1-2 times a month is getting old. At this point I do not know what to say to my scheduler, DON, or administration about this. I have spoken with the state board and it is legal for me to work do the job but I am not a CNA just a nurse doing the duties (seeing as all CNA duties are nursing duties delegated to them).
Anyway, I was hoping for some feedback in regards to helping me with what I should say. I don't want to quit as I do love the facility. However, It is getting rather frustrating. Seeing as I am a new nurse. In all reality, I became a nurse 11 months ago and out of that time have only been able to work as one for 6 months. Thanks :)
Request a meeting with your manager and express your concerns. If you were hired to work as an LPN and management continues to find excuses to schedule you as a CNA then that's not fair.
However, be prepared that they may give you an ultimatum and you could be out of work.
If I were you, I would start looking for another job. If they can't retain CNAs, well...
They aren't going to change as long as you and the other LPNs continue to cooperate.
I suggest getting the rest of the involved LPNs together to meet with the DON. Find out an end date for covering CNA shifts. Find out what bonuses you will be getting to make up for working below your job description. If these answers don't satisfy you, arrange for alternate employment.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
The LPN to RN bridge program I am enrolled in has no clinical hours at all. After completing all online courses I will do a 2 day clinical evaluation/test. Therefore how will doing CNA duties (walking residents, feeding residents, changing, clothing, and so on) assist me with medications, treatments, IVs and so on?
I assume you are enrolled in Excelsior College's LPN to ASN program because that's the only school of which I'm aware that has the clinical practicum arrangement you describe.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but real world work experience will not help you pass Excelsior's CPNE...the manner in which we practice in the real world of nursing will result in a whopping failure on Excelsior's CPNE.
So although I wouldn't be happy to work as a CNA when I'm a licensed nurse, just be cognizant that the way you practice your skills at work will not help you one iota when preparing to pass the CPNE because the evaluators want the skills completed their way with no exceptions.
I was hired to take a med cart, distribute medications, take orders, do treatments, catheters, IV's and so on. I understand that all the duties a CNA does are nursing duties delegated to a person who is certified to do them (CNA) so in all technicality I am doing my own job. However, when I am scheduled as a CNA I am not doing medications, treatments, orders, catheters and so on. I am not on a cart. I have spoken with the state board of nursing and it is completely allowed for me to do this however they can not call us CNA's as we do not hold a current CNA license but a RN or LPN. The tricky situation is that for example I am scheduled for a CNA shift. I am with a patient and they are not acting normal and have had a change of condition. If I, a LPN working as a CNA, notify my nurse and she does not act upon the situation and something were to happen I am held liable as I have my LPN and an held accountable to the higher license.
You don't have to justify anything to us. No disclaimers are necessary such as, "I don't mean to sound ungrateful." They are very clearly using you. I'm just in shock at this. I very rarely suggest anyone find another job as I don't know anyone's situation but my own. So I'll just say that if it were me, I'd have said long ago, "take your CNA job and shove it."
If you want to continue to work there, I'd just suck it up. You're being paid your nursing wages, and you're doing nursing tasks.
Better to be seen as an employee who is a dependable team member than as a whiny brat who expects preferential treatment.
Part of the issue may be that you don't have a lot of nursing experience, so they are putting more experienced nurses on the carts. Keep putting in your time, and you'll move up the seniority ladder.
FYI, I got my RN with no healthcare experience whatsoever... you do NOT need to pass meds from a cart in order to succeed in your bridge program.
This makes zero sense to me. Suck it up? She's an LPN being completely taken advantage of! Even if she does want to still work there, "sucking it up" is not the answer. She has to advocate for herself. In a professional way, of course, but nonetheless stick up for herself. This is a ludicrous situation she is in.
Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
This makes zero sense to me. Suck it up? She's an LPN being completely taken advantage of! Even if she does want to still work there, "sucking it up" is not the answer. She has to advocate for herself. In a professional way, of course, but nonetheless stick up for herself. This is a ludicrous situation she is in.
How is she being taken advantage of? She's being paid LPN wages. She's an LPN.
She's being asked to toilet / bathe / dress / feed patients -- all of which are basic nursing care tasks.
She's not being asked to babysit the director's children on her day off, or to provide sexual favors, or to wash the administrator's car. She's being asked to provide care to patients and being paid for it. How is that being taken advantage of?
How is she being taken advantage of? She's being paid LPN wages. She's an LPN.
She's being asked to toilet / bathe / dress / feed patients -- all of which are basic nursing care tasks.
She's not being asked to babysit the director's children on her day off, or to provide sexual favors, or to wash the administrator's car. She's being asked to provide care to patients and being paid for it. How is that being taken advantage of?
She is being asked to work below the level of her license, which has a lot of pitfalls.
I would not like it either. I know in our local hospitals the RNs may help out and fill in for tech jobs when they are extremely short staffed, but it should not be an every shift thing. You will lose what little skills you have quickly and it will be difficult to find a job later on. I was wondering how you did not have clinical hours in a transition program? I know in my state to be able to sit for the NCLEX-RN you have to have had more clinical hours completed than those sitting for the NCLEX-PN. It's just one of the differences but kind of a big one. If you are in Excelsior you are in a state that accepts their requirements because it's an awful lot of money.
If they don't want to listen to you and schedule you the way you want, look for another job. You are not forced to work there.
i finally find someone who has the same situation as me .. It is really sound ridiculous , u are right ! helping them is not really an issue but if they keep doing it as quite often then ITS NOT ACCEPTABLE ! Ur license is being an LPN not a CNA , there is a difference ! and the job description also are not the same .. ive been complaining also about this issue at my work ! its like i have no TITLE they can put me wherever they want but at the same time i know at the beggining that this will might gonna happen but this is too much though!
There's no such thing as "Shove it" there's another place that u can applied for as AN LPN! why stick with CNA.. and FIGHT FOR WATEVER YOU THINK IS RIGHT ! Ugh.. Don't let them take advantage of you !
joanna73, BSN, RN
4,767 Posts
Request a meeting with your manager and express your concerns. If you were hired to work as an LPN and management continues to find excuses to schedule you as a CNA then that's not fair.
However, be prepared that they may give you an ultimatum and you could be out of work.