NEED nurses input

[griffly]

I am just curious about everyone's Nurse Technician positions at their hospital. Some hospitals have different names for techs, a nurse technician is a nursing student working in the CNA or patient care technician position. THey can do a few more tasks, ie inserting foleys, ng's etc. ..

Does your hospital have this position?

What responsibilities do they hold?

What skills can they do?

I would like to see the NT's be able to perform more skills and hold more responsibility, basically work more as a nurse than as a CNA. I think their fresh skills can be utilized. I do understand the legality issues such as giving meds and all that. I would like your input from a nurses perspective on how this could be beneficial or not.

[casi, ASN, RN]

I work as a CNA in a hospital. The most technical I can get is d/cing foleys and IVs. Some local hospitals let CNAs put foleys in, but thats about it.

As a CNA I don't want more responsibility. I'm already running around like a mad women toileting, turning, and providing other ADLs for pateints. I would much rather have my nurses have better patient:nurse ratios so I can just be a CNA.

As someone who will be done with nursing school in about a year I want the same thing. A tech would be working under my liscense. If I lose my liscense I want it to be my fault, not someone elses.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

Why would a CNA or tech want more " responsibility if they are not going to get the pay for it. I don't work as a tech, but I'm a nursing student, and from what I can see is that techs are over worked already and also under paid.

[Roy Fokker, BSN, RN]

In my Emergency Department, "techs":

* Stock/prep rooms

* Gather vital signs (especially on the squad/EMS pts)

* Do EKGs

* Do bedside glucose checks

* Do bedside orthostatic vital signs

* Specially qualified 'techs' can "straight stick" a pt. for blood samples

* D/c an IV site

* Transport non-critical (non-tele, non-ICU) pt. to floor

* During codes, techs do most of the compressions while RT/RN handles respirations.

* Techs are also assigned to "psych watch" - pts c/o SI/HI/Other psych symptom that warrants observation.

All this beside their 'regular job' of assisting the nurses....

cheers,

[WalkieTalkie, RN]

At our hospital, they are called Clerk/Patient Care Technicians. In order to be one, you must be a CNA, EMT, or be in some sort of school for a medicine related field.

Depending upon which unit they work in, they are responsible for the following:

• Entering orders into the computers from the charts
  
• Doing simple bedside lab tests (glucose, UAs, some floors allow them do to blood draws and EKGs)
  
• Some floors they are solely responsible for obtaining vitals (mostly med surg and non-tele floors)
  
• Help nurses with patient care or on some floors they are responsible for all the bathing and toileting
  
• Stock and order needed supplies like linen
  
• Transport non-tele/non-critical patients to and from CT, X-ray, MRI, etc.
  
• Be a "gopher" during codes, and on some floors they also assist in the code by doing chest compressions

Of course there are countless other things they help with that I can't think of at the moment, but I am very grateful for all their help. I was a tech before being a nurse so I treat them very well. I know a lot of nurses who abuse techs by making them do things they could easily do themselves when they are not busy. It's a shame, you know?

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

We call them Nurse Externs. They get paid a little more than CNA's because we want to keep them as nurses when they graduate and we expect them to practice critical thinking. They are not allowed by law to do any more than a CNA because they do not have a license. In our state there is no middle ground. You either have a license or you don.t Almost does not count.

[Neveranurseagain, RN]

I don't think more responsibility for Nurse Technicians is a good idea. Some nursing procedures can be taught as a task, but assessment skill are not taught and it's up to the RN to bail out the technicians when complications occur. Don't try to train people to take the place of an RN. Too many hospitals are coming up with fancy names for technicians to cut down on pt care costs, resulting in less RN's and compromising pt care.

Let's get rid of all these on the job trained "healthcare workers" and give me back the old system on RN's, LPN's and CNA's.

[griffly]

Instead of looking at the negatives lets focus on some positives...

How many times in the hospital when a nurse is taking care of 6, 7, 8, even 9 patients at a time. Finding time to do the assessments, teaching patients, admitting pts, is hard to come by when the RN is running from room to room priming IV pumps, hanging NS bags. I'm not recommending for a nurse tech to replace an RN, but to take on more responsibilities that makes life easier for the RN. Getting rid of the simple tasks will free time for the RN to provide more patient care and contact. Better assessments and pt. education will result from more time gained.

Second point. Nurse technicians are currently going to school to be a nurse. In my hospital they must maintain a certain GPA or they will be dropped to a CNA. I do not think CNAs or PCTs should be able to perform these tasks because they are not qualified. Allowing nurse technicians to perform these tasks will better prepare them when they pass the NCLEX and enter into the real world of nursing. This could drastically cut orientation time.

Another criteria I suggest is for the NTs to pass a checklist or skill sheet to perform extra skills.. I don’t expect them to be able to hang a bag of NS just because they are a NT. Second, I suggest float NT’s should not be able to do these tasks. I believe NTs should only be able to perform extra skills only on “their floor”. The nurses and NT’s build a relationship and each nurse knows the skills and knowledge of each NT. If the nurse does not want the NT to perform a certain task, then they shouldn’t ask them to do it.

Please keep the suggestions coming. Remember to keep an open mind. I would think anything that could help the RN through their sometimes-grueling day should be considered.

[TiredMD]

I don't think more responsibility for Nurse Technicians is a good idea. Some nursing procedures can be taught as a task, but assessment skill are not taught and it's up to the RN to bail out the technicians when complications occur. Don't try to train people to take the place of an RN. Too many hospitals are coming up with fancy names for technicians to cut down on pt care costs, resulting in less RN's and compromising pt care.

Delegation of technical tasks does not imply a lack of assessment by the primary nurse. In places I have worked where techs did all manner of procedures, they were done at the direction of the RN. Such techs serve as "nursing extenders" in the same manner than NPs/PAs are physician extenders.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

We don't have Techs, PCTs, or nurse externs, only nurses and CNAs. Nursing students are supervised by their clinical instructors, and perform only those tasks which they have been checked off on by their instructors at the nursing school, under the direct supervision of their CI or the primary nurse.

I'd like to see some sort of nurse internship or residency program implemented in my unit, as the current system of throwing new grads out on the floor after two weeks of orientation is...well, not such a great idea. I don't think the nurse intern should be allowed to give any medications, but hanging a bag of fluids after checking it with the primary nurse, as well as skills taught in the first year of nursing school should be okay, so long as the nurse intern has demonstrated competency and the primary nurse can double check their work. Certain things, I don't think you should be able to do until you're licensed, such as accessing central lines, pulling sheaths, administering specialty drips, etc.

I would think that hospitals that have strong training programs like this would have nurses beating down their door to work there, and they'd have better trained new nurses working the floor, and higher nurse retention levels.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

The problems I have seen with nurse externs doing nursing duties is that there is too much confusion about what they can/cannot do alone. Also, if an unlicensed person can perform the duties without BEDSIDE supervision, then why do we need nurses? Just get people off the street and train them. I am all for strong preceptors after graduation and nursing residency programs. I am opposed to unlicensed people posing as nurses. Heck, they may NEVER pass NCLEX and then what do you have? A mess.

[Neveranurseagain, RN]

Delegation of technical tasks does not imply a lack of assessment by the primary nurse. In places I have worked where techs did all manner of procedures, they were done at the direction of the RN. Such techs serve as "nursing extenders" in the same manner than NPs/PAs are physician extenders.

Why not bring back the LPN's and CNA's for these tasks? Why create another nursing sub specialty whose training will vary from hospital to hospital? This system worked for years until the almightly dollar became more important than caring for patients.