Nurses forced to work as aides

Nurses Professionalism

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I am frustrated with my hospital. We have a shortage of aides, and no wonder because they have a hard, backbreaking job for measly pay. As a result, sometimes when we nurses show up to work, we're made to work as aides. No notice, just here: you're an aide today.

This seems really unprofessional to me. I signed up to be a nurse. I never worked as an aide because I know how difficult that job is, and I don't want it. It's confusing to the patients to have two RN's running around. Thankfully, the other nurses haven't asked me to medicate a patient, because I'd have to say no since I didn't get a nursing report, nor did I look up the patients to a sufficient level to be able to take full-on nursing care for them nor did I assess them, but I can see how this could set up a problem in the future for a med error.

It just seems wrong on several levels. I guess this is what happens when you work in a hospital with no union. At least I still get my nursing pay, but I still feel that this is inappropriate.

Thoughts? Have you ever heard of this before?

Maybe its just my area,but has anyone noticed a shortage of Cna'a recently?

I was looking around Craigslist and it seems the pay has increased to $15/hr for them too.

Meanwhile,there are virtually no listings for Lpn's and Rn's....

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Maybe its just my area,but has anyone noticed a shortage of Cna'a recently?

I was looking around Craigslist and it seems the pay has increased to $15/hr for them too.

Meanwhile,there are virtually no listings for Lpn's and Rn's....

I've noticed two things lately, selective job listings and successive job listings where the wage range decreases. When responding to the "selective" job listings, magically by the time one gets to the office to apply for the job(s), there is no availability. Then the "selective" listing appears again in a few days.

The successive job listings are interesting. Reposted with lower wages. One wonders why they don't post the lower wages to begin with.

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This happened in the hospital at my last job. But my first three years of employment, we did primary care, which meant doing everything, including taking out the trash.

We complained for years about the poor patient care that resulted at times, but when the patients began complaining, corporate agreed to 'move on' from the primary care model and hire CNAs -- as long as the RNs took one more patient to their load (5:1 on a medical oncology unit).

Anyway, there were times where the hospital was filled with 1:1s and I'd come to work, it'd be my turn to float and there I'd be sittin' with Mr. 89 Years Old with Dementia, trying to keep him from pulling out his foley, IV and NGT :D all shift.

I HATED IT. Fortunately, it was 'rare' enough it didn't make me want to change jobs. But if it happened any more than it did? I would have been very unsatisfied. I don't give a rip that being a CNA is 'part of my job' or 'the essence of nursing'. I know guilt is a driving force for some nurses, but that doesn't make it healthy or right for EVERY nurse.

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I'll still be doing plenty of personal care after I graduate, because our units are often run without aides.

Do you deny that the tasks I listed are nursing tasks? Or that they are your responsibility?

That question is ridiculous, of course they are. However, that doesn't mean that an RN takes a job on a floor employing techs expecting to work as a PCT.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

They do this where I work too. We sometimes have to work as sitters or CNA if they are short. Amazing they are willing to pay us RN wages instead of getting agency CNA's. Some people don't mind. It's not my favorite thing, but I have always helped the CNA clean and change and reposition patients as a nurse so it really isn't that big of a deal. Sometimes I've even had a easy night, just sitting while a patient slept instead of running around stressed out juggling a full assignment!

Don't you help with turning or boosting patients where you work? Is it such a big deal? I doubt it would be a daily thing anyway since they usually rotate nurses.

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I am frustrated with my hospital. We have a shortage of aides, and no wonder because they have a hard, backbreaking job for measly pay. As a result, sometimes when we nurses show up to work, we're made to work as aides. No notice, just here: you're an aide today.

This seems really unprofessional to me. I signed up to be a nurse. I never worked as an aide because I know how difficult that job is, and I don't want it. It's confusing to the patients to have two RN's running around. Thankfully, the other nurses haven't asked me to medicate a patient, because I'd have to say no since I didn't get a nursing report, nor did I look up the patients to a sufficient level to be able to take full-on nursing care for them nor did I assess them, but I can see how this could set up a problem in the future for a med error.

It just seems wrong on several levels. I guess this is what happens when you work in a hospital with no union. At least I still get my nursing pay, but I still feel that this is inappropriate.

Thoughts? Have you ever heard of this before?

You make it sound like working as as "aide" is beneath you. That's not they type of attitude to have as a nurse especially since you get to be more up close and personal with your patients. I'm not going to write a long paragraph, but let me share something with you quick. I was at work yesterday and just so happen to be taking care of two retired RN's from the days where they wore all white everything! And guess what she told me? "Back then we DIDN'T have nurses aides, we did EVERYTHING, WE WERE NURSES".

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Specializes in Cath/EP lab, CCU, Cardiac stepdown.
Hmmmm....I'm betting this author is also one of those nurses who amazingly becomes chats n smiles the minute a half decent looking doctor shows up ?????? This my folks is why our world is doomed. The new Generation just doesn't get it. And as parents if them all... We can blame ourselves.

Judy

That's quite the blanketing statement on the younger generation based on a few.

Saying that older experienced nurses eat their young and are crabby senile witches annoys me, but making those statements about younger nurses are equally annoying.

Let's not promote ageism and start a generational war. Some nurses are good some nurses are bad, you see them in any generations.

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Specializes in Primary Care.

I actually had to do this tonight for the first 4 hours of my 8 hour shift. I picked up a full assignment between 7-11, when the night shift aide came in. I didn't do any tasks I don't normally do as a nurse, I just did them for all the patients. I was slow getting vitals on everyone but mostly because it was a routine I wasn't used to, and I checked manual BPs automatically on any patient out of the normal range, which ended up being a bunch. I didn't hate it, but I definitely have a strengthened respect for our aides. These are the tasks that we learn first in nursing school, and they ARE part of our job.

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Specializes in Cath/EP lab, CCU, Cardiac stepdown.
No, it really isn't what we signed up for, and you may understand this better when you're actually a nurse.

I have to disagree, cna is part of the job description. I see nothing wrong with people who dislike doing it all day but inpatient rns really did sign up for the possibility of it.

Just like in corporate, there is an issue if they tell you to do tasks out of your agreed upon job description but if it is within it then there is no legal or professional issue. Personal issue in terms of it being not enjoyable, yeah can happen and totally acceptable. The only question is is it one big enough that you want to quit.

After all, there are tasks that everyone don't like.

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Specializes in Cath/EP lab, CCU, Cardiac stepdown.

My only issue is with people who refuse to do any cna work. It is part of the job, and it certainly is a part of what we signed up for.

Op, I don't know if you meant to come off as this type but certainly I am not the only one to think so. If you don't like doing cna work ALL day then why not find another hospital. To add the part about being an NP really seems to say you just don't want to do any cna work.

If that is the case then you definitely should pursue other fields, np if that is your desire. It Will be a disservice and a poor representation of yourself and the registered nursing profession if you continue to work as something that you don't enjoy/is unwilling to do. Good luck!

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Specializes in Education.

After my first semester of nursing school, we could become CNAs.

I will sometimes have a tech on my unit, but it isn't guaranteed that I will be able to delegate anything to them.

So darn straight I'm jumping right in and cleaning patients and rooms, making sure everything is stocked, or whatever else one would normally delegate to the CNA.

Now, I hate the cleaning parts, but they are all part of my responsibilities as a nurse. So I suck it up and do it. Simple as that.

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Specializes in Management, Med/Surg, Clinical Trainer.
In that case if you take vitals on 12 patients and have abnormals on 5 of them and report that to the RN you'd better make sure they follow up.

The RN acting as a CNA would not have the responsibility to make sure the RN overseeing the cases follows up. The RN acting as a CNA who sees abnormals needs to report it to the RN and then document that she reported it.

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