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.
If the nurses aren't taking turns being the CNA for a shift...then there is no CNA...which means that each nurse is a CNA every shift. I would rather have a helping hand with a couple more patients than have to do absolutely EVERY teeny little thing.
We are so short staffed, that when a CNA calls in, we are just screwed. There is nowhere even close to enough people working at my hospital to have an RN help out as an aid, even if we worked an extra shift...so I have a really hard time sympathizing.
Really, I'm of the opinion, now that I've thought about it, that we should be happy to be working and not called off. Because that has happened to me-there wasn't the need for a full complement of nurses, so one gets told to simply not come in and gets a few bucks per hour to be on call. Or I was doing paperwork and was told that it was affecting some statistic about the unit, did I have some vacation hours I could use?
Sure, sitting at home is nice, but it gets boring after a while...
Short staffing and call offs are labor issues that we have every right to have a voice in regards to, and we have a choice in whether to continue working for an employer that is unresponsive to our concerns.
To take it even further, as patient advocates, do we not have an obligation to speak out about unfair labor practices that have a direct effect on the quality of patient care?
Short staffing CNAs is such a labor issue. The CNA is competent at providing for the basic needs of the patient, freeing up the RN to coordinate care. When RNs don't have enough help, then either the basic needs of that patient are not adequately met, or if the RN is tied up meeting those needs, then the overall safety of the patient is compromised when lab results are missed, a patient's condition changes, or orders are incorrectly transcribed or not transcribed at all.
I can't believe I have to explain this to fellow nurses- it seems like a lot of people would rather judge the OP as a lazy nurse who thinks wiping butts is beneath her than see the bigger picture here, which is that her employer is short changing patient safety and quality of care for the sake of the bottom line.
Instead of staffing an adequate number of CNAs to cover all shifts, and then having an RN fill in the CNA role instead of going home on standby, the employer benefits because they don't have to hire, train, pay for health insurance and retirement benefits, for more people. The RN is already on the payroll, and even though her wage is higher than the CNA's, when you account for other factors, this is a cheaper way for the employer to go, and they get to look benevolent by "allowing" the RN to stay at work and earn her RN wage.
Dictionary.com defines "Whining" as: to utter a low, usually nasal, complaining cry or sound, as from uneasiness, discontent, peevishness, etc.: The puppies were whining from hunger. 2. to snivel or complain in a peevish, self-pitying way: He is always whining about his problems.
I don't equate questioning staffing strategies and labor issues with whining. Again, I feel we have an obligation to speak up.
For the record, we do not have CNAs in the setting in which I work. I do total patient care. However, I stand by my colleagues in the inpatient unit who need CNA help in order to be able to provide safe and effective patient care.
By allowing the discussion to be one of moral judgment which results in us being divided, CNA vs. RN or even RN vs. RN, they win and we lose, and by extension the patient loses.
Short staffing CNAs is such a labor issue. The CNA is competent at providing for the basic needs of the patient, freeing up the RN to coordinate care. When RNs don't have enough help, then either the basic needs of that patient are not adequately met, or if the RN is tied up meeting those needs, then the overall safety of the patient is compromised when lab results are missed, a patient's condition changes, or orders are incorrectly transcribed or not transcribed at all.
I can't believe I have to explain this to fellow nurses- it seems like a lot of people would rather judge the OP as a lazy nurse who thinks wiping butts is beneath her than see the bigger picture here, which is that her employer is short changing patient safety and quality of care for the sake of the bottom line.
10^3 likes :)
I don't equate questioning staffing strategies and labor issues with whining. Again, I feel we have an obligation to speak up.
By allowing the discussion to be one of moral judgment which results in us being divided, CNA vs. RN or even RN vs. RN, they win and we lose, and by extension the patient loses.
I wish that more people would see this. This attitude that some hold, that those nurses who don't embrace ADL's as their number one work responsibility and derive copious amounts of job satisfaction from these tasks, are too big for their britches is tiresome. And the need to dole out moral condemnation and implying that those nurses are crappy nurses compared to the ones who thrive on the more basic care aspects of nursing, is something I've only come across in nursing.
The patient benefits most when all different healthcare professionals involved in their care, get to utilize their competence to the fullest. In previous threads on this same topic I've seen nurses who believe that ADL's is the be-all and end-all of a nurse's duties present the idea that it's a great opportunity to assess the patient's skin integrity. While I agree, once per shift is more than fine. I do not need to assess skin integrity five or six times in one shift, if that happens to be how often the patient needs help being cleaned and having a brief changed. My time is better spent doing other things. I need to stay on top of meds, labs and orders and to see the big picture and be watchful for signs of change/deterioration in all my patients. What I don't need is to be tied up. As long as the unit is properly staffed, I'm free to spend my time and effort in a way that assures that the patients get the maximum benefit from my particular talents and knowledge.
As I've already alluded to I find it sad that some nurses and some CNA's seem to boost their sense of self(-righteousness) by pointing accusatory holier-than-thou fingers at nurses who feel differently on this matter. An efficiently run hospital (or any other organization) in my opinion needs all different categories of employers to focus on what they know best and be allowed to utilize their unique professional competence.
@Mr. Murse, I actually agree with your most recent post :) but I don't like the whining part. Negative connotation, rubs me the wrong way.
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
I just think a lot of you are missing the point, and are focusing on what your job title is and not what your patients need. If your patent needs their bed made or their toilet unclogged, why not just do it if the appropriate personnel isn't available? Why worry about who's job it is or what scope it falls under, provided you're qualified?
Still not missing the point
If any of my patients needs anything it will be done. Either by myself or one of my health care assistants. For example Mrs S had a massive code brown yesterday. The health care aids were serving up lunch and yes I had a bucket load of admin to do, I went and cleaned Mrs S up, changed her clothes and ensured the linen was properly sluiced. The day before, another patient Mrs B had a code brown. As I was in the middle of my med pass and couldnt leave my round, I had to delegate to one of the aides
Why am I labouring the point, I find your rather black and white assertion that if I dont want to work as a nurse aide I'm a useless nurse mildly irksome. You accuse nurses of not seeing things from your POV. You seem unable to see things from the nurses POV
Working 12 hours in a CNA capacity is back breaking and many nurses can't physically do it more than once in awhile, I will absolutely give you that.
I wear a fit bit charge most of the time. During an 8 hour shift I walk anywhere between 6-10kms. I could choose and cope very happily with doing shifts as a nurse aide. However I choose not to, hence why I did my nursing
I swear some of you should just be doctors, and thats not a compliment. ;-)
I got accepted to med school. However at age 37 it would have been a minimum of another 6 years of study just to make it to junior house surgeon and to be honest I much prefer being a nurse
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
My point was not that RN's should be doing the CNA's job, but that when the situation calls for it (i.e. being short on CNA staffing) then the RN should accept it without whining about it. If there are plenty of RN and CNA to sufficiently staff, then of course the RN should not be running around trying to do CNA tasks as well as their own.
can't believe I have to explain this to fellow nurses- it seems like a lot of people would rather judge the OP as a lazy nurse who thinks wiping butts is beneath her than see the bigger picture here, which is that her employer is short changing patient safety and quality of care for the sake of the bottom line.
Dictionary.com defines "Whining" as: to utter a low, usually nasal, complaining cry or sound, as from uneasiness, discontent, peevishness, etc.: The puppies were whining from hunger. 2. to snivel or complain in a peevish, self-pitying way: He is always whining about his problems.
I think most of us see the bigger picture, and I agree 100% that staffing issues like the OP is describing are legitimate issues and should be addressed as quickly as possible. What I have an issue with, as I think some others do too, is how the OP presented the problem. It was presented as a, "woe is me, I spent all this time getting a fancy nursing degree and now I still have to stoop below my magnificent abilities to wipe butts and take vital signs" type of thing, not the way you presented it. To me, the OP qualifies perfectly as whining, even by the definition you provided, particularly #2.
I can see some validity in their complaint, and if it had been presented differently I think it wouldn't have gotten some of the responses it did.
As for being judgmental, I clearly said that I don't know the OP or if they're that kind of nurse, but the ones that I have known personally who complain the way the OP did about having to do tech work are usually crappy, lazy nurses. I was stating factual observations from my experience, not accusing the OP.
It doesn't matter much though, I wasn't trying to be insulting, I just hate when nurses feel they are above any task that involves taking care of their patients. I've had to tech before on my old floor when some of our PCT's called out (and I teched for almost a year while finishing school) and honestly, on the rare occasions that it happened it was kind of a nice change in pace and responsibility. Now that I'm in the ICU, I do all the tech and RN work, so there's not much room for complaining.........
I What I have an issue with, as I think some others do too, is how the OP presented the problem. It was presented as a, "woe is me, I spent all this time getting a fancy nursing degree and now I still have to stoop below my magnificent abilities to wipe butts and take vital signs" type of thing, not the way you presented it. To me, the OP qualifies perfectly as whining, even by the definition you provided, particularly #2.
No, you inferred that meaning. She never said any such thing. To infer that she is a crappy nurse who thinks that "CNA work" is beneath her, simply because she stated that she does not want to function as a CNA in her workplace is assuming a whole lot. Why do we do this to each other?
Furthermore, the idea that nurses who feel this way are bad nurses is a straw man. I can easily point out dozens of nurses I have worked with who can fluff and puff with the best of them, but can't think their way out of a paper bag. Let's not perpetuate that false dichotomy, please.
No, you inferred that meaning. She never said any such thing. To infer that she is a crappy nurse who thinks that "CNA work" is beneath her, simply because she stated that she does not want to function as a CNA in her workplace is assuming a whole lot. Why do we do this to each other?
Furthermore, the idea that nurses who feel this way are bad nurses is a straw man. I can easily point out dozens of nurses I have worked with who can fluff and puff with the best of them, but can't think their way out of a paper bag. Let's not perpetuate that false dichotomy, please.
I recounted specific experiences I have personally had, and acknowledged them as such and their limitations as applied to strangers on a message board.
It's opinion, my dear Anna Flaxis. Yours differs from mine.
Specializes in Med-Surg, Ortho, Subacute, Homecare, LTC.
Coming in and being a tech in my hospital happens often. I actually don't mind it at all. I can do a really thorough skin check for the nurse I'm working with. I also help any of the nurses that are running late and need help. It's about teamwork!
Let me start by saying that I work in ICU and for most of my career I have done total care with no aides on the unit. So, no, I don't mind or find myself above doing what some call "aide work".
But the analogy does come to mind....would an accountant ever come to work to hear "a few secretaries called out sick today, and we will need you to work as a secretary today"? Surely, they have the basic skills to at least muddle their way through being a secretary for a day.
I've asked a friend of mine that works as an actuary that question and he was adament that that would never happen and that if it did, anyone in his job position would refuse. His reasoning was that he was NOT a secretary, and did not want to be one, and had not been hired as one, and it was a ridiculous request to ask him to do such a thing.
I'm curious what people think about that, in light of this conversation. Or, what if the nurse practitioner or PA, or even a hospitalist was asked to work as a tech?
This is not to agree or disagree. Just a talking point.
SubSippi
911 Posts
If the nurses aren't taking turns being the CNA for a shift...then there is no CNA...which means that each nurse is a CNA every shift. I would rather have a helping hand with a couple more patients than have to do absolutely EVERY teeny little thing.
We are so short staffed, that when a CNA calls in, we are just screwed. There is nowhere even close to enough people working at my hospital to have an RN help out as an aid, even if we worked an extra shift...so I have a really hard time sympathizing.