Nurses, do you routinely do beds and baths?

[Rapheal]

Do you routinely do beds and baths along with your patient assignment or does your hospital institution provide an aid to deliver this type of care? I am an RN and at my new place of employment, I am responsible for beds, baths, mouth care, lunch and dinner delivery and tray pick up, and more often than not vitals and blood sugars. The typical patient assignment is about 5 primary with usually a new admission or two. When we do have an aid they usually only do one or two beds and baths along with vitals and blood sugars.

As for acuity, some very sick patients. I would estimate that only 2 of the assignment can perform these activities by themselves. Also responsible for feeding the 1 or 2 patients who are total feeds or very limited in their ability to feed themselves. Is this the norm?

[nurs4kids]

Another perk of working peds..

the parent NORMALLY will do the bath. There are exceptions to the rule, though. On our teens the CA does the bathing. On our rehab pts, I usually do/assist the family with the bath.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

We have 14 Acute Beds and when full, two RN's and two CNA's. The RN's and CNA's work as a team but usually the CNA is the one who takes the patient to the shower. Then we make the beds to help. Its a team concept here . . . .

[Vsummer1]

As a student, I am responsible for total care. However, the hospital I am doings clinical in has a CNA, an LPN and an RN that are responsible for the total care and they are good at their jobs!

Interestingly, the patient ratio has been lightened from 8 - 10 and the loads down with more assistant personnel d/t union coming in and is now 4 - 6. It doesn't change my assignment, but the RN's are much happier! Their patient ratio is down, and I actually have some time with the nurses. Last semester, the nurses were so busy it was difficult to "pick their brains". This semester, the difference is noticable! I hope it stays this way, because I can see the stress level is down and they are actually able to "teach" the students assigned to their patients and ensure that adequate care is being given.

[OrthoNutter]

Originally posted by gwenith

We Aussie nurses tend to be the Jack/Jill of all trades. I've worked in hosptials where we were also expected to clean teh beds after discharge as well as empty rubbish bins. Now I don't mind doind those things as long as management realises that I am the most expensive rubbish removalist in the world!

I hear ya....when they float me to OB....not being a midwife....all I do is make beds and answer phones....they won't even let me do the vitals because they always have to go back and do a foetal heart rate as well so according to them, it's a waste of time me doing the others.

So I sit back and collect my RN paycheck for doing the work of an AIN/ward clerk.

[BearLV]

I started out nursing in Minnesota, working a day night rotation on a busy general surgical floor. On days our patient ratio was 3 to 1, we could assign one bath to the CNA's and were responsible for the other two. As it was a surgical unit, we as nurses were also responsible for ambulating our patients and performing any dressing changes. On nights the ratio was 5-6 to 1 with no CNA, so we were responsible for vitals, answering all call lights, any patient baths that were needed, etc. Most of the other nurses on the unit were good about pitching in if you needed any help cleaning up a patient or whatever.

I recently moved to Las Vegas where the patient ratio on days is 7 to 1 - hello culture shock! The CNA's do all the baths, vitals, and assisting with meals. I am happy to help out with these duties when I have time, but with 7 patients, 5 of whom are usually pretty sick, I just don't have the time to do all these things.

[RNonsense]

We have no aides or LPN's on our surgical floor. Our ratio is 4 or 5 on days...6 or 7 on nights.

[New CCU RN]

yep.... practically every time I work... have to beg the aides to assist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Furball]

Originally posted by cactus wren

Actually, that is one reason I work ICU. I feel that total patient care is important for me, at least. Maybe it`s from the many years I was a NA( no C when I was an aide).

I have friends who work on MS, and they are very hurt, when they occassionally are short aides, and have to give baths...It`s not my job. ?????

I`ll stay where I am, thank you !!.

I've worked floors, and ICU...... expecting the M/S nurse to do all care for 9 pts is nuts! Even giving baths to just half your assignment is exceedingly too much.

In ICU it's doable because you only have 1 or 2 pts.

[MerryRN]

I am returning to hospital nursing after 7 years as a school nurse. I have been told that the pt to nurse ratio is 6 with the aide doing 2 of the bathes and helping with I & O's ect. When I left the hospital 8 yrs ago I had an aide with me for 9-10 patients. That was why I changed to school nursing.

[Buddha]

I work in a 50 bed Sub-acute unit in LTC. We have 2 nurses, 4-5 CNA'S on days, and 3-4 CNA's on 3-11. The other Nurses try not to have to do patient care as we have 25 pt's each ,but somtimes if I have a free moment I will do ADL's,pass food trays, and answer call lights all of which that the other nurses can't find time for. I got called by a DON I had once that didn't want to pay me overtime to get my charting finished at the end of the day. She told me to quit helping the CNA's. So the next day the CNA's who thought this was foolish, bugged her all day to help. She never said a word about my 15-20 min of overtime again.

:roll

[Going80INA55]

MerryRN,

Did you take a refresher course or was it necessary? I have only been out for a year and considering going back to bedside...just wondering how they percieved your absence. I don't want them to start me at a new grad level. (no offense meant)

Before leaving bedside I did the unit. We did all the baths. We had one aid, if you were lucky enough to get her you got help with the bath.

[semstr]

yes, that is an important part of my job.