Nurses will do the CNA job

[bongids]

I heard that some hospitals are requiring nurses do the cna jobs. Just want to know if this is true or not.

[bossynurse101]

OK - Im probably gonna get fried for this, but here goes . . .

COMMMMMON YOU GUYS!!!! Wakie Wakie!! Dont be blinded by your compassion and goodness! Sure, we'll help, sure we'll get into the trenches. No problem. Most of us have no issues with bathing a patient - and with loving and kind strokes at that, or helping someone dress or walk to the BR, feeding them, or even emptying a BP. Not surprising as alot of us have a teeensy bit of "caretaker" issues going on. Yep, thats us, you dont even have to ask the magority of us. Screw lunch. HOWEVER - cutting staffing costs at the risk of med errors and shoddy nursing is UNACCEPTABLE! We MUST stand up for our TIME. It's bad enough that most of us barely have time to do the job we would LIKE to do without eight hours turning into nine or ten and never taking breaks. The demands keep coming. As long as we do what is expected, expect the bar to be raised. Administration and Corporate Management will continue to cut staffing as a way to make up for the deficits imposed by managed care, Medicaid cuts and Medicare spending and meanwhile med errors continue to rise as a leading cause of death. Sorry im shouting guys but I feel strongly about this issue, it is the exact reason I left bedside nursing. I believe most of us are nurses because we are inherently kind and loving beings - but I want to scream when I see our goodness being taken advantage of!! Ok I'll duck now. (be gentle ok?):chuckle

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Bossynurse, you don't have to duck, but I don't understand what your comment has to do with what's being discussed.

[bossynurse101]

I'll try to be clearer, sorry. Maybe i'm off base here, but if the nurse does two jobs vs a CNA and a nurse doing two jobs . . . . get my point yet?

[loriangel14, RN]

So how about those of us who have no CNAs?

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

I'll try to be clearer, sorry. Maybe i'm off base here, but if the nurse does two jobs vs a CNA and a nurse doing two jobs . . . . get my point yet?

Ah, you're talking about short-staffing. Yeah, that's a chronic and annoying problem. But this thread, I thought, was about facilities that don't use UAP on their units. That doesn't automatically mean they're short-staffed.

[bossynurse101]

my point exactly.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

We have 3-4 aides on the floor during my shift. I still do mostly total care. It's fine as long as everything is going smoothly, but throw in a busy patient or two, and I really need the help.

[bossynurse101]

So what else is new?

It's PrimaryNursing 2.0: mainly a way to reduce costs by cutting payroll.

??? am I missing something? OK its been a long week. Excuse the interruption.

[PiaLove, BSN, RN]

As the awesome people we are, we sometimes are seen as being capable of handling the responsibility of both the RN and the CNA. In school and in life, I was taught that nurses do what is necessary if there is no one to fulfill the role- promoting somewhat the idea that nurses can be used and overworked for the right price. But for the money that nurses attract to any business, you would think companies or organizations would try to ease the stress of the multi-role action. Also, with this huge lack or shortage of nurses, I believe hiring CNA's would assist in making the role easier. All of this talk about CNA's has me wondering why a nurse can't be hired in a position of a CNA but has the right to do the work of a CNA when hired as a nurse?

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

This may make me unpopular around here, but I really dislike how so many nurses feel that they have to qualify their need for help by stating "I don't think I'm above it, and I help out whenever I can.". That really irks me. It's not about being above wiping a butt or feeding a person or filling a water pitcher. I shouldn't have to defend myself from being thought of as "that nurse" simply because I don't want to get bogged down in doing those things, when we have CNAs whose job it is to do those things, so that we can focus on the things that cannot be delegated.

I was a CNA once, and I know what the job is like, and it's only demeaning if you let it be. Yes, it only takes a few minutes for the nurse to get a warm blanket or fill up a water pitcher, but when you're doing those things over the course of the shift, the time really adds up.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

This may make me unpopular around here, but I really dislike how so many nurses feel that they have to qualify their need for help by stating "I don't think I'm above it, and I help out whenever I can.". That really irks me. It's not about being above wiping a butt or feeding a person or filling a water pitcher. I shouldn't have to defend myself from being thought of as "that nurse" simply because I don't want to get bogged down in doing those things, when we have CNAs whose job it is to do those things, so that we can focus on the things that cannot be delegated.

I was a CNA once, and I know what the job is like, and it's only demeaning if you let it be. Yes, it only takes a few minutes to get a warm blanket or fill up a water pitcher, but when you're doing those things over the course of the shift, the time really adds up.

But it needs to be said. Of course if there are people to do that they should, but there are units that do not have aides.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

Yes, my friend works in and ICU without aides. The nurses do everything. My unit does have aides, and if they decided to do away with them, I think it would be detrimental to both patient care and nurse retention.