Additional info for S. Johnson@abc news

barton · May 5, 1999

I KNOW I read, on another nursing bb, something about housekeeping staff being trained for certain nursing functions---I just can't remember WHERE!

SO, IF ANYONE ELSE HAS HEARD OF THIS, COUGH IT UP, POST IT HERE AND SEND IT TO S. JOHNSON AT ABC'S 20/20--PLEASE!!

Joe,RN · May 5, 1999

It was at www.nursingspectrum.com

I read it too, now if we can just

find it!

barton · May 5, 1999

FOUND IT!!! (and a few related posts) RIGHT here at wwnurse! Here they are:

(ASTERISKS ARE MY OWN--I USED THEM TO HIGHLIGHT A SECTION OF THE SECOND POST--barton)

sandi

Junior Member posted February 15, 1999 11:37 PM

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I don't know how it is where you are, but at alot of the hospitals around here the CNAs are being cross-trained to do phlebotomy, enemas, catheterizations etc... the training consists of a few hours inservicing... no anatomy lesson, no theory, just HOW to do it. What is even scarier is that I have heard that the housekeepers are also being cross-trained to draw blood in the larger hospitals.Heres to staying healthy and OUT of the hospital!

Terra

Junior Member posted January 16, 1999 12:39 PM

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I, too am very concerned about the ways PPS will affect pt care. there are some changes our facility is making that frankly have me worried...******* our Rehab and Respiratory departments have been dramatically reduced, and their tasks have been handed over to our nurses and CNT's. We are already stretching our physical resources to the limit, and often do not have the background education to give care in these areas as it should be given...I am afraid that terrible errors may be made in these areas, simply because of our lack of knowledge. I know that this program was begun for good reasons, but I'm afraid that our patients are going to suffer terribly for it.*******

sasha

Junior Member posted November 15, 1998 08:44 PM

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The question of UAP's is just getting to be a tender spot around here. We did not have too much a problem with them in hospital settings etc. We usually appreciated them due to the fact that the nurses were always short staffed and any help was appreciated. I am in East Texas and very involved in the Texas nurses association (TNA). Just recently a fellow RN who is not involved in TNA and evidently does not read current journals was outraged because one of our home health aides who no longer worked for us came in to give her an injection when this RN had went to see her MD. More and more physicians are hiring aides to work in their offices than nurses. I have went to my MD and his receptionist give injections. It is a pet peeve of mine that our employers do not want us to put our credentials and titles on our name tags except for very small print. The patients cannot read "RN" when it is a 10 or 12 font. They also do not want you putting BSN or MS etc beside your name. It is left off intentionally when name tags are made. The TNA has a nice big pin to wear on your uniform at work, it is nice not gaudy yet it lets the world know that your title is "RN". It is a shame though that no one cares enough to belong to their professional organizations these days, apathy is rampant in our profession...yes I know that nurses are tired and that is their reasoning for not getting involved. It will be only through group effort with many nurses combined to prevent patients from experiencing poor or unexperienced care from the hands of UAP's everywhere in healthcare. The CEO's etc. are only interested in the bottom line and hanging on to their paychecks...that is one reason why nursing always gets the cuts. Nursing does not want to get into politics but if they don't others will always be deciding how nurses do their jobs. UAP's are not educated in assessment and disease process so are not able to judge when a patient may be going bad, or why what the MD ordered should not be given to a certain patient. One the whole the aides in Texas barely have a high school diploma or GED, some can barely read or write. Do you want these people taking care of you or your family when you are sick and in the hospital? I will give some credit, they may be in nursing school, and are learning, but still do not need to be loosed on their own on poor unsuspecting patients. Patients (consumers) of healthcare also need to be more educated and ask questions...many do not know the difference between aides, techs, LVN's, RN's etc. If someone walks in their room in scrubs they are a nurse, it is also our duty to educate our patients to ask where are the nurses???? How many RN's are on staff, how many times will a RN see me each shift, how many patients does each nurse have assigned to her??? Enough said for now...did I have enough input for you on this subject? If not please specify and I will try not to ramble. Appreciated the soapbox for the moment.