Older PCA/CNA

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I usually agree with the idea that with age comes wisdom, more experience, and improved quality because of these factors, but when hiring assistant staff, STOP hiring old people!!!!!!! Lmao, my floor was in need of an aide during the night shift and my hospital hired a lady old of enough to be my grandmother. God bless her soul but she works at snails speed, limps while walking, and can't lift for sh!t. What's the point? When we send her to draw labs she comes back and says "I cant see the vein" or when she supposed to be emptying coleus she complains of a bad back. I like the lady and I respect my elders, so I'm the dumb @as nurse who does it for her because I feel for her. I'm sure she's getting over on me, but what should we do?

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Emptying coleus means emptying foleys. Damn this iPhone spell check

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

Good grief. I don't even know where to start with this one.

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I feel for ya!!! I'm a PCT in a large hospital...and we have plenty of those older PCT's....But they have already been here for YEARS!!! Part of the job requirement is to be able to lift over a certain weight....and just be physically capable of doing the job...

We have more then a few techs who simple refuse to to pull up or lift pt's....one simply say's "No I cant do that, no no no" and walks away....(this same tech is one hell of a phlebotomist though so I can't get on her too much)

I think you should talk to your manager... she was a NEW HIRE?? if she so physically disabled that she can't empty a damn foley....then she can't physically do her job!

I don't want to come off as a ***** but some people are just too old to do this job....and it is NOT FAIR to the RN's who require her help and the OTHER PCT's who have to do HER JOB because of her "bad back"

can you force someone to retire??? lol

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You know what, before anyone blasts me with insults, I just need to explain that I have been forced to clean and place the bed in the trendelenburg position to lift patients up in bed because the PCA's back hurts and can only be on light duty. Like mama Maria eluded to earlier these PCA's haven't been here twenty years, the one lady is a new hire

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I wonder what situation brought this lady to your workplace. What is her story?

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Specializes in medical surgical.

I fully expect someone to blast me at this. However, I the hospital where I was formerly employed the cna's made 7.10 or whatever minimum wage is in this state. The could not keep any of the young ones because they leave for better opportunities. Some go on to nursing school, move away, whatever. The older patients can relate to the older cna's. I worked with them. Yeah, they could not lift the 200 pound patient but we would do it together. I considered it part of my job. Plus it gave me ample opportunity to check for skin breakdown. It really kind of irks me that someone would want to get someone fired that possibly would not be able to eat if they did not have this job! My team and I always work together. You can blast me now!

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I get what your saying, older cna's being able to relate better to older patients....but in my facility we are techs....we have more responsibilities...and those responsibilities require you to not just lift heavy pt's but machines/monitors. And as heartless as it sounds... if you can't physically do the job... either retire or get a job that isn't so physically demanding.

I'm barely 24 years old and I already have back problems and sciatica....it is demanding work we have to do...and I'll be damned if i'm going to pick up the slack for another PCT because they are too old to do it....

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

Wow - an older person who dared to change jobs. Shocking! ;)

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I get what your saying, older cna's being able to relate better to older patients....but in my facility we are techs....we have more responsibilities...and those responsibilities require you to not just lift heavy pt's but machines/monitors. And as heartless as it sounds... if you can't physically do the job... either retire or get a job that isn't so physically demanding.

I'm barely 24 years old and I already have back problems and sciatica....it is demanding work we have to do...and I'll be damned if i'm going to pick up the slack for another PCT because they are too old to do it....

That's the whole point, in my opinion.

People should be helping each other so that they don't develop back problems, sciatica, etc.

Many places have no lift policies, providing equipment to do the lifting with.

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That's the whole point, in my opinion.

People should be helping each other so that they don't develop back problems, sciatica, etc.

Many places have no lift policies, providing equipment to do the lifting with.

I don't think u totally caught my point. There's no team work if a team member can't pull their weight. Drawing labs, where's the teamwork if u tell me u have a bad eye??? The responsibility falls on the RN. Where's the teamwork when if takes you three hours to take vitals on twelve patients because you're limping around with bad knees? You see the rest of us team members pick up the slack but it gets to a point where you're more of a liability than an asset.

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Specializes in ICU.

let's all hope that one day we are not old, with bad knees, bad eyes, slow, and still need a job to feed ourselves since in this economy there is no way we are going to get our retirement or ssi and work for part of a team where some people have no compassion for anyone but themselves...what to do what to do...

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