Ploppers

You can try pilates and streatching before work. Its very important to have a strong core to back up the body mechanics. When I first started ibprophen was my best friend!!!

Here in Oklahoma they have started using AUAs (advanced unlicenced assistants) they are like CNAs on steroids in the skills department. But as far as the hospital I work at, you dont even have to be certified. You can just walk in without having ever done anything like this job and get it!! Its crazy!!

At my hospital we are called nurse techs but its all the same. I have my CNA and I don't regret every choosing to be one. And to those who try to look down on me for my position... why don't you come try it and see how much you have to say?

Well.... with the lifting thing... it can be easier but not always. You got the patient who actually only wets the bed at night because they are asleep and don't know to get up, the one with sundowners who all the sudden decides they dont know where they are and try to get up and hit the floor, and the 300 lb person who sleeps like they are in an earthquake and needs to be pulled up once and hour. I work in a hospital and my duties are getting shift vitals, q4 vitals, q4 and q6 finger sticks, daily weights (that can be a very heavy lifting job), i&os, and a good amount of paperwork. But between all of those thing the patients can get pretty busy too. It really would be worth trying out though. Every facility is different as well as every floor.

Thou shalt not have a patient with a runny stool colostomy bag and chart "BM X1" Thou shalt not encourage renal patients to refuse their daily weights Thou shalt not assume that the 96 year old 70 lb man just gets up to the bathroom (those pesky brown rings start appearing)

I can't belive no one has mentioned wound drainage!!! That is the one and only thing that kills me. I had one Pt. that had a pressure ulcer on her foot. We went to change the dressing and I got the wonderful job of holding the foot up. Well I made the mistake of no mask and when the bandage came off my tears came up. It smelled like death and well... feet, and worst it was oozing purulent drainage. It looked like the entired heel was rotting. Just the sight killed me and adding the smell.... nearly lost it! Ick Ick Ick!!!!!

That is like saying "Hey wake up that newborn and see if its hungry." Who in thier right mind would do that??? Patients in general are sick. Sick people in general need rest... duh. :lol_hitti (Yes, your NM is totally whack)

Look at the amazing Doctors, Nurses, Techs, Volunteers, and other medical staff bettering peoples lives... If you don't think the Lord exists then tell me who the heck did that?! To him we should say :tku:

P.S. I'm glad that you posted... That is a question I think we should all ask ourselves.

I'm a tech but... My personal statement would go something like: I'm here to try my hardest to make people feel better about their situation. So they can see a kind face in their time of illness in hopes that it is one less uncaring person they have to meet.

I know the feeling on that one. I'm out right now because of surgery and the stress of it all took a toll on the way I looked at my job. Before I went out it got pretty negative there and I became really grouchy and intolerant of peoples attitudes even if I knew they were having a rough time. I can't really give advice but I too am hoping it'll get better when I get back. Seriously, the BEST of luck on your surgery. I know how hard that can be... If it's not better when you get back then you should look else where. If your not happy then whats the point?

Yes soreness is part of the job but not constant. I pulled my back so bad one time that the doctor said the muscles were roping. I took muscle relaxers and found they were not for me. After that I did stretches, warm baths, and Pilates. I really found that it helped because it didn't make me as sore. I really hope you find what helps you!!!

I have worked nights for about a year and a half now. I love it, but some of my co-workers have a hard time, so I looked up night shift on Webmd.com. You really should check it out! It is a study on how to regulate your sleep and how to help when your tired on nights. It helped my co-workers... hopefully it'll help you!

Oh don't be discouraged!!! Okay so you had one bad experience... a really bad one but still.... if it is your calling you can't let some psyco, strong armed doc suck the fun out of it. Have fun with a invisible perimiter around said "doctor destructo." You can always repot the doctor to a higher up anonymously like Turn~ said. You might not have felt like you did the right thing right away but try and report him/her now. Just because you didn't jump on their back and beat em over the head doesn't make you a bad person or nurse. The higher ups should handle that, not you. Just make sure you tell em.

As a CNA yeah it is my duty to report pain.... but if they have asked multiple times and I know the nures is good and busy with another patient, checking the chart, ect. I'm not gonna jump on them again sayin 520 is STILL hurting because I'm pretty sure they know. FireStarter I hear what your sayin about the PT, Rt ect. They do the same crap to me about urinals, food trays, ect.. They even tell me about meds being needed and I'm not even a nurse! Lol! What I do when it happens is just smile and nod. I provide a quick thanks, tell them its been handled and go about my business. I know in their heart they are just trying to help (I hope so at least). Heck I might do the same I dunno. When they have that implying "you suck" attitude I just take a breath, tell myself "Who cares what they think darnit I know I'm doing my job the best I can" and keep doing my job the best I can!!! That is one awsome thing about this site. You can smile and nod and then vent like crazy in a post later! :throcomp:

Thank you all for posting!!! It does make more sense now. In response to BradleyRN they should be required to take report from the nurse. If they stopped and thought about it that is what makes the most sense! Thanks again everyone!

Why thank you. Is there an actual resason y?

I'm a nurse tech at a hospital and we do the vitals, I&O's, chart, general patient care ya know. So why is it when a patient hits the floor, I&O's/vitals don't get done and or charted, there is inaccurate charting, or whatever else the tech was hired and responsible to do, the nures takes the heat from the doctor and or manager? I don't get why they can hire us to do the job but ultimately the nurse carries full responsibility of the patients. I personally want to know if I'm doing a good job or if there are things I can work on. In order to know these things i need to know when I might have accidently screwd up. So if they can hire us to do the job we should be responsible for the job we do.... Why aren't we???

I am a nurse tech at a hospital so its a little different with the wet/dry scenario but we have incontinent patients as well. I'm not going to rip the covers off my patients to see it they have a brief or ask if they pee themselves because that could be potentially insulting. I do however ask the nurses for detailed reports on each of my patients (are vs q4 or rt, are they a dwt, how do they void) because I want to make sure I know as much about them as I can to give them the best care. Sadly asking for reports is not required because we have an untrustworthy patient board. A whole mess of techs don't ask for report as a result. As a CNA I sadly have to say from experience of my fellow CNAs check! I'm sorry you do have to check and I'm sorry that it ultimately falls back on you. It should not be like that. We got hired to do that job and should have that same accounability!

VivaLasViejas I just need to say... awsome post and awsome prayer... Thank you

Eh, I'm pretty sure if I got a nasal swab it would come back positive. Lord knows the amount of times I've taken care of a patient for a week and then "boom!" the next day they are on contact. I assume everyone in the free world has MRSA so that I reduce my chances. Unfortunately its all part of the job to take those risks. I agree about the being more scared of HIV or HEPC. I've personally gotten splashed in the face with noway of preventing it. Not cool. Also, I'm scared of TB. It seems the exact moment you lean over or near a patient is the one they need to cough.

i normally work night shift but right now i'm off due to surgery. i don't think there should be a main forum for nights. the day and evening shifts (at my work at least) don't think we do much and posting lets em know we do!