Health-Nut

To Allisonhillary: Do you just start washing pts if they are sleeping, Do you just enter the room and say it's time to clean up Im not talking about dementia pts. this unit is a step down unit TICU/MICU these people may be on the way home and say I'll shower when I get home or they are leaving. They have the sense of saying yes or no. No mental issues on this unit

Yes I understand the infection control issue. But you do not have the right to bathe a patient who is sleeping, and if you ask 3 times and they refused three times you shouldn't fear losing your job or be told your not doing your job.

Missouri. This is a Hospital Not a Nursing Home. I have two pt.s that have complained about this they say they were told they have to take a bath today it's been two days and your dirty. This man was offended. The CNA said she does just go in and tells the Pt. It's time to clean up and does not give them a chance to refuse because she has the tub of water and gown etc. Is this Nuts r what. If it were me I would be so angry and to management expects and tells the other to follow suit?? Crazy. You cannot make a adult do anything they are patients in a hospital they have rights. One CNA said she is afraid someone will sue her

This is a Level 1 hospital not a LTC

I posted the question regarding Forced baths and a few people read my post and they want to know What is APS and who do we contact concerning this bcause I have 4 people here who want to know who to turn to because they've been written up for not giving baths when it is the patient who refuses and they are told it's ok to just start washing a patient if they are sleeping do whatever it is you need to do to wash the patient up. They are told this by management and they nurses are always throwing the CNA under the bus. They all say they are very uncomfortable by this and have been told by several patients that they are very upset that they are bascially forced to get a sponge bath and they are talked down to if they refuse to bathe. They have told the managers on the unit this and they will not listen they always say you have 5 baths to do today get them done. This is crazy if I were the Patient I would be highly upset by this. They are saying they are constantly harrassed about you better get baths done and they are sick of it. Wow is this infringing on Patients rights or what?

APS whats that stand for?

I am woking this evening and we just had a CNA leave. She's saying she is very upset with how she's told to just go into a patients room and start bathing them while they are sleep and that it is her job to MAKE a patient let her give them a sponge bath, basically noone can really refuse a bath. She was called some horrible names by a pt, because she just went into his room and said it's time to get cleaned up, he refused because he was watching the game and wanted to wait until tomorrow but she said he had to anyway. Our management does make the CNA's do this and if they don't give baths they're written up. I am very surprised isn't that taking away patients rights.

No..The Nurses are very rude on our unit everytime theres a new CNA PCA whatever they will regress to the 3rd grade and give them the silent treatment. I've heard new co-workers ask a question and noone answered and when the person left the room they joke about it. I have seen them do such things to her as well. I was with a pt. one morning she comes by the nurses station and says good morning and noone responded. They have a rep for doing such things people don't wantt o lose their obs so they don't push it they treat CNA's LPNS like they are dirt really. I see the Doctors play this game with the Nurses as well. BUT I thinks it's a bit odd no blacks on the unit ever move up unless they are simply hired in as a Nurse, if your a PCA you'll stay one you never get asked to Tech class the next level and they are always seemingly trying to find a way to keep them from achieving this. I mentioned this to someone else and she too said yes I've noticed it but you better not step on any tows cause you may find yourself without a job. That to me is B.S.

I am really good friends with a co-worker who is a Patient Care Assistant, and black the there are only two on our unit. Anyway she has confided in me in the past that she was being treated badly Nurses not speaking to her, not explaining to her what the job entails which they are suppose to support and help those who need it. I noticed how they treated her and yes I would say it was rude and unkind at times and always pointing out her faults and singling her out for issues that others were never blamed for. I also noticed that they hired three new staff and they have already been promoted to higher certification and a raise and they have worked her I would say 3 months and she almost a year. She had to take a medical leave over the summer and she has been punished by neing written up and told she would not be able to miss another day for 6 months due to this. She said she is worried because her small son has medical issues that may need her to stay home with him, and she has been written up over issues I believe was crazy because it's due to her not being told what to do exactly in her position as to charting she did not know she had to enter certain info and no one ever took her aside and told her this s what yur doing wrong please correct it, she says she is called into the ofice and just basically slammed for doing things wrong and written up she is talked down to and belittled as well she did report this to emplyee relations but little to nothing was done and she has worked with us almost a year and has not even been asked to further her certification and these new girls have. I have heard similar complaints from other blacks in our hospital and I feel like it's wrong. I told her to call the EEOC, I have seen to many minorities at our hospital being held back and others with less time and experience being promoted is nuts. She deserves this I always her criticism of her but the patients praise her all the time she never hears this. I have never seen her name up on the pt. comment board either. Everytime someone has something nice to say about our work the manager put it up on the board and every one signs on the paper how much they enjoy working with this person. I had to make one for her and put it up myself and noone signed it. This is a little crazy am I wrong and what should I advise her to do. I told his to my husband and he said she should file a discrimination suit. I agree but I would like to hear some comments or advice from others who have been through this as well Also I read a great article about minority Nurses who are treated like this and it's often swept under the rug the article really made me think that yes she should file suit.

I was looking into several Nursing school programs and recieved a booklet regarding mineral area college. I am confused because there are a couple of option and one just makes no sense to me. You can eith go the regular Rn route or do the LPN-RN route I was told you'll take the boards to become a LPN then brige into the RN program? What wouln't this cost more and take longer? can anyone explain this to me? has anyone been through the Mineral Area College program the NCLEX scores on the Nursing board seem to be really good I really like the school but Im a little confused andit will be a week before I can get into the advising meeting. If any Nurse is a grad from this school please clear this up for me! Thanks So much!

Has anyone belonged to or heard of Diversity CRNA for Minorites wanting to enter the CRNA field? If so how was it for you and would you recommend it for others?

I have wanted to attend CRNA school for a long time my best friends Mother was one before she retired and I always loved the lifestyle she was able to afford for her family as a single mom, she was always talking about her work and she loved it. I have been a Sports massage therapist and Personal Trainer for years and I decided after dreaming about this career for so long I am going to Nursing school and attain my dream of becoming a CRNA. I took a job as a Tech in a critical care unit in a level one trauma center and I have also attained a Mentor who is a Chief CRNA, but I noticed at work there are NP's who ask since you have so much experience in owning your own practice becoming a NP would make so much sense cause you can offre this service to your clients, I thought wow this is true and I really like educating people about taking care of themselves and the Dibetes educator really appeals to me since I am a fitness trainer it's a great match, BUT I have always wanted to be a CRNA and I find myself somewhat conflicted now! I discussed this with my mentor and she says I should do what many of her co-workers have done become a FNP and then later ad on CRNA it would give me a greater scope of practice and I would be able to offer so much to my clients and to open a amazing practice. But my question is this aren't there CRNA's who open practices just being a CRNA? Or is this a totally different animal? The FNP then CRNA does sound interesting I guess it's not different than those who choose to go on the medical School I just get the great benefit of being employed thorughout my career ladder! I am willing to do this and I have met four CRNA's who were FNP's first and then later went to CRNA school I was surprised by this! Is anyone familiar with this? Or does this seem like a silly waste of time. I am a MOm of two I would like to do some travel Nursing during the summers and I can take NP courses online at my Local University and only have to be in class for clinicals which is held during the fall so I could Travel Nurse during the summer, I could then build my NP practice and combine what I already do then I could attend CRNA school I think It would allow me to have enough money to pay for my education w/o loans out the rear. Any advice would be so appreciated. I think I have tought about this so much Im confusing myself. Some other clear input would be great! Thank You!

I didn't mean to sound if being a NP is easy. What she was pointing out is that she can make a great living and still be with her kids unlike a Physician friend of ours who said she was told by her family by this x-mas she needed to chose family or career cause she misses out on everything, she was very upset that they are making her chose but we were discussing how as a Doctor or many careers for that matter earns you a great income and clout but at what cost, this doctor by the way is not even 30 yet she has stress thats totally crazy and she always says if she knew then what she knows now, the money doesn't matter she would have been a teacher. Now as I was saying my friend the NP says she has similar benefits the doctor does she loves being a blend she was saying to me today if a Doctor and Nurse had a child it would be a NP!! I think being a NP is a great profession I considered medical school but I didn't want to spend the time or money. I love Nursing and I also wanted to be a Doctor I found out about the NP profession and I thought wow it's kind of the best of both worlds! By no means did I mean it would be easy or a gravy job in a simple sense. We were simply saying it's great to make a great income, have some clout and still maintain decent work/family/life balance.

I just wanted to say thank you for all the amazing advice I have a few Nurse friends on our unit we work the MICU and it's t be blunt the ass crack of the whole hospital really we get the cdiff, constant incontent pts. almost every room is a isolation it's a nightmar and every one seems to be so unhappy. I have a close friend on the unit who is a NP and she says exactly what all of you do she comes to work in her cute out fit and white coat has gravey work really and still has dinner with her kids at night and helps with home work. She says she's paid $80,000 a year and loves it. She told me having two kids mysdelf it's the route to go. I can live a comfy life, my kids will be happy cause I actually show up in their lives and if I want to make more in the future thats a option too. She laughed about the travel nursing she says with the money you'll make your going to be able to afford a family vacation every years like she does. She's only 27 and she says with pride that herbaby sister gradated high schoool and she loves that she could afford to send her sister on a vacation so I can see theres a lot of happiness there. Thanks a million for the comments.

I have a friend who just started working as a NP about a year ago and she said she is really disappointed she didn't go to CRNA school because she is making the same money she made as a RN in the hospital. When she did agency work she made even more, she says another nurse said she should should have looked into travel Nursing, they average around $100,000.00 some years depending on the assignments they choose. I am considering CRNA school cause I want to make a great income too but if you can be a BSN with over time, travel nurse on occasion and do some agency work why bother going into debt? and suffering 30 months in a CRNA or NP program. Could anyone clarify this for me? This just doesn't make sense to me? I can see if you want to open your own clinic as a NP, that was my dream until I found out in Missouri you cannot open a clinic. I'm still investigating if this is true. That's the reason I chose to go the CRNA route. Anyway can someone explain the salary differences to me, I read NP magazine by advance and they are giving salary ranges that are for NPs who have been in the field for a while. I believe I'm confused. Any clear answers will be greatly appreciated I'm also sharing this info with nurses at work who are in limbo about what advanced degree to pursue. Thanks!