guest42010

I've heard of a resident in an ALF who planned and held his own wake. As far as I know, he's still alive. And has a great sense of humour (with a "U", he's British)

At my hospital, a nurse used a little bit of shaving cream in the water with no-rinse shampoo/body wash and claimed that it helped get the poo off. YMMV.

For what it's worth, I'm a tech (CNA) on a post-surgical unit, and we have a max of 12 patients on a circular (not a long hallway) unit. I manage I/Os for them, including JPs, Hemovacs, Foley catheters, pull CBGs on an AC/HS, Q6 (NPO protocol) or BID schedule, and vital signs on post-op, Q4, or Q6 schedule. I have great nurses who do some of these things for me, and I'm expected to chart as I go, which means that even if I can't find the nurse right away, s/he has any abnormal vitals available on the computer. In Oregon, we have a CNA-2 (Acute Care) certification which teaches us about JPs, Hemovacs, and a number of other skills, which means we can be a little more versatile and useful. I agree that these are "Nursing Tasks", but so is every other skill I perform. In fact, on an unrelated note, I think CNA work should be prerequisite to nursing school. So many of the things I do seem so basic to nursing that I don't think I would want to start without the base I have. :)

For what it's worth, I stopped using any and all antiperspirants including products containing aluminum. I use a natural deodorant called Toms of Maine which contains hops. They say it fights odor naturally or some such. My unit has a policy in place specifically disallowing perfumes and fragrances. I use the pine scent and haven't ever had complaints. I can also work a shift or spend a warm day active outside and not smell of BO. I sweat a fair bit on the floor, so I feel its effectiveness is rather high. YMMV, and it's not the cheapest deodorant around. But it works for me, and they have a fragrance free variety, too. Also, my girlfriend likes the manly pine scent.

CNAs and CMAs where I work get an extra dollar an hour for attending all inservices, completing any training required, and by not being late or calling in over the course of the pay period. Unfortunately, if you're legitimately sick, you lose that extra dollar for calling in. This seems to motivate people a certain amount to be punctual and dependable, even if it's only an extra $72-80/paycheck that they're getting. But you still get it if you're lazy or provide poor care.

As a CNA and a male, I wear navy and ciel blue, khaki, and wine/burgundy. Next time I pick up scrubs, I will probably get some forest green and maybe some olive drab. A nice charcoal or "pewter" might be good, too. On a related note, do you guys usually wear matching tops/bottoms or do you mix and match the colors? Sometimes I'll mix the darker and lighter colors so I don't look too "dark" but I usually just wear the same color. Any sources on less feminine printed scrubs? I don't really want flowers with asian characters or cutesy smiley faces on my scrubs...