Momof8CNA

i am off today, so i refuse to do ANYTHING useful.

you absolutely can get high from certain opiates. you can get high off of cough syrup. at any rate, i thought this was the CNA forum? i was hoping for input from other CNA's or nurses (the nurses also do sitting where i work) who might also have the difficult and sometimes rewarding job of sitting. no need to make my post into something it isnt, for that matter.

oh, i would never EVER ever call anyone that or say that "out loud". my job is just to tell the nurse and document etc etc. which is why i posted here, so i wont completely lose my mind! i like sitting, most of the time..but wow.it has to be the most tedious job ever created. and i dont mind the griping about the medication, im talking about those who get almost aggressive about it, as in..throwing stuff, cussing me out, kicking the wall, stuff like that. i can complain with the best of them, i know how to tune it out!

i get what you are saying...but no. these people want to get high. they dont suffer from chronic pain at all. i had one lady faking a seizure. it was cringeworthy, to say the least. anyway, i just had to get it off my chest because 8-12 hours in a room with these people can get very stressful!

that is what i meant by drug seekers. i have seriously sat with cancer patients, who were on hospice, and completely just eaten up with it..that have acted less dramatic than these guys with their "back pain". the nurses are absolute saints for putting up with it as gracefully as they do, because they get on my last nerve. i sat with someone tonight who decided that since the nurse wasnt giving him his medicine fast enough, he would pace in front of the nurses station for 45 minutes, glaring at them all. it was ridiculous.

exactly!! the nurse could have someone going out on them, and this person will be throwing temper tantrum because she didnt magically appear in the doorway at 7pm or whatever time they start demanding it. also, that is the point of my post..they dont need it! they will be snoring away, or running their mouths, kicked back and laughing..and here comes the time they are allowed to have more medicine and its like they become different people...and they get snotty with me, the sitter, because i cant force the nurse to come dope them up on time!

So my job is primarily sitting with people for various reasons, one of them being people who are aggressive, or suicidal. 9 times out of 10, these people are wanting drugs at a pretty constant rate...the problem is when they are told that it isnt time, or when the doctor cuts them off completely. they act like its my fault or something..any ideas on coping with these guys?? 8 hours in a room with someone constantly freaking out because they didnt get their q4 dilaudid right on the dot get very very tedious. and now im just griping, but really hate it when their families show up, and either get them all riled up, or start fighting, etc.

so i have been thinking about it, and mulling it over..and my husband says its a good idea..but i am wonder if 40 is too old try and get into our local registered nursing program? i love my job, but i do think i could take it a step further. on the other hand, most of the nurses at our hospital are younger than me and already have 4 year degrees. any advice??

i started at 15 an hour, and i am still making 15 an hour. if i take a contract, i can get a 500-1000 dollar bonus in addition.

what is that? im with an agency..i honestly almost called down to staffing to talk to them, but i figured they would be obnoxious about it..i had a similar reaction during the first code blue that i was present for, and they had the same impatient attitude..i mean, i get it..im an adult, i have to keep the emotions in check, but it was just so overwhelming. maybe im just a big baby???

there was something that happened at work that has bothered me ever since. not as bad as when it happened, but still. the icu nurse had me help him with a man who had passed away.i have seen dead people before, but this is the first time ive seen someone that had been dead for a while.. scared me, honestly. i helped remove the lines and change his gown, etc..he was just so cold and had a lot of mottling, and i found myself trying to warm his hands up by rubbing them, which obviously did nothing..but what is worrying me is my reaction.i kept it together long enough to go in the bathroom and frantically text my husband because i was so overcome with sadness for this guy! i was nearly in tears. luckily, i regained my composure but wow, i couldn't believe how involuntary my feelings were. i have also found myself feeling the same "overcome with sadness" feeling when patients cry. im just not sure why i have been so overly sensitive about everything i guess. any ideas on how to distance oneself from difficult situations?

i can do vitals, blood sugar checks, empty and chart foleys and colostomies, change out colostomy bags, put on scds, fix the ivs when they are occluded, start the telemetry devices, get samples and label them for the lab, turn on the oxygen, help with the bipap machines, order medical supplies, etc etc.

where i work, you cant use pot or certain medications, even if prescribed.

i am in oklahoma, and i make 15 an hour. BUT. i work through an agency. if i were to work in a nursing home, i would make around 9-10 dollars an hour, if i were a hospital employee..11 an hour.

i make 15 an hour, but so does everyone else at my agency..its just a flat rate. i honestly dont think i would do this job for anything less though, because it IS hard at times.

wow, they do??? we always stay when the doctor comes in, and he sometimes asks us about the patient too. that is something i really like about our hospital..we all work together, doctor, housekeeper, trash guy...everyone is on the same team.

oh, ok! i was going to say! but you are right, there is so much to learn! but of course, now that i am going on about how much i like it, ill be floated elsewhere tonight!!

you change picc lines? they have special nurses to come put those in at our hospital.yeah, i think my position is more of a clerical nature,which suits me just fine. i really hope they keep me there. floating gets old real quick, but on the other hand, i am learning so many new things, it seems.

i might check into that. the problem is that im with an agency, not the actual hospital. if the hospital paid more, i would love to work directly for them though..but i bet i would still have to float!

yeah, that is almost what it was like, being a unit clerk! i almost want to find out how to become a unit clerk, i think im more suited to the job. i really have a lot of admiration for the nurses up there though..i dont see how they keep from losing it, with the stress of everything going on. when a code blue/rapid response is announced, one of them has to run to wherever its going on, in addition to what they are doing in the icu.

i used to be a live in caregiver for people with dementia, and a lot of times..their own reflection frightened them. we always covered the mirror with a towel, if the situation warranted it.

hey there, i have yet another question for other CNAs who have icu experience. they have been putting me there for the past several weeks, and i love it..but its so different. i do hardly any hands on work, but i do a lot charting,entering patients into the computer, ordering any medical supplies that notice running short, printing out ekg strips and such, picking up blood/medication/equipment,etc. is this normal for that floor? its just so different than other areas of the hospital.

i dont see why that would matter..its not like you are going to the college for the class, they are coming to your facility. if i were you, i would go and make payment arrangements with them to see if that would help get you back in!

if the guy is alert and oriented, and told him that he was fine..what is there to report? myself, i will do the same..if someone tells me they are fine and dont want to be bothered, i wont bother them again until my last round..if they are asleep and not obviously wet, i just let them be. its bad enough waking them up for vitals every 4 hours. if you go and nark on someone for something this petty, you will quickly end up with enemies, and even the nurses can end up not trusting you, if you run and tell on people for every minor wrongdoing.

its a bit different where i work, but i get what you mean! there is this one housekeeper, who takes it upon herself to try and get the patient up, go into the kitchen to get things for them...and then tell ME what i need to do! one housekeeper even tried to fix someones iv that was occluded, and finally i told her that only cnas and nursing staff can touch them..she was not happy. this is almost as bad as the aide who wants to play house supervisor!