Pulled from orientation to be a tech???

november17, ASN, RN · Feb 28, 2007

Look on the bright side, you got paid RN wages to do a CNA/tech job.

EmerNurse, BSN, RN · Feb 28, 2007

In my experience, the way someone comes off orientation these days is that the floor is short and hey, you take a team (only after a few weeks at the least) LOL. It's a sorry way for a new grad to come off orientation but I've seen it all too often.

That said, I don't think it's appropriate to pull an RN to use as a tech. They got away with it with you simply because you're not counted as staff yet, as an orientee. You probably won't see them pulling a counted staff nurse to be a tech for a shift, since then, her team would have to be absorbed by the rest of the nurses.

Thing is, when you're short techs, YES it's awful, but a tech's job IS a nurses' job. Every single thing techs do is in our scope of practice and it's our job to see our patients are changed, clean, fed etc, as well as the "nurse" stuff like meds, documentation, etc. Makes for one hell of a shift, that's for sure.

So, while you did get pulled as a tech, you WERE still doing nursing work. If you've never worked as a tech before (I have no idea), it's not bad to bone up one those more basic skills. You still have to organize your time with however many patients to complete your work and you probably saw and heard things the RNs did not because you were at the bedside so much.

Consider it a quick review of the basics of physical nursing care this time around, but I agree with others above about letting it be someone elses' turn next time.

Might as well put a good spin on it, this certainly won't be the first or only time you're asked to work in less than ideal circumstances.

Good luck!

Lurksalot, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2007

Are you union? I am just curious if you are and what policy is on this. At my facility, our union clearly states that would be a violation. I can't imagine being asked to do that...in our department we are often short techs, but like another poster said the tech duties are actually nursing duties, so we all just suck it up and help each other best as we can if they can't find another tech.

On another note, it stinks to be put in that position---it's hard being new and having to be confronted with stuff like this!

sofaraway04 · Mar 8, 2007

last week we were staffed top heavy on the late shift, normally there is 2 RN's and 2 HCA's, but we had 3RN's and 1 HCA, so i said I didn't mind workign with the HCA and leaving drugs/documentation to the other nurses. it meant i could get round the ward and get to know more patients. i wouldn't wnat to do this on a regular basis, but on the odd occasion it's nice to work under alot less stress