I'm ending my third week in the CNA class (required to apply for the LPN/RN program) and I have to say I'm developing a real appreciation for what CNAs do on a day-to-day basis.
It got me wondering, and I am NOT trying to be snarky, I genuinely don't know: what is it that nurses *do* all day? I see a lot of posts about how crammed the day is, how little time there is even to pee, and what I can list so far is obvious things like starting IVs, giving meds, caths, etc. But I'm clearly missing a huge piece of the puzzle. I also know it's hard to generalize, given the vast differences between different fields of practice, but I'd love a from-the-trenches view.
I guess I have always thought that a lot of the work CNAs do was done by nurses. Probably good to have a better idea of what I'm getting into before I apply, huh?
1930-check pt#1, bp 210/105, ventriculosotomy not draining, call md, no parameters in chart for when to call, get chewed out. Oh yeah pt restrained, biting at you, at same time tube feeding found leaking all over bed, find help to change angry restrained biting man. Welcome to your night.
Now its 2045-Finally see pt#2, has peed all over bed waiting for help to get to commode. Wound vac is beeping and says it has a leak-find all supplies to fix it, meantime pt pees through Attends again, bed again. Fix wound vac..clean bed. Get her pain meds.
2130-Pt #1 thrashing in bed bp higher still, call md again...check and the restraint form hasn't been sign. call resident...
2200-Pt 3, finally, PAIN PAIN PAIN....iv is dislodged, so PCA isn't working, try to start iv, no avail (of course) call iv therapy, try to get pt to not throw up while giving her oral pain meds.
2230-Give all meds-find wound vac still leaking, a family of 20 at the door, and still no call from resident
2300 Help "a quick couple of turns with other nurse" find beds loaded with two weeks of bm....quick turns on 2 is now total bed bath...
0100-Turn off wound vac, get paper work for pre-op at 5 am. start TPN, spill #2's commode all over floor. Question why I went into nursing.
0145-MARS>>>MARS AND MARS... and then, of course "Your getting an admit" quickly consider walking off the job
0230 Rushed through mars, painful admit comes from ER with no orders! Figure all that out, chart, chart, shush screaming pts. Think about future of my career.
0400- Labs, picc line won't draw, order tpa, fax to pharmacy, call angry iv therapy nurse...Pt needs pre-op meds and can't get them for two hours while tpa "settles"
0500-clean pee in bed again. Try to listen compassionately to sad pt.
0600-Re-write report sheets, do quick bed bath, hang all new tubing..do am CBGS
0700-Try to find day nurses to give report to. They question me on things I have no idea about because I am so flippinhg tired.
0800 (day shifters have to eat breakfast burritoes before getting report) sit to chart it all
1000-crawl home husband says "I woke up tired today" want to kick him or cry. Fall asleep. Remember in middle of sleep ten things I forgot to do...
1930-check pt#1, bp 210/105, ventriculosotomy not draining, call md, no parameters in chart for when to call, get chewed out. Oh yeah pt restrained, biting at you, at same time tube feeding found leaking all over bed, find help to change angry restrained biting man. Welcome to your night.
Now its 2045-Finally see pt#2, has peed all over bed waiting for help to get to commode. Wound vac is beeping and says it has a leak-find all supplies to fix it, meantime pt pees through Attends again, bed again. Fix wound vac..clean bed. Get her pain meds.
2130-Pt #1 thrashing in bed bp higher still, call md again...check and the restraint form hasn't been sign. call resident...
2200-Pt 3, finally, PAIN PAIN PAIN....iv is dislodged, so PCA isn't working, try to start iv, no avail (of course) call iv therapy, try to get pt to not throw up while giving her oral pain meds.
2230-Give all meds-find wound vac still leaking, a family of 20 at the door, and still no call from resident
2300 Help "a quick couple of turns with other nurse" find beds loaded with two weeks of bm....quick turns on 2 is now total bed bath...
0100-Turn off wound vac, get paper work for pre-op at 5 am. start TPN, spill #2's commode all over floor. Question why I went into nursing.
0145-MARS>>>MARS AND MARS... and then, of course "Your getting an admit" quickly consider walking off the job
0230 Rushed through mars, painful admit comes from ER with no orders! Figure all that out, chart, chart, shush screaming pts. Think about future of my career.
0400- Labs, picc line won't draw, order tpa, fax to pharmacy, call angry iv therapy nurse...Pt needs pre-op meds and can't get them for two hours while tpa "settles"
0500-clean pee in bed again. Try to listen compassionately to sad pt.
0600-Re-write report sheets, do quick bed bath, hang all new tubing..do am CBGS
0700-Try to find day nurses to give report to. They question me on things I have no idea about because I am so flippinhg tired.
0800 (day shifters have to eat breakfast burritoes before getting report) sit to chart it all
1000-crawl home husband says "I woke up tired today" want to kick him or cry. Fall asleep. Remember in middle of sleep ten things I forgot to do...
Sounds like a fairly normal day!
I work in a different area where I will have say anything from 6-14 patients (1 LPN to assist) and have to run the ER as well. Some days you might get 1 or 2 patients come in through the ER other days you never leave the ER to "see" your patients on the ward. Makes report quite difficult.
Was down in the ER on Tuesday 13 patients on the ward (3 discharges and 2 transfers in progress). In the ER I had in trauma 1 I had patient with an arrhythmia and history of rheumatic fever in trauma 2 I had a PFO (drunk fell over) and in 3 I had febrile patient with pulse rate starting at 300 then dropping to a more comfortable 98 (and thank heavens staying there).
I got back to the ward in time to write notes (now I did nothing for my patients but the med pass, and start the two transfers. Oh did I mention that one of my patients absconded in the morning and I was unable to locate them? Turned up in my ER a bit later on.
Debate nursing diagnoses, calculate body mass indices and nose drip rates, write nursing plans of care, do team Powerpoint presentations on how to wash hands, palpate fundi, you know, all those extremely useful things you're going to learn in school.
[added] I wasn't going to tell you the truth, and some may take me to task for exposing things the way they are, but you deserve it after all the ribbing you've taken...I have a feeling we can trust you...
What it is, there's hardly any paperwork in nursing. It's just a rumor we perpetrate to discourage too many from entering this overpaid, low-stress field. Now pinky swear you're not gonna tell your classmates.
Debate nursing diagnoses, calculate body mass indices and drip rates, write nursing plans of care, do team Powerpoint presentations on how to wash hands, palpate fundi, you know, all those extremely useful things you're learning in school.
1930-check pt#1, bp 210/105, ventriculosotomy not draining, call md, no parameters in chart for when to call, get chewed out. Oh yeah pt restrained, biting at you, at same time tube feeding found leaking all over bed, find help to change angry restrained biting man. Welcome to your night.
Now its 2045-Finally see pt#2, has peed all over bed waiting for help to get to commode. Wound vac is beeping and says it has a leak-find all supplies to fix it, meantime pt pees through Attends again, bed again. Fix wound vac..clean bed. Get her pain meds.
2130-Pt #1 thrashing in bed bp higher still, call md again...check and the restraint form hasn't been sign. call resident...
2200-Pt 3, finally, PAIN PAIN PAIN....iv is dislodged, so PCA isn't working, try to start iv, no avail (of course) call iv therapy, try to get pt to not throw up while giving her oral pain meds.
2230-Give all meds-find wound vac still leaking, a family of 20 at the door, and still no call from resident
2300 Help "a quick couple of turns with other nurse" find beds loaded with two weeks of bm....quick turns on 2 is now total bed bath...
0100-Turn off wound vac, get paper work for pre-op at 5 am. start TPN, spill #2's commode all over floor. Question why I went into nursing.
0145-MARS>>>MARS AND MARS... and then, of course "Your getting an admit" quickly consider walking off the job
0230 Rushed through mars, painful admit comes from ER with no orders! Figure all that out, chart, chart, shush screaming pts. Think about future of my career.
0400- Labs, picc line won't draw, order tpa, fax to pharmacy, call angry iv therapy nurse...Pt needs pre-op meds and can't get them for two hours while tpa "settles"
0500-clean pee in bed again. Try to listen compassionately to sad pt.
0600-Re-write report sheets, do quick bed bath, hang all new tubing..do am CBGS
0700-Try to find day nurses to give report to. They question me on things I have no idea about because I am so flippinhg tired.
0800 (day shifters have to eat breakfast burritoes before getting report) sit to chart it all
1000-crawl home husband says "I woke up tired today" want to kick him or cry. Fall asleep. Remember in middle of sleep ten things I forgot to do...
Probably good to have a better idea of what I'm getting into before I apply, huh? 
cmonkey
613 Posts
Heh. A friend just said "True nursing retention= not peeing during a 14 hour shift"