RN's forced to do CNA work

Nurses New Nurse

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I am a new nurse and was wondering if this is a standard practice. When my floor needs to use a CNA to sit with a patient, they often have an RN take on the CNA's job for that shift. The RN no longer does any RN work for that shift, they only do what the CNA would do. Their pay stays the same but their duties change for that shift.

I have great respect for CNA's. They have an essential and very hard job, but I don't want to be one. That's not what I went to school for. Is this a normal practice?

Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.
And sooner or later after many hard shifts of work overload and all of the extra responsibility that comes with the letters "RN" a good shift of patient care or sitter duty is quite appealing to me too!

I did a sitter shift a while ago.It was great. Only one patient( he slept the whole shift). no bells to get, no meds, no doctors...

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Specializes in cardiology/oncology/MICU.
I did a sitter shift a while ago.It was great. Only one patient( he slept the whole shift). no bells to get, no meds, no doctors...

I don't know what kind of unit you work on, but it is nice too leave the monitors and gtt's and definitley doctors behind for a day!!!

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Specializes in Public Health, TB.

I actually enjoy "CNA" work and wish I had more time to provide basic cares and get to know my patients on a more personal basis. As it is, on most nights I am so hurried with assessments, meds, and documentation that I seldom get to interact with my patients much more that hi, bye (exaggerating, of course).

We have been very short on aides though, and from time to time an RN works as a CNA on our floor.

Maybe I don't mind assisting patients because I originally trained as an LPN and is was seen as honorable. I used to work with a doc who put himself through medical school as an orderly and he would volunteer to help clean, turn or boost a patient.

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I work on a med/surg floor. I often tell the aides that they get the least amount of money for the hardest work. CNA's make my job easier. If ordering out dinner I always pay for their food as a small gesture of appreciation for what they do. Often on our floor the RN will charge the patients on the floor and get our q4° vitals, if we are without an aide. The brief changing, repositioning, call bells, pitcher filling etc. falls on the primary nurse.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Even though we have aids,our charge nurse will still answer bells, toilet and shower patients and clean up code browns.

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I hardly think disparage is a word that would rate my comment appropriately. All I am saying is that "patient assessment and meds, treatments, dressings" are only part of the entire nursing practice. Do you think that each level of licensure builds upon the last? I do not think it is acceptable to promote the concept that once one has the letters RN after his or her name, it removes the responsibility for the lower level duties of the nursing practice. You clearly share the OP's opinion. The beauty of the autonomous practice of nursing is that you can do it how you see fit. I know for certain that the largest hospital in this city will flex nurses home and have them use their PTO if the census is low enough to allow a nurse to be a sitter. Surely it is better to do "CNA work" and get paid RN $. I do think it is repulsive for an RN to make it seem as though their title means that they should no longer have to do the CNA work. I went to school to expand my scope of practice. That does not mean eliminate part of it. Sorry if you disagree and sorry also to the OP if I was too harsh.

Ok, let me try again.

You and I are not on different sides of an issue here; actually we are in total and complete agreement. However, in saying you were harsh toward the OP I was pointing out that you seem to have judged her wrongly. Your post said you were repulsed by the attitude that being an RN made someone "too good" for CNA work, and I was simply stating that nowhere in the OP's post OR attitude, in my opinion, gave this message. The OP was merely inquiring if an arrangement like the one she described would be normal (as she's new): and frankly, it's a silly use of staffing. It's been pointed out by others that having one MORE nurse on the floor and one LESS aide would actually work out better for everyone--the nurses do their own cares, etc.

I'm giving the OP more credit than you are probably because I don't see her post as 'not wanting to do CNA work' because it is beneath her, but simply because she'd rather take a NURSING assignment. Heck, what's the problem with that? Her nursing assignment would obviously include cna/tech work if there wasn't any aide on the floor....but it struck me that she might prefer that. Why assume she just didn't want to do it at all? And, to be fair, you've used the same broad brush to define ME as well.... incorrectly, I might add.

My facility has zero CNAs. Can't say it wouldn't be nice, though; it's endoscopy and I assure you we see puh-lenty of "poop" ;)

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And sooner or later after many hard shifts of work overload and all of the extra responsibility that comes with the letters "RN" a good shift of patient care or sitter duty is quite appealing to me too!

Which is what I posted as well.

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Specializes in Med/Surg,Cardiac.
This is silly. It would make more sense to have the nurse on the floor with her own assignment (so everyone has a lighter assignment) and then those nurses who don't have a CNA assigned to them just do everything for their patients. That's how we did it when I worked in the hospital.

That is a better idea in most cases, but sometimes that isn't practical when the RN who floats is not familiar with yhe types on patients on that unit. I'd be lost and dangerous to patients if I had RN duties on L&D. I could successfully aide though.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
I am a new nurse and was wondering if this is a standard practice. When my floor needs to use a CNA to sit with a patient, they often have an RN take on the CNA's job for that shift. The RN no longer does any RN work for that shift, they only do what the CNA would do. Their pay stays the same but their duties change for that shift.

I have great respect for CNA's. They have an essential and very hard job, but I don't want to be one. That's not what I went to school for. Is this a normal practice?

Not usually but in times of emergency, it does happen. I've worked as the LVN, the tech, and the sitter: it depends on what the needs of the unit are and what the priority is. Patient safety always come first.

It's also better to keep the RN free and tie the CNA to sitting...because should there be a crisis, the RN who is "CNA for a day" can act as a RN if needed; though the CNA is capable of doing a lot, they are unable to assume all RN duties. Also, a sitter is a 1:1 job, so should there be a code/incident on the floor, in most facilities the sitter will be unable to leave their post to help.

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I always welcome the night that we are short a CNA and nurses have to be one. That happened to me the first time a few weeks ago and I loved being able to get my stuff done, do charting on my vitals, and then just help out where needed. We do paper charting still so it was nice to not write pages of nurse's notes on all my pts for a change. Now I wouldn't want to do it all of the time, but I'm ok wit every once in a while!

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Specializes in cardiology/oncology/MICU.
Ok, let me try again.

You and I are not on different sides of an issue here; actually we are in total and complete agreement. However, in saying you were harsh toward the OP I was pointing out that you seem to have judged her wrongly. Your post said you were repulsed by the attitude that being an RN made someone "too good" for CNA work, and I was simply stating that nowhere in the OP's post OR attitude, in my opinion, gave this message. The OP was merely inquiring if an arrangement like the one she described would be normal (as she's new): and frankly, it's a silly use of staffing. It's been pointed out by others that having one MORE nurse on the floor and one LESS aide would actually work out better for everyone--the nurses do their own cares, etc.

I'm giving the OP more credit than you are probably because I don't see her post as 'not wanting to do CNA work' because it is beneath her, but simply because she'd rather take a NURSING assignment. Heck, what's the problem with that? Her nursing assignment would obviously include cna/tech work if there wasn't any aide on the floor....but it struck me that she might prefer that. Why assume she just didn't want to do it at all? And, to be fair, you've used the same broad brush to define ME as well.... incorrectly, I might add.

My facility has zero CNAs. Can't say it wouldn't be nice, though; it's endoscopy and I assure you we see puh-lenty of "poop" ;)

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Ok, let me try again...I believe that I apologized for any misunderstandings from my earlier post. Either way, the OP probably doesn't need you to defend her/him. I never cease to be amazed with the touchy people on this site. I apologized to you to for that matter, so if that is not good enough for you or there are some other reasons that you feel like continuing to argue with me.....too bad..I am done. To all of the others that may have understood what I meant, CHEERS!

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I think we're just not "getting" each other online....which is too bad, because I suspect it has more to do with the medium than the topic. I'm not arguing, I'm explaining....and apparently it's not working out as intended. I certainly meant no offense, which it looks like you've taken....so, MY apologies in that case. Not sure why it bothers you that I was defending the OP, but....again, I seem to be annoying you and that wasn't my intent.

And now I'm wondering what the OP has to say, having created the row in the first place...?

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