Should a CNA be told of patients condition

tomc5555 · Nov 1, 2011

Maybe its different here in California. My experience in LTC w/ MRSA has been bladder, nose and throat. The facility puts the PPE cart outside the door w/ a notice to see nursing before entering the room.

The staff is instructed to wear gown, mask and gloves and the resident is kept in the room until MRSA is gone.

The nurses will remind the CNA's and visitors to wear the PPE. It's surprising to me that anything less would be standard with MRSA in LTC?

JDZ344 · Nov 1, 2011

You can get MRSA in the urine. I think you should have been told about it.

It might not change the care, but it's nice to be aware.

Summers01 · Nov 2, 2011

I think it should be a priority for any one directly involved in the care of the patient's care to be aware of the condition of the patient. I am in clinical's right now for CNA and the staff at the facility I do Clinical's don't tell us anything about the patient so I ask. There are so many different scenarios for each patient that you need to know. I am pretty straight forward and the staff might not like that I ask but I do and I will not provide care for a patient who I do not know the diagnoses for. I also make sure to document everything that I do with a patient no matter what. Document! Document! Document! I document conversations that I have with staff, from questions I asked them and the staff responses to the questions patients ask me and who I tell. I'm not there to get the job done so that I can move on to the next patient I'm there to provide patient care. :up:

a_pattee · Nov 7, 2011

Definately should've been told. Doesn't matter if level of care would change, but the fact that waste product is being left every where by the resident, thus possibly leaving pools of MRSA around... Just seems like a BIG breakdown in communication.

I'd be really ticked off. This information needs to be disclosed to all caregivers.

tigerkate · Nov 9, 2011

You definitely should be informed. Not just you but everyone involved in care.

Not just "Oh he has MRSA." It needs to be clear where it is from, sputum/nares/urine/wound/blood. If they don't tell you where the MRSA is located, then you should ask. But they definitely need to tell you and put the patient on isolation until the infection clears up.

Definitely not allowed running around urinating and defecating everywhere. If it's in the urine, HELLO, widespread infection rates! Same goes for nares and sputum.

Also, aren't you allowed to look at the patient's chart? I am unfamiliar with LTC, but at the hospital I go nosing around now when I have a spare moment. It's helpful to know more about the patient, it's pertinent to your care.

And to everyone's safety.

cstatic · Nov 10, 2011

I asked about this while doing my cna clinicals and was told that it was part of my job to check both the daily chart and the care plan in the room every time I came on shift to find out such things. (I was wondering about c-diff at the time though)

a_pattee · Nov 11, 2011

In my facility we have information sheets in front of our ADL's that we are suppose to check before we begin care (however, that is very unrealistic). This is where the aide is to check for any changes that may have occurred while they were gone. We are allowed to read in the chart. Since we are part of the healthcare team, we are untitled to know what is going on with the patient/resident.

Still, even with being able to check in the chart, this is the kind of thing that should be reported from the nurse to the aide as soon as the information was known; and then from aide-to-aide during rounds.

rainbowskin · Nov 12, 2011

Anyone involved with the care of the resident/pt should have access to the patient's complete chart if you ask me. I find it very scary if a ltc or snf denies access of information to those giving care. Of course standard precautions are followed universally, but special needs are important to know before caring for someone to be able to give proper and the best care.

yousoldtheworld · Nov 12, 2011

Here, aides can look at the care plan, of course, but NOT the chart. I think it's crazy.

We got a resident a while back - mobile, Down's Syndrome, sundowning and dementia, and we were told nothing about him except that he had Down's. A nurse read back in his chart and found that he had been found at his former group home stabbing a mattress with a knife. Don't you think possible violent behavior would be the sort of thing you'd want staff to be aware of? Especially considering that our residents are 95 percent non mobile and 100 percent total care, aka defenseless?

rainbowskin · Nov 14, 2011

Here, aides can look at the care plan, of course, but NOT the chart. I think it's crazy.
We got a resident a while back - mobile, Down's Syndrome, sundowning and dementia, and we were told nothing about him except that he had Down's. A nurse read back in his chart and found that he had been found at his former group home stabbing a mattress with a knife. Don't you think possible violent behavior would be the sort of thing you'd want staff to be aware of? Especially considering that our residents are 95 percent non mobile and 100 percent total care, aka defenseless?

SO crazy! CNA's need to know this information. They spend the most time with the resident/patient out of anyone providing the direct care, and need to be on the look out for these kind of behaviors to protect not only the resident but themselves and other staff. I can't believe how little information is given to CNA's in LTC especially.