Teamwork vs doing someones job

Town & Country · Feb 21, 2006

The bottom line is you have lazy support staff who would rather blame you than do their jobs.

In my experience, when the CNAs are griping that you aren't helping them it's because they don't want to do their own jobs.

Hello -

people it's called "nurse aide" - they've got it backwards.

Your job isn't to help them, technically; their job exists so they can help YOU.

You are the RN, the one with the license. They don't know or care what your responsibilities are. They care about trying to browbeat you into taking on their workload, as much as they can; so they can have an easier night.

The fact that everything rests on your shoulders and your license is of no consequence to them. All they care about is being free for their next smoke break.

And if you're giving a patient a bath and a doctor calls wanting to ask you about Patient X? About a lab value, about a test...........uh...are you "allowed" by them to talk to the doctor?

Who the **** do some of these CNAs think they are?

They really need a reality check.

This wouldn't be going on unless management allowed it.

LPN1974, LPN · Feb 21, 2006

Wellllllllllllllllllllllllll........................my opinion is.................

YOU are the RN. Why are letting them tell you what you need to be doing?

I know that we need to help, if something comes up that someone needs you.........like if they need help lifting someone, or 2 people needed for a transfer, but if you start bathing/dressing and assisting with all the ADL's, who do they think is going to be available to do your job?

IMHO, they are just trying to get you to do their job.

Personally, I think, since you are the RN, you should just tell these people if they don't like the job they are doing then take it up with the boss over the unit.

I'm sure there are other applications on file of people wanting jobs.

And this should go for the unit clerks, too.

I know that if they get in a real tight, you would assist. But just in a normal day's work they should be able to do their jobs, shouldn't they?

loricatus · Feb 21, 2006

They really need a reality check.
This wouldn't be going on unless management allowed it.

:yeahthat:

This a problem that management caused and is responsible for. The CNA's need to have a clear understanding of their role and their place in the unit. A written job description of both the CNA and nurse would also help, as would a few well placed comments as to who is in charge of total patient care. Management must make it clear to the CNA that they are to be supervised by the nurse or the CNAs will walk all over the nurses. I had a job where it was similar to your situation, and only now that I have another position where it is managed correctly did I realize where the problem stemmed from----management!

heysmalls · Feb 21, 2006

I highly agree with Town & Country. Are there any other aides there? If so (I do believe so), then they can go see if one of them would mind helping them for a minute. I have had that happen to me also for the aide that I had worked with that day. I told her that I had these 8 patients to give meds to and take off orders, etc. and if she could wait until I was not busy then I would help her, but until then, she would have to find someone else to help and I was busy at the moment. She actually got mad but she went and found someone else. The job got done and when she came back later, she (in so many words) apologized. Later that day she asked if I was busy, if I could help her turn a pt. I wasn't busy at the time, so I helped her. You just have to tell some people the way that it is (not being rude or anything). Then that's when they start to respect you instead of them thinking that you should jump just when they say too.

gr8rnpjt, RN · Feb 21, 2006

:yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat:

^^^to all the above posts^^^^!!!

dreamlandeals · Feb 21, 2006

It is not true all the time but some nurses are lazy just like to do paper work .

Some are excellent nurses who work as a team with CNA and PCT .

Some nurses have really bad attitude and some Tech dont like to do their job .

noc_owl · Feb 21, 2006

I agree that management probably needs to step in with some education, but let me play the devils advocate for a moment.

I was a CNA before I became a nurse. Our workload was hard, and very physical. We had certain duties we were expected to complete independently, like baths, scheduled VS, blood sugars, turning Q2 the patients who were bedbound, and answering call lights. (I don't know what the duties are for CNA's where you work) There were some days that having a needy patient meant that you probably could not complete everything you were assigned. And working with certain nurses could make or break you. Some nurses were very helpful, and some felt it was below them to help.

Having said that, let me say that I had no idea back then what a tremendous responsibility the nurses had. As a CNA, they don't understand what your assessments entail, or that giving meds is not as simple as just giving a few pills. The way they see it, they are breaking their backs and the nurses have the "easy stuff". That should not be the attitude that CNA's have, but they don't know any better, and you don't fix it by putting them in their place. It is through education.

I remember saying (jokingly) when I was a CNA that we do everything for the patients and the nurses just pass their pills. I had no idea how wrong I was. And, I am thankful that the nurses who were there when I said it, and knew I was going to school with the intention to become a nurse, just smiled knowinlg and did not jump all over me for it.

LPN1974, LPN · Feb 21, 2006

Having said that, let me say that I had no idea back then what a tremendous responsibility the nurses had. As a CNA, they don't understand what your assessments entail, or that giving meds is not as simple as just giving a few pills. The way they see it, they are breaking their backs and the nurses have the "easy stuff". That should not be the attitude that CNA's have, but they don't know any better, and you don't fix it by putting them in their place. It is through education.

I was just wondering what your suggestions would be to educate the CNAs as to what the nurses job entails?

Obviously you learned it by going on to school, becoming an RN and now that you walk in the shoes of an RN you know what it is to have the responsibility of a nurse, but how do you educate someone short of them actually going to school?

CNAs cannot do the job of a nurse. They can't give the medications, {altho some places CNAs are doing that now} they don't do admissions, interpret lab results, call the doctor, deal with families/complaints, assessments, IVs, chart, and all the other duties of a nurse.

I guess we could dedicate a "Day to take your CNA to work with you" and have them make every step you do, then maybe they might see what a nurse has to do.

HOWever, any CNA who has eyeballs in her/his head should already be able to see these things that you are doing.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Feb 21, 2006

I guess we could dedicate a "Day to take your CNA to work with you" and have them make every step you do, then maybe they might see what a nurse has to do.

This is a good idea.

When i worked nights as an aide, we had pts. that were early risers naturally, and of course, wanting a bath at 5 am. One of the nurses had been sitting in a chair, feet propped on a trash can, working on a crossword puzzle book for the past 2 HOURS (this happened a LOT), while i passed her on the way to giving my 8th bath of the morning, 5 of those baths were her pts.

And THEN she would go on in report about how "slammed" she was, and "didn't have a moment's break" the whole shift. What a crock!

When i hear of people complaining that night shift never does anything, i think of that nurse. They probably saw her and drew that conclusion.

Meanwhile, the rest were great, and did their best.

noc_owl · Feb 21, 2006

I was just wondering what your suggestions would be to educate the CNAs as to what the nurses job entails?
Obviously you learned it by going on to school, becoming an RN and now that you walk in the shoes of an RN you know what it is to have the responsibility of a nurse, but how do you educate someone short of them actually going to school?
CNAs cannot do the job of a nurse. They can't give the medications, {altho some places CNAs are doing that now} they don't do admissions, interpret lab results, call the doctor, deal with families/complaints, assessments, IVs, chart, and all the other duties of a nurse.
I guess we could dedicate a "Day to take your CNA to work with you" and have them make every step you do, then maybe they might see what a nurse has to do.
HOWever, any CNA who has eyeballs in her/his head should already be able to see these things that you are doing.

I feel you are being a bit contemptuous here, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt since the written word is often misinterpreted.

I know most all CNA's do indeed have eyeballs, and do in fact use them to see, but as I stated what they interpret the RN's job to be is probably different than what it is.

What I helped to initiate at my current job is a neutral person that acts as a mediator between CNA's and nurses. It is mainly for the CNA's because they felt the same way many others do, overworked and under appreciated. The nurses felt that the CNA's were slow in responding to their requests. They started off meeting with the mediator once a month, nurses meetings and CNA meetings seperate, and had gripe sessions about what each group felt was going on out on the floor. The mediator then worked with each group on understanding where the other was coming from, and on what duties each group felt were priorities in patient care. Guess what - it has worked wonders. Attitudes on both sides have improved, each side understands the others job load a bit better, and there is a real feeling of teamwork. They meet about every other month now just to keep communications open. And the best thing to me is that this was accomplished by including everyone, making everyone feel like a valuable part of the team.

LPN1974, LPN · Feb 21, 2006

I feel you are being a bit contemptuous here, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt since the written word is often misinterpreted.

Adj.1.contemptuous - expressing extreme contempt

disdainful, scornful, insulting

disrespectful - exhibiting lack of respect; rude and discourteous; "remarks disrespectful of the law"; "disrespectful in the presence of his parents"; "disrespectful toward his teacher"

I do not think that what I said was any of the above.

I think you are misinterpreting what I have said.

I was merely trying to express that anyone who is working on the unit surely can see that MOST nurses are very busy.

I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you did not intend to say that I was any in the above definition.