Published Nov 5, 2016
vregino36
28 Posts
Speaking for myself on this topic I'd like to go over what is going through our minds on a day to day basis. And the Dos and Don'ts of delegating....
1. Is the most important of them all, please if you see us techs with an ekg machine, or a phlebotomy cart, or something important DON'T ask us to stop what we are doing to go help room 20 to the commode or to get them a beverage. DO get it yourself because chances are we have more things to do.
2. DON'T tell us oh room 20 just needs the channel changed in the room. Knowing that the PT really has to be changed, wants the channel to be changed, and would like food. DO Just tell us ahead of time keeping that information from us and then hearing the PT say oh I told the nurse I needed to be changed she said she would get someone is really irritating.
3. DON'T talk down to us, can't tell you how many times I've seen it where a new grad nurse talks down on a tech then a few months later they are colleagues both with an RN degree and the tech is a better nurse than the new grad.
We are all team mates looking for one thing, great patient care. I love my establishment now because the doctors and nurses and techs all sit together and we all speak to each other on a first name basis. DO delegate tasks to us techs in a respectful manner meaning do not micro manage have faith in us, and say thank you after we are done with said task. That means the world to us.
4. If we are walking into a room together and you start talking introduce yourself and myself with appropriate titles. I am no longer a CNA down in the ER. I am a Tech, just like doctors and nurses have specialties I too am in a specialty. Plus if you tell a PT I am a tech, rather than a CNA they won't think of me as their personal assistant having me fetch them drinks and blankets just because. Of course I will do all of that but it deters them from thinking all i do is wipe butts and wait on their hands and feet.
Of course not every nurse does this in fact in the hospital i work in there's only one nurse who does this. I love my staff and i consider myself apart of a functioning team. Please dont take this list the wrong way its just ones Techs opinion. Thanks!
offlabel
1,645 Posts
Only one RN acts this way (probably not just to techs) and everyone gets a scolding? I'll bet the nurses there have a list of do's and don't's too....
Lev, MSN, RN, NP
4 Articles; 2,805 Posts
Speaking for myself on this topic id like to go over what is going through our minds on a day to day basis. And the dos and donts of delegating....1. Is the most important of them all, please if you see us techs with an ekg machine, or a phlebotomy cart, or something important DON'T ask us to stop what we are doing to go help room 20 to the commode or to get them a beverage. DO get it yourself because chances are we have more things to do. 2. DONT tell us oh room 20 just needs the channel changed in the room. Knowing that the PT really has to be changed, wants the channel to be changed, and would like food.DO Just tell us ahead of time keeping that information from us and then hearing the PT say oh i told the nurse i needed to be changed she said she would get someone is really iritating. 3. DONT talk down to us, cant tell you how many times ive seen it where a new grad nurse talks down on a tech then a few moths later they are colleagues both with an RN degree and the tech is a better nurse than the new grad. We are all team mates looking for one thing, great patient care. I love my establishment now because the doctors and nurses and techs all sit together and we all speak to each other on a first name basis. DO delegate tasks to us techs in a respectful manner meaning do not micro manage have faith in us, and say thank you after we are done with said task. That means the world to us.4. If we are walking into a room together and you start talking introduce yourslf and myself with appropriate titles. I am no longer a CNA down in the ER. I am a Tech, just like doctors and nurses have specialties i too am in a specialty. Plus if you tell a PT i am a tech, rather than a CNA they wont think of me as their personal assistant having me fetch them drinks and blankets just because. Of course i will do all of that but it deters them from thinking all i do is wipe butts and wait on their hands and feet. Of course not every nurse does this in fact in the hospital i work in theres only one nurse who does this. I love my staff and i consider myself apart of a functioning team. Please dont take this list the wrong way its just ones Techs opinion. Thanks!
2. DONT tell us oh room 20 just needs the channel changed in the room. Knowing that the PT really has to be changed, wants the channel to be changed, and would like food.DO Just tell us ahead of time keeping that information from us and then hearing the PT say oh i told the nurse i needed to be changed she said she would get someone is really iritating.
3. DONT talk down to us, cant tell you how many times ive seen it where a new grad nurse talks down on a tech then a few moths later they are colleagues both with an RN degree and the tech is a better nurse than the new grad. We are all team mates looking for one thing, great patient care. I love my establishment now because the doctors and nurses and techs all sit together and we all speak to each other on a first name basis. DO delegate tasks to us techs in a respectful manner meaning do not micro manage have faith in us, and say thank you after we are done with said task. That means the world to us.
4. If we are walking into a room together and you start talking introduce yourslf and myself with appropriate titles. I am no longer a CNA down in the ER. I am a Tech, just like doctors and nurses have specialties i too am in a specialty. Plus if you tell a PT i am a tech, rather than a CNA they wont think of me as their personal assistant having me fetch them drinks and blankets just because. Of course i will do all of that but it deters them from thinking all i do is wipe butts and wait on their hands and feet.
Of course not every nurse does this in fact in the hospital i work in theres only one nurse who does this. I love my staff and i consider myself apart of a functioning team. Please dont take this list the wrong way its just ones Techs opinion. Thanks!
1. As many things as you think you have to do, I have many more. If I ask you to do something, It means that I really really cannot get it myself right now. Because my patients all have meds to get. Now if you want to go get the meds to them, I will take care of that EKG. If you are getting labs on a patient who is stable and little old lady can very possibly fall and crack her head open if she is not attended to now - please stop your labs or your non emergent EKG. If it is emergent, please tell me so, so I ask someone else to help the patient.
2. No matter what the task that is asked of you, whether it is a more desirable task like labs or a less desirable task like cleaning a patient please do not give me an eye roll, attitude, or an excuse. We are all here to care for patients and no matter the task they are all important. If there was no attitude or hard feelings as a result of a request to clean a patient, no nurse would feel the need to cover up their request under the guise of something more clean or "easy."
3. If you take thing personally you will not last long in the ED. Things are stressful, people are stressed, and the "niceties" of speech get lost. You are appreciated. Know that. And be happy.
4. Every hospital has different titles. Essentially, you probably need to maintain a CNA license not a "tech" license. You are a nursing assistant and I am a registered nurse. We are both here to serve patients. Whether we are wiping butts or doing compressions. I have been a "tech" and have seen both sides. You have never been a nurse. Don't think our job is easier because it's not. I would be tech any day over nursing - just let me keep my salary which I worked hard for through 4 years of diligent study.
And unfortunately people like you never get help because you think you are high and mighty. Like i said. I love my staff, only one nurse does what i explained. Literally everything you said has an attitude attached to it. If you knew me personally you would know i go above and beyond. And the fact you think you are busier than me just shows you treat your "techs" like ****.
And thats fine, as im sure they do. Like i said this is my opinion.
OlivetheRN, ADN, BSN, RN
382 Posts
Well...this should be fun *munches popcorn*
PG2018
1,413 Posts
Well, "tech," you have the lowest paying job, least autonomy, and most supervision in the ED. Suck it up, and do what you're told or go home. Respect comes with competence and a job well done.
Looks like i hurt a lot of feelings in this post, i did a great job of bringing out the prideful rns who cant seem to get over the fact that what im saying has nothing to do with competency. And you just reinforced my post by calling me lowest paid in the ed. That may be true but does that give you a right to 1. Give me an attitude when i have a patient with chest pains with the ekg in my possesion, and you tell me to go and get your little old lady some blankets and put her on a bed pan and i say i cant right now? No
2. Do you think because im "lowest paid" in the ed that you have to lie to me to go to a pts room for something else when you could just be honest with me and ill prioritize my tasks? No
Like i said treat us like ****, we wont work hard for you. Dont lie to us, and dont micromanage. Being a tech is a specialty we wouldnt be here f we didnt know what we were doing. Im not taking anything from you guys so why is it hard for you to understand this concept?
BSN16
389 Posts
You are a CNA. When i was going through school i was an aid. My technical title was a patient care technician...or a tech. but i was still a CNA. I don't like the term tech because more times enough it only confuses a patient on your role. You can prefer this term but dont bash people who introduce you as a cna, because well you are a cna.
OCNRN63, RN
5,978 Posts
It's unprofessional to refuse to help someone just because you feel slighted. It's the patient who winds up suffering in the end, and that's just wrong.
la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN
1,260 Posts
I would like to know how being a tech in the ED is a specialty. I really would.
*rolls eyes* For all this talk about prideful RNs, I don't know that we're the prideful ones around here. Someone sounds a bit big for his britches or like he's the one with the hurt feelings.
For what it's worth dude, I don't have any hurt feelings. Before I was an RN I worked my hiney off as a CNA or a tech or whatever you want to call it and I work my hiney off now. At the center of all the is the patient, as it should be. And yes, sometimes that means that I, or yes, heaven forbid, a tech, may get interrupted doing whatever they were doing right at that moment to do something that is more pressing because it it is what is best for a patient in the bigger picture.
I don't know exactly who peed in your cornflakes this morning but maybe you could direct your outrage at them next time instead of AN at large and save the rest of us the trouble.