Told I am not helpful

TheMoonisMyLantern, ADN, LPN, RN · Feb 3, 2021

I think one of the biggest things that helps the aides is taking care of other requests while you're in the room doing you're other duties. I find that it's usually little things anyway so it doesn't really put me out. I always let the CNA's know at the beginning of the shift that if they need help changing people, lifting, turning, etc to let me know and that I don't mind helping. If they're short CNA's I'll help with vital signs. Of course, help answer call lights and more importantly bed alarms! It really butters my biscuits when a bed alarm is going off and 500 people are sitting at the nurse's station.

Sour Lemon · Feb 3, 2021

21 minutes ago, whatintheworld said:

I was told that the lnas say I don't help them enough but I was not told what l should be helping with. Any suggestions about how to be helpful

Without knowing your title, who actually spoke to you about this, and what type of place you work at, it’s nearly impossible to say. If your boss is the one who’s counseled you, I recommend that you seek clarification from them.

**CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN** · Feb 3, 2021

Not sure what your work environment is, but I always tried to be helpful with my techs/aids. I worked nights in hospitals doing med-surg. I only 'delegated' tasks if I really was too busy to do it on my own. And by delegate, generally that means send someone in to clean my soiled patient without my help. I can easily get water, assist to commode, do a quick clean/change, get vitals when giving meds to a PITA patient. In the scheme of things the 4 minutes it takes me to change an underpad is pretty low. I could get to documenting at 3am. ?

JKL33 · Feb 3, 2021

I have mixed thoughts about this general topic.

I worked as a CNA while in school. At one place always worked with the same very nice nurse who was usually available and very willing to lend a hand. At the other place I can't even remember the nurse's face; it was an overnight shift and we 3 CNAs worked as a team and hardly ever saw the nurse.

As a nurse myself, I have been very willing to help with any task that I know is simply easier with two people; also tasks that I can easily complete while in the room or while waiting for something else. Try to treat others the way I would want to be treated.

With that said, I'm against some of this bullying that goes on about whether a nurse is helping the techs/CNAs enough. Although these are technically all "our" (RN) tasks, we also have enough work that must be done by an RN and cannot be delegated to keep us busy for 12 hours straight. I've always been a good helper and good at doing ADL cares as much as possible, but the last several years I have delegated less than ever because 1) I want things done to my satisfaction and 2) the techs are also running like crazy.

Once again...this comes down to an issue of there just not being enough help to do things with the timeliness that equals good care. And that is a matter of business choices and administration. My current and probably final position on it all is that I will help whenever I possibly can with the understanding that if there is a higher priority task that requires an RN, I must prioritize it. I wish we wouldn't fight so much about an issue that is clearly not as much an "us" (RN vs. tech) issue as a business/admin issue (staffing).

TheMoonisMyLantern, ADN, LPN, RN · Feb 3, 2021

2 hours ago, JKL33 said:

I have mixed thoughts about this general topic.

I worked as a CNA while in school. At one place always worked with the same very nice nurse who was usually available and very willing to lend a hand. At the other place I can't even remember the nurse's face; it was an overnight shift and we 3 CNAs worked as a team and hardly ever saw the nurse.

As a nurse myself, I have been very willing to help with any task that I know is simply easier with two people; also tasks that I can easily complete while in the room or while waiting for something else. Try to treat others the way I would want to be treated.

With that said, I'm against some of this bullying that goes on about whether a nurse is helping the techs/CNAs enough. Although these are technically all "our" (RN) tasks, we also have enough work that must be done by an RN and cannot be delegated to keep us busy for 12 hours straight. I've always been a good helper and good at doing ADL cares as much as possible, but the last several years I have delegated less than ever because 1) I want things done to my satisfaction and 2) the techs are also running like crazy.

Once again...this comes down to an issue of there just not being enough help to do things with the timeliness that equals good care. And that is a matter of business choices and administration. My current and probably final position on it all is that I will help whenever I possibly can with the understanding that if there is a higher priority task that requires an RN, I must prioritize it. I wish we wouldn't fight so much about an issue that is clearly not as much an "us" (RN vs. tech) issue as a business/admin issue (staffing).

I agree with everything you said. As I get older I've noticed I've become less trusting when it comes to my patients. There are a LOT of really excellent CNA's and Techs out there, and there are a lot of bad ones too, same for nurses of course. I've been screwed over more than once because I delegated to a CNA and they either botched the task, didn't do it, ticked off the patient in the process. Because of this in the hospital I preferred to do total care which was a good thing because we rarely had a tech anyway ? In LTC I am more reliant on CNA's because I have so many more patients, be that as it may I still tend to take on more than I need to depending on who is working with me. Unfortunately there are CNA's that are creative with their vital signs and things of that nature and when they're working I know that I have to be even more self reliant.