Trying to avoid undesirable CNA duties

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Does anybody know of any CNA jobs where you don't have to wash the patients or or wipe butts? Also I'm a sophomore BSN student with an associates in engineering and 6 months volunteer work at a hospital and worked in plant engineering at another hospital. Might any of this helps with job oppertunities where I don't have to wipe or wash people?

My sis-in-law has an assoc. in engineering and I don't know what she does exactly (WAAAY over my head, I'm sure) but she makes BANK! :)

An 2-year degree in Engineering gives you enough to be a planner/estimator for construction companies or large firms that have to do city planning of underground and overhead utilities, etc., although the better jobs go to 4-year degree engineers with P.E. after their name (professional engineer). I only have the associate's degree in engineering from a few years ago and snagged a good-paying job, but was SALARIED and I worked twice as many hours that way. It was during the building boom in Virginia.... I hated it because of being salaried and long, never-ending hours at work. Would have loved it if it was strictly an 8 - 5 job.

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elizabeth 123>I had a few technician jobs with my associates in engineering but it was "wrench turning jobs" and i was looking for more technical jobs such as designing etc. and couldn't find a job like this. Everyone wanted a bachelors. plus "fixing" or helping people is alot more fullfilling then fixing a machine in my opinion.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

I think people who want threads closed when people are still conversing in a fairly civilized manner should stop reading the thread and leave it to the very capable moderators to decide such things.

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.
I think people who want threads closed when people are still conversing in a fairly civilized manner should stop reading the thread and leave it to the very capable moderators to decide such things.
Agreed.

Let the thread die a natural death if it's run its course but, unless the TOS are being trampled, it should be left open.

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Specializes in PACU, LTC, Med-Surg, Telemetry, Psych.
elizabeth 123>I had a few technician jobs with my associates in engineering but it was "wrench turning jobs" and i was looking for more technical jobs such as designing etc. and couldn't find a job like this. Everyone wanted a bachelors. plus "fixing" or helping people is alot more fullfilling then fixing a machine in my opinion.

Pretty much.

The AA degree in Nursing and possibly some Allied Health AAs like respiratory are the only 2 year degrees that actually somewhat guarantee jobs.

It is tough to find cool jobs that are fulfilling.

Everybody wants BA/BS min with Master's preferred for many things in engineering. There is a lot of age discrimination in those fields, too. Depends on what kind of engineering, too.

-Biomedical AAs you had better get a CDL and fix beds or fight with 10 folks for a supply job. I know someone with a Biomed BS who has been a cashier in a gas station for the last year.

- With Aerospace, NASA is fixing to layoff since shuttle is shutting down next year. This will spill over to Lockheed, etc.

-Civil, you can still get a job, but you need BS, preferably masters.

- Computer Science/ IT guys have it REALLY bad. Try going to DICE.com some time. You have to have a BS and 6 certs to get 12 USD/ hour phone support jobs and half the ads are fake. Some of them are posting that they are going back to get a Nursing AA degree.

I understand the OP's question.

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

I'm an engineer, or at least was before I went to nursing school.

Associate degrees generally prepare one for a job as a technician, plant operator, or CAD operator.

There are still a few old-school types without the formal training but they are few and far between.

The only fields of engineering that I'd suggest to young 'uns are power generation (EE), medical devices (ME), biochemical, or chemical.

Engineering can be a cut-throat profession.

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girtent- I dont remember where I saw you posted but CNA's DO know the diseases pts have or at least they do in CA and in several states I know of. Even thou you use standard precautions for everyone it is always important to know if patient X has MRSA, PNA or whatever. If the hospital you will work in doesnt tell their CNA's that I wouldnt want to be a patient or an employee there. If they dont tell you at report, always ask.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Agree with orange juice on that one. It's true that we don't always know what people will eventually test pos for, and everyone should always practice universal precautions, but if nursing staff does know, so should the CNAs.

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to orange juice > well handling poop has gotten easier i think my main problem is fear of catching something. i think if i educate my self more on what i can catch and can't if i don't handle it properly will relax my nerves a little when i have to wipe a patient again. but for some reason blood, mucouse pee, or anything else doesn't bother nearly as much as cleaning poop and from what i've been told they don't have to tell the cna's what contagiouse diseases patients are able to transmit to you because privacy laws etc. you just have to use "standard precautions" which i think is unfair because i believe the nurses know so how come cna's arent privy to that information? just to sum it up , just in case you guys havn't figured it out my reasons or my main concerns with quote "undesirable cna duties" (i apologize again) is fear of catching something. anybody out there with positive helpful info feel free to reply.

hmmm... well, originally, i fell in the category of believing you needed to find a new career path, but now i am thinking you are just a little under-informed and could do with a little more education.

as others have said, nurses may know more about a patient's diagnoses but by no means know everything they might test positive for. you speak of using standard precautions as if they won't help protect you and your patients from contamination. learning good handwashing technique and practicing it *every single time* is the best way to prevent infection/contamination. learning how to correctly put on and take off gloves is also a skill that can protect you.

additionally, if the nurse knows that your patient has a communicable disease, there is a good chance they will be on some kind of isolation precaution (usually contact, if what you're concerned about are gi-transmissible bugs), which will be clearly labelled on their door, and they might have a cart outside their door with the extra supplies. you will gown up, and use whatever additional ppe (personal protective equipment) is required to protect you and other patients.

i can't reiterate it enough: the best way to protect yourself and your other patients from "catching something" is good handwashing. do it every time, do it for long enough, get all surfaces of all fingers and nails, get a couple inches up your wrists. don't wear rings or other jewelry because they can harbor bacteria and be difficult to clean. and always wear gloves, and take them off correctly.

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Specializes in PACU, LTC, Med-Surg, Telemetry, Psych.
Agree with orange juice on that one. It's true that we don't always know what people will eventually test pos for, and everyone should always practice universal precautions, but if nursing staff does know, so should the CNAs.

What's really rough is that there are MANY places that refuse to give the CNA ANY kind of report. Some of these staffs do not want to talk to CNAs other than go do this or that. Some places are starting to mark rooms with nasty bugs, but not all. Nursing Homes and some of the higher class specialty facilities, in particular, do not want to "embarrass" the patient.

The Nurses usually say something about HIPAA (which is stupid -any direct caretaker has the right to know according to HIPAA) to back up this attitude. Let's not talk about looking at the chart. Some of these places (not all) will get mad about that. Nor do most CNAs really have time to.

They also say with universal precautions, the CNA should not need to know, which is just...insulting. Basically, it is "go away and start wiping" or "Don't you have something to do." It reminds me of an old fast food adage: "Do not question. Time enough to lean, Time enough to clean" mentality.

CNAs DO have the right to know. Some of us have families, too.

The more I look at this thread, the more I am tempted to say some of this this is not about cleaning someone up who is hurting and cannot do it themselves. This is about the social implications of it and association many nurses have of CNAs with poop. CNA has become the 'untouchable' caste in medicine. It is a social class issue.

Sad. We have helped out a lot of folks.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
QUOTE=ctmed;4440174]What's really rough is that there are MANY places that refuse to give the CNA ANY kind of report. Some of these staffs do not want to talk to CNAs other than go do this or that. Some places are starting to mark rooms with nasty bugs, but not all. Nursing Homes and some of the higher class specialty facilities, in particular, do not want to "embarrass" the patient.

The Nurses usually say something about HIPAA (which is stupid -any direct caretaker has the right to know according to HIPAA) to back up this attitude. Let's not talk about looking at the chart. Some of these places (not all) will get mad about that. Nor do most CNAs really have time to.

They also say with universal precautions, the CNA should not need to know, which is just...insulting. Basically, it is "go away and start wiping" or "Don't you have something to do." It reminds me of an old fast food adage: "Do not question. Time enough to lean, Time enough to clean" mentality.

CNAs DO have the right to know. Some of us have families, too.

,

Honestly, I don't know about it being a caste type of thing, but I was really surprised when I found out that a CNA couldn't know that information. HIPAA? Give me a break. That makes no sense. You know quite a bit about a patient that apparently they trust you not to disclose, but the name of the bacteria/virus all those gowns and masks are for is top secret? It is insulting.

Having hung around this profession for a long time, I've noticed this fracturing and compartmentalizing of nursing tasks create wider and wider gulfs in the way people think of their contribution to patient care.

Yes, good handwashing technique, gloves etc should always be used, but can we get real just for a sec here? If you know someone has c.diff or MRSA or Hep C or whatever, you are going to approach it in a more alert and careful manner. A nurse who knows a patient has a blood-borne infection will approach their task in a more alert and careful manner. It's human nature. I don't know if basic microbiology with an emphasis on common nosocomial infections is covered in most CNA courses, but I don't know any reason it shouldn't be.

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Specializes in Float.

thank you ctmed

we don't get report at our facility nor do we have access to a pts' charts. when i first started working @ my facility first as a medical assistant, then as a pct, i was asked by a nurse to call up to the floor and request the med-ex to accompany the pt to his procedure. i was a med ass. working in an outpatient department, my first time in the health care setting and had no idea what i was asking for, so i asked, 'what's a med-ex?'.

well, the nurse stopped dead in her tracks, turned to me and raised her shoulders and hands as if to say 'why?'. at the same time, someone else was walking by (i can't recall exactly who it was or their position) and they stopped, looked at the nurse and giggled. i got the very real and strong impression that they felt i wasn't required to know this information, just call, ask for it and let the 'professionals' do their jobs.

i immediately asked her, 'am i not allowed to ask or know what a med-ex is?', to which she answered, 'it's something that shows all the medication a patient is taking.' i'll never forget the look she gave me some months later when i told her that i was not only switching to the floor, but i was going to apply to nursing school also. she didn't know that i already held an associate in chemical technology and i did have goals and aspirations beyond a 4 month certificate, ancillary position.

i also remember when i transfered to the floor and inquired as to what the pt who was on contact precautions had. the particular nurse that i asked, looked away, gave a slight, embarrassed grin and proceeded to tell me with so much hesitation that i felt just like i felt some months ago when i asked the med-ex question.

since then i have worked with a few nurses who in the course of our work, explains to me why we are taking the particular precautions that we are taking, but there aren't a lot of them in my facility. there is definitely an atmosphere of, "go away and start wiping". the unit clerks have more access to patient conditions than we do.

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