Unlicensed Assistive Personnel

[ks2744]

We are starting to use Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP's) in the urgent care and a few of my coworkers and I are concerned about the length of training that these staff members have received. My questions is....If any of your facilities use UAP's, how much training is required before they are brought into the department? Thanks for the input.

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

I brought this issue up before the Administrator of the assisted living place where I once lived since I was overdosed with a narcotic I was using for pain and had to take as a cocktail to reverse pruritis. That action set me back royally. The problem is, many of the staff spoke their native languages at home, and wasn't able to speak or read English well enough to be understood. A real life threatening danger for patients who take dangerous meds.

After that, she and the organization's founder taught the staff one afternoon until they understood the generic and the trade names of all of the meds. We can never be too careful.

Now I have to take that same cocktail with an increased dosage of anti itch medication.

[alkaleidi]

OK, I am confused. Aren't UAP's the same as CNA's? If not, can you tell me the difference??

Thanks!

[ks2744]

At my place of employment there is a definate difference. The UAP is "trained" by the institution with three weeks of classroom and then three weeks in the department. By the end of this six weeks they are supposedly ready to room patients, give oral and IM medications and understand when they are over their heads (with urgent care patients). The CNA's are "certified" and have 6-12 weeks of training before sent to the unit. This education also comes from an educational institution, not the educational staff in HR. So I think tht the majority of the difference is what they come to the unit with in terms of training.

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

UAPs where I once lived did have to take CPR, but not CNA training. They were then given a very brief instruction on the meds. This is why I raised a stink, because I trained several of them. The head person at that time told the night people to just go to sleep when they didn't have to pass meds. Yes, I was angry. I even went to the president of the organization and asked him to fire her.

IMHO she was worthless.:madface:She didn't stay very long either. She was never around when anyone needed her. No, she was away taking a phlebotomy class. I'm very happy for the sake of the residents she left.

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

Also, the UAPs are not under the state board. So they have nobody to answer to if they do something wrong. They can just get another job someplace else.

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

Well I frightened the one that overdosed me on my narc, because that action set me back big time. Pruritis galore! I told her if a nurse did that she would get into a lot of trouble, and I told her she could kill a patient.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

UAPs are usually people who are trained to do similar jobs to CNAs, however, in most cases, other skills are thrown in such as phlebotomy, EKG and clerical functions. They are usually trained by the facility that hired them, and the certification doesn't follow them anywhere else. This is a first, though, to hear that UAPs are being trained to administer medications...but have heard of med-techs (which seems to be a slightly different function to me).