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Discussion

What does a CNA do?

So I live in Canada, and I'd never heard of a CNA before coming here. Just curious about the roles of an RN or RPN/LPN vs a CNA. Who does what, how are patients assigned etc?

Here, in hospital, a nurse gets his/her patient assignment and is on his/her own. From wiping bums and bed baths to physical assessments and IVs/dressings/etc, the nurse does it all. I was just curious how care is organized when there are multiple care providers for the same patient.

Thanks!

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    • Featured Replies

    hello,

    cnas perform basic nursing functions such as personal care, taking vital signs, and ambulation under the supervision of a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse.

    cnas work in hospitals, nursing care facilities, or in a patient's home and always under the supervision of a registered nurse (rn). i hope this helped.

    let me break this down nicely! we change diapers, feed residents, bathe residents, dress them, help them walk to dinner, make their day worse as best as we can, we are their right hand to the fullest! i firmly believe that cna's keep nursing homes afloat, without cna's they wouldn't be able to function!

    you can take a look this site http://www.avanzaedu.org/ and also search on youtube for more video that give show some of the practical duties.

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    • Author

    Oooh, ok. That sounds very similar to PSWs, as they're called here- personal support workers. Here they only work in LTC, though, not in hospitals.

    So how many patients would an RN have then, and how many per CNA? Do you work on all floors of a hospital?

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    CNA work on almost every floor in a hospital. The floors that you dont find too many cna's on are the intensive care units, but again, not every hospital is like this. RN's where I worked had at most 6 pts. CNA's had anywhere from 8-20. 20 is not normal, but the night I worked, the other cna called off and they could not find anyone to replace her. My normal amount of patients were 8 per cna. Night shift however has 12 per patient because there were only 2 on the floor at a time

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    • Experts

    I am in Ontario and we have PSWs in the hospital that I work in.The floor I am on holds 26 patients but our census is usually around 22.We have 2 PSWs on day shift(0630-1430) and 2 on evenings(1430-2230).They divide the floor in half and they each work their side but team up to do the heavier cares with either each other or a nurse.We also help with getting cares done when we are not doing our med passes and we all answer call bells equally.They do bathing, feeding, toileting, ambulating, get water, get warm blankets etc.They are an valuable part of the team on the floor.If I am working days I will finish my breakfast meds and then check with the PSW on my side of the hall who still needs washed or fed or whatever.

    I have never heard them being called CNAs up here just PSWs.They are under the supervision of RNs and RPNs.

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    FYI:

    Some institutions use Patient Care Technicians instead of CNA.

    Basically the same job.

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