well i work with an agency and i am a cna. sometimes i get hired as a "sitter" and am payed a few dollars less an hour to do this. last night another cna that had been hired as a sitter was upset because the regular cna's at the hospital were not checking on her patient and she had to do everything including changing and showering the patient. i also was told by the regular cna's that they had sooo many people that the nurse said that I had to change and do for the TWO patients that i was supposed to be sitting with. i have no problem with this, but i said i will be paid the cna rate. i am very confused because when i talked to my supervisor she said when you are hired as a sitter you are a sitter nothing more, but the regular cna's think because we are certified that they can neglect the patient. they told me that the other cna wasn't doing anything, i told them that there is a differnece, if we get hired as a sitter that's all we should do, if we get hired as a cna then we do the cna stuff. idk, i never had a problem with it because i ALWAYS did everything regaurdless, but seeing the way the regular cna's think, then that ****** me off. the other cna was only being paid to sit not to cna, yet they expect her to do everything, i would have only been paid to sit if i hadnt said anything, but i made it clear that i would be paid for cna since i did everything, short of leaving for a long time, for the 2 patients. idk, does anyone understand how i feel about this? and what do you think?
did the sitter guide your grandmother back to bed when she got up or just walk with her? I did a 1:1 with a patient before who could do most things for herself but had unsteady gait and wasn't supposed to get up out of bed. 1 min i was sitteng there in the chair looking at her and the next min she was up out of bed and sliding to the ground in my arms! I barely got up out of the chair in time to stop her from hitting the ground hard, she kept fighting me and kicked and hit me a couple of times because I was trying to prevent her from falling!
I was picturing that instance during my previous post because she was so fast! What would a sitter do in that instance? How hands on are they? I don't doubt that some people need 1:1 observation but at what point and in what scope/capacity does a sitter operate?
I meant no harm with my laughter, I was just picturing how fast this supposed medicated patient was able to move.
In my experience in a hospital setting, in ICU, the sitters were usually hired to sit because the patient was a head injury and would try and get up or thrash around(with the new laws about "using the less restraints as possible, like putting arms and legs in restraints) hence the idea of sitters. I have been hired as a sitter for 1 on 1 and I am a CNA, I would of course talk, listen, and pass drinks and so forth but no personal care. The reason for this is two-fold especially if the patient is a suicide patient they will wait until your head is turned to try something,SAD.
My experience with "sitter" is a 1:1, usually suicide precaution...they just sat in the room, to keep an eye on the pt. Mostly they read, or watched TV...
I'm shocked ! I used to work as a sitter and I was required to assist with all ADL's including tolieting and bathing. I would of never been expected to do less than that. I got paid less than cna because I had one not ten.
the person that said that a sitter just "sit" with the pt is right. a sitter would basically just monitor the pt. OF COURSE anyone who has a right mind would get up to catch the person if they saw them trying to get up, esp if they are a fall risk. but a sitter also keeps the pt company and in some expierences of mine are hired privatley by the family to even "keep an eye" on the CNAs to make sure they are doing thier jobs. the lines are crossed when a sitter is told that they need to do personal care for example, change briefs, shower, change, etc.....a sitter is NOT even trained to do this stuff! a sitter has NO TRAINING what so ever, so asking them to do ADLs is rediculous. so when a cna is hired to do sitter work, then basically i should be able to do just what the sitter does. it's crazy! but i know better now! thanks for all your comments!
of course the sitter wouldnt let the person get up and fall, i beleive that is what they are there for also if the pt is a fall risk. a sitter is there to monitor the pt, and if they need something to call for the cna/nurse/whoever. i am glad that i am not the only one that feels this way!!
At the hospital I work at, sitters are primarily used for possibly suicidal patients as well as patients going through detox.
Also, when hired in as a sitter, you still have to go through 2 weeks (80 hours) of Nursing Assistant training so that you can do the vitals and take care of the patient you're sitting for. It also allows you to pick up Aide shifts for hours since you have the same training.
The 1:1 or sitters as some facilities call them help with all adl's where I work. All of them are in house or registry are CNAs . We have them for suicides and confused patients in which a bed alarm won't work.
If they want you to sit and take care of the ADL you should be paid accordingly. Don't let them pay you as a sitter if you are acting as the CNA as well. Some places will take advantage of you if they can so set your boundaries from the start and stand firm.
This is a big problem at my hospital. The sitters dont want to do anything, but "SIT". We have pt's pulling out picc lines and foleys with the sitters sitting right there asleep. One night a sitter was sleeping so hard in the room with the pt I literally shook her leg several times and she finally woke up. I feel they are not paid to sleep it unsafe and a liability. Most sitters have other jobs so at nite they think its their chance to get paid and sleep....That's not my problem my pts are my priority and I will turn anyone in who sleeps. As far as taking the pt to the bathroom, positioning, and whatever that's allowed within their scope they need to do it to keep their butts awake.
If a sitter can only "SIT" that's fine my issue as a night shift nurse in a hospital is sitters sleeping and confused pts pulling out foleys, climbing out of bed, or the sitter wanting you to drug up the pt so the sitters can have a better nite. If the sitters can't do personal care or toileting....damn at least stay awake !!!! nobody wants to call the doctor in the middle of the nite or write an incident report no to mention the pts safety and wellbeing should come first.
PhoenixTech, LPN
279 Posts
allthaticanbe
did the sitter guide your grandmother back to bed when she got up or just walk with her? I did a 1:1 with a patient before who could do most things for herself but had unsteady gait and wasn't supposed to get up out of bed. 1 min i was sitteng there in the chair looking at her and the next min she was up out of bed and sliding to the ground in my arms! I barely got up out of the chair in time to stop her from hitting the ground hard, she kept fighting me and kicked and hit me a couple of times because I was trying to prevent her from falling!
I was picturing that instance during my previous post because she was so fast! What would a sitter do in that instance? How hands on are they? I don't doubt that some people need 1:1 observation but at what point and in what scope/capacity does a sitter operate?
I meant no harm with my laughter, I was just picturing how fast this supposed medicated patient was able to move.