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Someone has to define to me the logic and rationale behind the nurse, who while doing her treatments, stops, walks a quarter mile to go find the CNA responsible for the patient she desires to change the coccyx dressing on only to have the CNA change the dirty brief of that patient so that her work area is clean?
Are any of you out there this nurse? Can you explain to me with just cause why you wouldn't just change the brief yourself? It would save you a good bit of time, you see, the time it took you to go find the CNA and the time it takes the CNA to finish what she is doing, you could have had it all done twice.
CAN SOMEONE OFFER AN EXPLINATION OF THIS BEHAVIOR?
~ just something I always wondered about, have I been doing it wrong?
I worked with a CNA who verbalized she did not want to get her hands dirty. I would find pts. and rooms dirty after she left the room. One night I got tired of this game and went looking for her, returned to the room with her and waited till she changed the patient. Usually I do it myself but on that occasion I needed to make a point. She quit CNA because it was "dirty".
I have a hard time understanding how a nurse could not know how to put someone on a bedpan or clean them up. Have they never wiped their own ass? I can see putting someone on a bed pan backwards, it would be uncomfortable but it would be done, and it isn't brain surgery.
I think that is an excuse to keep your hands clean. I also think it is a crime to have gone through school never haveing to complete such a basic nursing task.
I'm a Level I nursing student, and have had about 10 clinical experiences so far. Of the ten, I have had at least 6 "sh*t storms" to deal with. First time, I gagged as I cleaned it, the smell was overwhelming. Second time, I got roped into it by a really sweet RN who was overworked and even though it wasn't my pt., the poor guy had been lying in filth for a couple hours and really was miserable. Another student helped, and the pt. looked like he felt so much better. Since then, I don't mind so much, because I realize that I making people feel better is what nursing is all about, and I feel that I'm making these poor people feel better. Hell, I don't even gag when cleaning them anymore, and have even learned to control the involuntary facial grimaces for the sake of the pt.'s dignity. (you figure they feel bad enough, without having to see a look of disgust on MY face.)
It all comes down to the pt, IMO. And as a nurse we have to do what we have to do. Although I sympathize with those who have had lazy CNA's, and I think canoehead's approach is probably the best for handling that.
Speaking of Canoeheads response,,, she mentioned the pregnant nurse. Odd that you should mention that....you reminded me of what it was like when I was pregnant (3yrsago).
I was fortunate enough to be working with one hell of a crew. It wasnt disease or infection that kept me from cleaning poops...it was the smell. After I had gagged to the point of puke on two occasions. My crew decided I was no longer allowed near the poop. They as well as my self had many a good laughs at my expense over my hurl's. They would boot me out of the room that was to odorous to save themselves of what they feared would become a domino effect. I loved them for thinking of me!
They all gained about twenty pounds right along with me too! You cant beat that!
I am am CNA and I worked in a wonderful(i thought)hospital.I got a lot of experience for which I'm grateful,but I made the mistake of talking to an OB patient outside,she was putting the baby up for adoption and I made the comment that when God blesses you with a baby he will give you or show you the means to care for it and for that I lost my job.I didnt feel like I'd done any thing wrong.And I thought that a I was a damn good CNA but these nurses turned on me so fast.So I guess they did not appreciate me after all.Now I'm working in a nursing home and the CNA's there are very young and just don't care they come in and do a half-ass job and no one says nothing.It really upsets me to see these elderly people treated like that.They are in the last stages of alzhiemers it's so sad.I just dont know how much longer I can stand by and watch
Donna,
I don't doubt for a minute that you are a wonderful CNA. What I think you did wrong here, is you told a mother who has made a very difficult decsion, a very unselfish decsion, that God would give her or show her the means of caring for her baby. Obviously this was very upsetting to the Mother and I can understand why.
It was a lovely statement, but in actuallity not practical or in anyway appropriate for you to make. Especially to a woman who has made the decision she had made.
In our profession, we have to understand, recognize and respect the decisions that our patients and their families make, we dont have to agree with them, and when we don't, it is nothing more than our duty to respect them and support them in any way we can.
What you unknowingly did was give this mother doubts about her decision and caused her aparently a great deal of stress, otherwise she would have never mentioned your conversation with her to others.
I don't believe that you ment to do that, but perhaps a valuable lesson learned. Not your choice, you can lay the choices out in front of patients, let them decide, then support them no matter what your take on the situation is. That is our job.
I wouldnt want anyone causing my patients undo stress and I can understand why you were terminated.
I just have to give everyone something to laugh at.
We have hubby's gram at home (s/p CVA). She uses bedpan at night. So what did I do?? You guessed it. Bedpan backwards!! I have properly positioned bedpans hundreds of times,so I thought I could handle it in my sleep. I was sooo wrong. I woke up real quick when I realized what I had done & had to do a total linen change. Thank goodness Gram has a great sense of humor. I'm telling her what I had done & she tells me, "Well, Trace, I really didn't like those sheets anyway." She is too cute :)
Well, I personnally would have done what needed to be done. HOWEVER why was the CNA so FAR AWAY from her assignment??? If this is a CHRONIC problm with this particular CNA, then the problem should be FIXED asap.
Where I am employed, we have really great CNA"S!!!!!! But there are always those who are on extended breaks, or who nod their heads and smile when you ask them to do something and then walk the opposite direction. Problems that I'm sure Cna"s have dealt with , with a nurse too. It's just a matter of getting the right mix of people and team work.
Don't waste you time looking for logic where there is none. I have been a CNA, LPN and RN. I'll tell you they don't like cleaning BM. Period. They will try to pass off dirty jobs and any other jobs they can to anyone else. They are not nurses they are pretenders collecting a pay check.
I sometimes ask a CNA to do something because I have a task to do that it takes a RN, and there is a time issue. I work with a great RN colleague who reminds us we have 12 hours to get everything done.
I may be bussy and ask a CNA to do something but they know I also help out the CNAs I'll empyt trash and linen bags, foleys, clean up BM, bathe, change linen, etc.
If a CNA said, "That's not my patient," I bet she'd be called on the carpet fast. This RN should be too.
I think a lot of us at some time have been guilt of using those darn fracture pans backward. But I have also seen it done by nurses who didn't remember how because they never place bed pans.
Just for clarification, you understand...
Which way IS the front of the bedpan? The wider side goes in front, right?
Actually, that wasn't really told to us in school, and I've only practiced on a dummy. All my other incontinent pt.'s have been unable (or unwilling) to ask for a bedpan, so I've not yet placed one.
Please forgive me for asking such a question, you'd think I would know that, right? But remember, I'm really green yet.
jayna, RN
269 Posts
Well, that nurse , is a numbskull, that's how am going to describe that type of attitude, but there's always two side of a story so it's good to have the other persons side of a story.