Why does Providence St.Pete's not use CNA's?

just_cause, BSN, RN · Feb 16, 2009

They use primary nursing as their model vs team nursing.

They do employee some CNA certified staff as "patient care partners' or 'transporters'. Tacoma has some hospitals (like St Clair in Lakewood) that use the team approach and therefore has CNAs working under the RNs.

btw have a good relocation to Oly~

v/r

gwendelyn · Feb 16, 2009

Thanks for the reply:) I wouldn't mind giving primary care to my patients if I only had 3 patients, but I hear the patient load at St. Pete's is like any other hospital. This seems like an unrealistic expectation for nurses.Not only do i need to start IVs,insert caths,administer meds, call docs,call Rx, admit pts,d/c pts...I also need to fit in turning patients, toileting, ambulating,oral care,etc. Yikes! I think I'll pass.

R*Star*RN, BSN, RN · Feb 19, 2009

At PSPH you get 3-4 patients depending on the unit which you work. There is an IV team to start IVs, a wound care team to do the more complex wound care, admit/discharge nurses. . . . sometimes you miss having the CNA but most of the time things are fine without them.

Olympia is a nice city, there's a lot to do once you figure out how to get around town. Good luck with your move!

gwendelyn · Feb 20, 2009

It sounds like you do get a lot of help so that's nice. I just know that sometimes it takes two people to do a lot of the more physical stuff. Do you think you get the assistance you need? What is the nurse to patient ratio on the surgical unit? ...Thanks for your input:)

R*Star*RN, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2009

To be honest on the surgical unit not a lot of people are dependent for cares. Of course there are always a few patients who are, but in that situation the assignment is usually balanced so that every nurse has an equal work load.

It depends on which shift you work how many patients you will receive.

Days: 3-4

Evenings 4-5

Nights 5-7

(Usually it's less patients rather than more)

The most common surgeries you will see are lap appy, lap chole, bowel resections, the occasional fem fem bypass, j stent placements, pneumothorax/chest tubes. There usually aren't any ortho or tele patients on the surgical floor. You will see some medical patients like COPD exacerbation, PEs. You'll see some oncology patients post chemo if the oncology floor is full, especially colon CA.

I would say that everyone really helps each other out when it's needed, for instance needing 2 people to boost someone up in bed.

Hope that helps answer any questions, feel free to PM me if you have any others.

tookdaddy · Oct 22, 2009

Do you have any idea what agency Providence uses for travel nurses? I want to move my family back to the area, but I'm not sure whether to do travel nursing first or just apply to the hospital. I work SICU.