Your Duties

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm starting my nursing degree now. I'm in my first year of clinicals, but have had numerous years in the healthcare profession. At our school, we have to learn Bedbath, Bedpan, Enema's, cath's, vitals, the first month. However, I'm told that RN's never do any of these in the real world, that Tech's do. So, I'm asking, on a daily basis, what "procedures" do you find yourself doing??

WORK YOUR WAY THROUGH THE RANKS GIRL. THAT MAKES FOR A GOOD NURSE !!! lEARN ALL YOU CAN BECAUSE YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW WHICH WAY LIFE WILL TAKE YOU. THERE ARE MANY ROADS IN NURSING,AND YOU MAY HAVE ANY TYPE NURSING JOB, SO PREPARE NOW. I BELIEVE THIS IS WHY MANAGEMENT CANNOT RELATE TO LABOR UNLESS THEY HAVE COME UP THROUGH THE RANKS.DON'T EVER STOP LEARNING DURING YOUR CARRER BECAUSE JUST WHEN WE KNOW THE GAME, THEY CHANGE THE RULES!!!!:eek:

i agree with Drewsky... the thought that "everyone should work on a M/S floor to get experience" is old school. gosh...i started out in critical care and i've had plenty of experience cleaning up spitters and shitters, turners and burners, placing foleys, starting IVs...everything that floor nurses do. but, on top of all of this i have become proficient in reading swan ganz catheters, balloon pumps, 12 lead EKGs and all the other fun technical things that you get in critical care...that aren't learned on the M/S floors. i started out in critical care, b/c that's what I WANTED. i know i would never have been happy on a floor. i dreaded going to clinicals during my year of med-surg in college, how would i have gone to work 40 hours a week. yuck!! my advice for anyone new to nursing: do what you want to do...don't go into M/S floor nursing just b/c your professors or more experienced nurses think that you should!

that's all i have to say!

becky

Hey thanks for the advice folks, another question I have is whether or not I'm going to be prepared when I do graduate. Our teachers are the greatest, however, our clinicals are in the evening and most of the good stuff happens days. I'm scared I'll get out in the real world and I won't know how to do a darn thing. Any of you ever experience this?? And if so, how did you cope?

Specializes in All Surgical Specialties.

If you have an opportunity to plan your clinicals in advance, ask the nurse to whom your patients are assigned if treatments/procedures can be delayed until you come.

I know I may sound out of touch, but if you establish a working relationship with your nurses this seems like an easy thing to set up.:confused:

Am I out of my mind?

Hi, I worked on a medical-surgical unit for 4 years. On this floor and others within the Hospital the techs did recieve an assignment each day. However, you are still responsible to oversee them and to make sure things get done properly. Basically, time management is what it comes down to and knowing who and what to delegate to, as in the end the nurse is held responsible and accountable for her actions and the actions of the techs. So, your answer is yes you will perform these tasks and many others. Goodluck, Denise

I am a CCU / ER nurse in a community hospital. In CCU we have NO CNA's / Tech's. I do everything for my patients, I clean my rooms because we do not have house keeping that will do it for us. I am the bedpan, bed changing, turning, back rubbing, ice water passing, pill passing, vital sign retriver, foley emptying, total assessment q 2 hrs, phone answering, doc calling, supply ordering, code team, tele watching, call light answering, blood drawing, IV starting, SUPER NURSE that even puts in my own orders. There is a lot more I could add to this list. I also have to be available to the med surg floor if they have any trouble.

If you enjoy helping people it's the job of choice.

There are too many people sitting behind desks that don't know the basic's, thats why we never have all the staff we need. :)

:confused: Jf I wondered the same thing on a diff level. I recently grad a two year program where we spent the first month on those skills. All my class were techs and NA before the program, I was confused we spent a whole month on these skills we were already qualified to do, but then we learned how the role of the RN is involved in each task small or big. Giving that bed bath or shower is the best time to do your skin assessment for example. I now understand how important all those things are. I never think twice to help out my techs when they ask we stress team work, and I love my job and the people I work with.:)
Originally posted by jfpruitt

We have 14 students in my class and 4 of them are CNA's and tech's at the local hospital. Each of them work on different floors and different shifts, and they all agree. They get the dirty work, while the RN's give them orders. But, I wanted to get this clarified by you guys.

I know that I clean up pts on my own because I realize that the aides can get buried and I want the pt clean NOW not 2 hours from now. I just don't report this to the aides so I can see that it appears that the RN's don't do the dirty work. Just because they don't see it doesn't mean it never occurs. Kinda like gravity.

Hi, Yes, the aides clean patients as the nurses also do. Nurses do not tell the aides to do this out of lazziness or fear of get their hands dirty, we do have to delegate some tasks, as the paper work that we are held accountable for is increasing daily.

I always assist the aides when I can, but they must also realize that we are not doing nothing. They are assigned tasks that they are capable and competent to perform as this is what they are hired to do. I also worked as an aide prior to becoming a nurse, and I thought life was stressful then, I was wrong. One must remeber that as we stand at the nurses station, rarely sit, we are working. Important calls are being made to doctors regarding lab values or EKG results...the list goes on. What type of class are you teaching? Just curious?

I work in a surgical/ trauma/ neuro ICU, and we do all the things you just mentioned. We give bed baths, bedpans, enemas, and place catheters if they are needed, and document our own vital signs. We clean up incontinence and change linens, and get patients in and out of bed. We only have one PCA for 24 patients at night, and she is also a secratary and not working every night. We RN's roll up our sleeves and help each other do the right thing for the patient. You don't know what type of work enviornment you will end up in, so concentrate on learning everything you can and gaining the most experience while in school.

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