I've had nurses who would not answer the call button when I've needed to get up to use the bathroom. I'd ring, get them to acknowledge me, and then after 20 minutes, just give up and take myself. Yes, it's a fall risk, but I did what I had to do. I remember poking my head out the door and there was some kind of party going on at the nursing station. Almost all the 'nurse call' lights were on--and they're eating cake and laughing away, oblivious to the job.
This same surgery (back) and the nurses didn't change my bandages and the doc came in to check on me and found that the ice pack had totally melted and the nurses had just slapped a new bandage on the old, wet one. He blew up! He got me up, changed the bandage and stripped the bed, got me set up in the recliner and went and got 2 (very humbled) aides to take care of me.
I could hear him just chewing out the nurses, CNA's, whomever was down there partying. He was a great doc and well respected and I was taken care of after that. I hated making a scene, but sometimes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
It can also backfire: you complain and the doc gets involved, angrily, and now you have RNs and CNA's who don't want to care for you.
I've also had nurses who were complete gems and so wonderful. More of those than the ones who act 'too good' for any job that requires actually touching a patient. We can't paint them all with the same paintbrush.
I too have been subjected to poor, verging on negligent nursing care when in for surgeries and it's miserable to be on the receiving end of it, esp for one, like myself , who was always an extremely attentive RN by nature.
I had intra-cranial surgery and had a bad inflammatory response to the deep sutures that caused a lot of serous drainage from my ear (had a tube placed to allow otherwise minimal post-op drainage). I called with the light but the place was just under-staffed. I got up in the evening and went out to the hall and grabbed my own bed linens, towels and gowns - only after washing my hands and donning gloves, mind you. And I asked a passing LPN for the specific dressings I needed and the plastic tape. I did my own drsg change and stripped the soiled and wet pillow cases and bed linens and did my own bathroom HS cares. I even noted my own intake and output for them. Geez, Louise.
I'm up for hip replacement surgery soon - saw the surgeon of my choosing yesterday - and I'm doing my research before deciding on which of the 3 hospital options to have it done in, my surgeon operates in all 3 and all have the same generation of operating room equipment so I'm basing it on RN to patient ratios, reviews and asking some of my daughter's RN friends. I'm glad to have the options.
Having family at bedside during most of the waking hours is key to survival nowadays.
I really don't care for the elitist attitude that so many RN's have. I've known nurses who would leave a person sitting in their own mess rather than lower themselves by actually providing care. I've known nurses who were cool that helped whenever and wherever they could. These were rare though. I remember one time when I was a student we were in the hospital. There was an old lady crying that she needed a bedpan because she really had to go. There were three RN's in the hallway doing nothing that kept telling her to hold on because an aide was coming. One of the doctors on the floor stopped what he was doing, went and got the bed pan and helped the poor old woman out. After he got done and cleaned everything up, he went up to the three nurses. He asked them how many nurses it takes to give someone a bed pan and when they figure out how many to come and tell him. It all depends on the attitude of the person. Either they want to make sure a patient has the best care or they don't. I've known CNA's who thought they were too good to change a diaper or give a bed pan.
When we first got home from second rehab our speech therapist was alarmed by hubby lung noise. Yes, he has noise but X-rays show clear. This wasn’t a new issue. The therapist didn’t know us or hubby so she reported to her boss who in turned called hubby doc office then I get a call from doc office rescheduling the up and coming apt to be sooner only by a matter of days. All this done without my knowledge. I brought doc office up to speed and told them we would not be changing apt. I understand it was therapist job and was grateful she was looking out for her patient but to leave me out of the loop? I am hubby caregiver, POA, wife. Later I get a call from doc himself asking if he could stop by on his way home. Shocked speechless. I told him well of course you are welcome to come. Doc came, checked out hubby, help me reposition hubby in bed. I was so sad when doc retired.
While it may have been annoying at the moment, I can see why she wouldn't want to do it. It's not medical in nature. Most places are under staffed. Nurses are busy doling out meds and dealing with IVs, etc. Things the CNAs can NOT do.
I've got news for you, againx100. Nobody wants to do it. So if there isn't a CNA around and you're a nurse standing there "supervising" put on a pair of gloves and change a diaper. Maybe try making a bed too, you know just to keep a person grounded and humble.
My daughter is and RN with a BSRN degree, working in a major hospital. She will not hesitate to change someone in need whenever help is needed and will quickly say that’s part of her training. We should all be human enough to help those in need, none of us above any job, after all, none of us knows the position we may find ourselves in one day
Thank You!! “We should all be human enough to help those in need, none of us above any job, after all, none of us knows the position we may find ourselves in one day”
You asked if I knew many RNs who would change soiled pts and said (unfortunately) that you did not.
My generation of nurses - with the rare exception of exceedingly lazy and worthless ones, ppl I couldn't stand working with - ALWAYS put the pt's first. Back in the day, we didn't have all the PPE that is now the norm, we wore scrubs that we washed at home in bleach and if soiled while working, we'd borrow a change from the surgery suites and return them clean to the soiled bin for hospital washing.
I simply cannot fathom any RN passing the buck with a patient and / or family in need. When investing so much time, money and effort into obtaining a degree, why waste it by not putting it all into practice? I cannot ken an RN ignoring any needs, period.
I've worked in various critical care settings and assigned a small number of pts that we did everything for: bathing, teeth, hair, bed linens, toileting/bedpans, IVs, meds, nail cares, meals, water, catheters, I&O, enemas, central veinous pressure monitoring, telemetry cardiac monitors), to contacting the MD for orders; whatever was needed and, incl teaching to prepare them for the next step down in care and eventual discharge. Full cares is the very best opportunity to fully assess a patient and avert skin breakdown by doing a lotion massage and keenly assessing for edema, listening to breath and heart sounds, BP checks, etc. I loved the 'Golden Slipper' types of pts and liked blowing their demanding minds (it's truly just stress being expressed) by being a step or two ahead and anticipating their every need. Hospice was very much the same.
I cannot abide the people on this thread who are of the opinion that RNs are somehow exempt from basic pt care. It's truly what the job is all about and the most rewarding part of it, always was for me. I love restoring a person's sense of personal dignity and helping out a soiled pt was part of that.
You go Girl!! Im a RT, my job is lungs only but if some one is calling from a room I always check in, and if I CAN help I do. No I can;t lift or repostision, but I can sure move the bedside table,, or give you the call bell, or help the rn turn if they need a hand. Other things as well. I understand time may be a factor,, but we all got into this field to HELP others.
I think one of the biggest downfalls to healthcare is the requiring of way too much education. People have loads of diplomas and certificates but often don't know their own a$$ from a hole in the ground most of the time. Today this is more than ever. Experience and expertise in the field counts for nothing today. It's a real shame too. I've had many a dressing down from an RN who thought they knew it all. One time I remember in particular when I worked for hospice at home. She insisted that the patient get up into the wheelchair everyday and I refused. I told her that when the patient is having a good day, we get up. Not when she isn't though. The RN insisted, so I told her she could come and do it herself. That she pops in twice a week and doesn't spend five minutes a week with the patient. She'd come in, say 'hi', sit at the table and do her charting. I was in that six hours a day, five days a week. I knew the patient a lot better than she did and I was not going to force someone in that much pain at the end of their life to get into a wheelchair everyday to sit in another room. A CNA friend of mine who's a ways older than me was a CNA supervisor in a nursing home for 13 years. This woman knew her field inside and out. The CNA's she was in charge of did their jobs and the residents got good care because of it. Then one day the DON came up to her and told her that a new law came into effect in our state. All CNA's had to be supervised by an RN. So they gave her the choice of going back to being a regular CNA (at beginner's wages) or go. The resident care did not improve. In fact, it declined. Same thing with the hospitals in this state. No more LPN's. Everyone has to be an RN now. The care hasn't improved. They're cutting more corners than ever because a hospital RN here makes twice what an LPN does and God knows they're not going to cut into their profits. This is what it is today. People have so much education that it's washed away all common sense. They think because they have a framed piece of paper on a wall that they are experts in every kind of patient and resident care. They're not,
That's not just in healthcare. It's almost impossible to start at the bottom and work your way up as you learn on the job, and no matter how skilled you will rarely be offered advancement if you don't have that degree/certificate.
When my mother was in a rehab facility, I was visiting her one day and smelled that she needed a diaper change. The RN who was the supervisor of that floor came in when I called and told me that they were short staffed and a couple of CNAs had called in sick. She did not hesitate to change Mom's diaper right then (and it was a messy one!).
Another time, when we had home healthcare after the rehab stint, an RN who came to check on Mom every week or so was there when Mom needed a diaper change. I said I would do it (as usual) but she said she would help and between the two of us we got it done. I think she wanted to get a look at my mom's skin under there as well.
So, I've had a good experience with both RNs and CNAs. They are people I couldn't do without at this time in my life.
Wrong Answer! I am a RN 28 years and have changed many! Never in any position is it acceptable to say “Not my Job” even if you didn’t know how to do something at least offer to get assistance.
She's an RN with a crappy attitude. I am an RN and we can do everything that a CNA can do. If she said exactly what you are saying, "a CNA's job," I would report her to her manager.
I can understand if she was busy doing her RN duties such as giving/hanging meds, doing assessments, documentation, or other duties that only an RN can do and she was delegating the diaper change to the CNA. However, her delivery of that message sucked.
I've had nurses who would not answer the call button when I've needed to get up to use the bathroom. I'd ring, get them to acknowledge me, and then after 20 minutes, just give up and take myself. Yes, it's a fall risk, but I did what I had to do. I remember poking my head out the door and there was some kind of party going on at the nursing station. Almost all the 'nurse call' lights were on--and they're eating cake and laughing away, oblivious to the job.
This same surgery (back) and the nurses didn't change my bandages and the doc came in to check on me and found that the ice pack had totally melted and the nurses had just slapped a new bandage on the old, wet one. He blew up! He got me up, changed the bandage and stripped the bed, got me set up in the recliner and went and got 2 (very humbled) aides to take care of me.
I could hear him just chewing out the nurses, CNA's, whomever was down there partying. He was a great doc and well respected and I was taken care of after that. I hated making a scene, but sometimes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
It can also backfire: you complain and the doc gets involved, angrily, and now you have RNs and CNA's who don't want to care for you.
I've also had nurses who were complete gems and so wonderful. More of those than the ones who act 'too good' for any job that requires actually touching a patient. We can't paint them all with the same paintbrush.
I too have been subjected to poor, verging on negligent nursing care when in for surgeries and it's miserable to be on the receiving end of it, esp for one, like myself , who was always an extremely attentive RN by nature.
I had intra-cranial surgery and had a bad inflammatory response to the deep sutures that caused a lot of serous drainage from my ear (had a tube placed to allow otherwise minimal post-op drainage). I called with the light but the place was just under-staffed. I got up in the evening and went out to the hall and grabbed my own bed linens, towels and gowns - only after washing my hands and donning gloves, mind you. And I asked a passing LPN for the specific dressings I needed and the plastic tape. I did my own drsg change and stripped the soiled and wet pillow cases and bed linens and did my own bathroom HS cares. I even noted my own intake and output for them. Geez, Louise.
I'm up for hip replacement surgery soon - saw the surgeon of my choosing yesterday - and I'm doing my research before deciding on which of the 3 hospital options to have it done in, my surgeon operates in all 3 and all have the same generation of operating room equipment so I'm basing it on RN to patient ratios, reviews and asking some of my daughter's RN friends. I'm glad to have the options.
Having family at bedside during most of the waking hours is key to survival nowadays.
I'm very glad that you're not a nurse or working in the healthcare field!
I remember one time when I was a student we were in the hospital. There was an old lady crying that she needed a bedpan because she really had to go. There were three RN's in the hallway doing nothing that kept telling her to hold on because an aide was coming.
One of the doctors on the floor stopped what he was doing, went and got the bed pan and helped the poor old woman out. After he got done and cleaned everything up, he went up to the three nurses. He asked them how many nurses it takes to give someone a bed pan and when they figure out how many to come and tell him. It all depends on the attitude of the person. Either they want to make sure a patient has the best care or they don't. I've known CNA's who thought they were too good to change a diaper or give a bed pan.
Later I get a call from doc himself asking if he could stop by on his way home. Shocked speechless. I told him well of course you are welcome to come. Doc came, checked out hubby, help me reposition hubby in bed. I was so sad when doc retired.
“We should all be human enough to help those in need, none of us above any job, after all, none of us knows the position we may find ourselves in one day”
You asked if I knew many RNs who would change soiled pts and said (unfortunately) that you did not.
My generation of nurses - with the rare exception of exceedingly lazy and worthless ones, ppl I couldn't stand working with - ALWAYS put the pt's first. Back in the day, we didn't have all the PPE that is now the norm, we wore scrubs that we washed at home in bleach and if soiled while working, we'd borrow a change from the surgery suites and return them clean to the soiled bin for hospital washing.
I simply cannot fathom any RN passing the buck with a patient and / or family in need. When investing so much time, money and effort into obtaining a degree, why waste it by not putting it all into practice? I cannot ken an RN ignoring any needs, period.
I've worked in various critical care settings and assigned a small number of pts that we did everything for: bathing, teeth, hair, bed linens, toileting/bedpans, IVs, meds, nail cares, meals, water, catheters, I&O, enemas, central veinous pressure monitoring, telemetry cardiac monitors), to contacting the MD for orders; whatever was needed and, incl teaching to prepare them for the next step down in care and eventual discharge. Full cares is the very best opportunity to fully assess a patient and avert skin breakdown by doing a lotion massage and keenly assessing for edema, listening to breath and heart sounds, BP checks, etc. I loved the 'Golden Slipper' types of pts and liked blowing their demanding minds (it's truly just stress being expressed) by being a step or two ahead and anticipating their every need. Hospice was very much the same.
I cannot abide the people on this thread who are of the opinion that RNs are somehow exempt from basic pt care. It's truly what the job is all about and the most rewarding part of it, always was for me. I love restoring a person's sense of personal dignity and helping out a soiled pt was part of that.
I think one of the biggest downfalls to healthcare is the requiring of way too much education. People have loads of diplomas and certificates but often don't know their own a$$ from a hole in the ground most of the time. Today this is more than ever. Experience and expertise in the field counts for nothing today. It's a real shame too.
I've had many a dressing down from an RN who thought they knew it all. One time I remember in particular when I worked for hospice at home. She insisted that the patient get up into the wheelchair everyday and I refused. I told her that when the patient is having a good day, we get up. Not when she isn't though. The RN insisted, so I told her she could come and do it herself. That she pops in twice a week and doesn't spend five minutes a week with the patient. She'd come in, say 'hi', sit at the table and do her charting. I was in that six hours a day, five days a week. I knew the patient a lot better than she did and I was not going to force someone in that much pain at the end of their life to get into a wheelchair everyday to sit in another room.
A CNA friend of mine who's a ways older than me was a CNA supervisor in a nursing home for 13 years. This woman knew her field inside and out. The CNA's she was in charge of did their jobs and the residents got good care because of it.
Then one day the DON came up to her and told her that a new law came into effect in our state. All CNA's had to be supervised by an RN. So they gave her the choice of going back to being a regular CNA (at beginner's wages) or go. The resident care did not improve. In fact, it declined.
Same thing with the hospitals in this state. No more LPN's. Everyone has to be an RN now. The care hasn't improved. They're cutting more corners than ever because a hospital RN here makes twice what an LPN does and God knows they're not going to cut into their profits. This is what it is today. People have so much education that it's washed away all common sense. They think because they have a framed piece of paper on a wall that they are experts in every kind of patient and resident care. They're not,
Another time, when we had home healthcare after the rehab stint, an RN who came to check on Mom every week or so was there when Mom needed a diaper change. I said I would do it (as usual) but she said she would help and between the two of us we got it done. I think she wanted to get a look at my mom's skin under there as well.
So, I've had a good experience with both RNs and CNAs. They are people I couldn't do without at this time in my life.
I can understand if she was busy doing her RN duties such as giving/hanging meds, doing assessments, documentation, or other duties that only an RN can do and she was delegating the diaper change to the CNA. However, her delivery of that message sucked.