Here I am working at the hospital tonight, chosen as the CNA who gets to be a sitter for a guy who has Schizophrenia, but admitted because of belly surgery. He seems like a nice guy when he's awake, and hasn't given me any trouble.
My time in the hospital overall is face-paced to say the least. I hate not knowing where things are, or terminology that I haven't heard before. I feel incompetent when others ask me questions or nurses sometimes give me sideways glances that I'm not sure how to take. Other times I'm surprised when I can answer a question for a patient or family member, or when I catch myself using terminology a year ago I'd never thought would roll off my tongue.
It seems to me that the CNA's do a lot of the grunt work around here while the nurses hold so much of the responsibility. I'm pleased to know that most of the nurses are more than willing to help in patient rooms when I ask them, including boosting patients up in bed, and even cleaning up poopy bed messes. That is encouraging because the nursing home I used to work at a long time ago was just the opposite. I think the reason for that was because the nursing home nurses had more patients to be looking after during their shifts (sometimes 30) than the nurses here at the hospital do (6-7).
The amount of drains on this floor is incredible, there are foley's, NG's, JP's, not to forget to mention chest tubes. Sometimes to get a patient all situated just to walk to the bathroom it takes a good 5-7 minutes to wind up all the tubing and cords, only to find out they couldn't go. Or sometimes the patient becomes incontinent all over the floor while trying to patiently wait for us to gather everything to get them to the bathroom.
I still haven't "smelled" cdiff, but I had a guy the other day the nurses thought he might have it so they needed a fecal sample and after I collected that and sent it to the specimen lab for processing, it came back negative.
Last night I took care of an obese patient who has been on our floor for the past 2 years and dying. She last took a shower around Thanksgiving time and has refused ever since because she had a fall afterwards. When one of my fellow CNA's went in to change her bottom, we rolled her on her side and the smell of ammonia was soo strong it took my breath away and stung my eyes. She was a nice lady and all but it's a shame no one tries to continue asking daily for her to take a shower. At this point, it's almost like she shouldn't have a choice, just get her in there somehow and clean her up.
I'll have more to write this weekend about family and fun stuff, until then I'll just be sitting here waiting for the clock to strike 2230, so I can go home. At least tonight my feet won't hurt as much because I've been sitting in this chair for a good while.
Glad your liking the job, and learning so much. I like working with confused patients, sometimes I understand them better than the normal ones.
ReplyDeleteIt good the nurses help the CNA's out, because you will run into the ones who think it is beneath them. At times a nurse may be too busy, but you get to know the ones who are not team players. Remember that when you become a RN, those are the ones who also tend not to get along with anybody.
What kind of shoes did you end up getting? The worse part about getting used to nursing is the foot pain.
ReplyDeleteJust think how much your job will help you with school! You may not be doing the RN duties, but you are observing and possibly assisting with them. I wish my schedule was such that I could get a CNA job...I think I would really enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteAs for C diff...consider yourself lucky. You don't want to meet up with that nasty bug anytime soon! Lol
NPO-I'll make sure to remember what I learn about different nurses to help create my own style of nursing for sure.
ReplyDeleteChristine-I bought some Reebok Zig-Techs for running this spring and summer, but they've been the best shoe on my foot for my long hours on the floor. Anything else either hurts my feet too much or back. The interesting thing is how many coworkers who wear Crocks... Those don't seem to be very comfy, but because of all the drains on our floor they're the easiest to clean up.
Kendra-I'm glad for the CNA job on the one hand to learn as much as I can, but it is very demanding on the body. C-diff=yuck!
Agree with Kendra, you are learning so much on the job. We'd recommend Klogs - great for comfort. Love the look of your blog too!
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