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What does a typical day look like as a nursing assistant ?
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Khadijah’s Answer
Hi Jacobi,
As a nurses assistant, we spend a good amount of time on our feet. To answer your question specifically, it depends on what setting you are working in. I work twelve hour shifts as a nurses assistant in a hospital on a medical surgical floor and my job consists of taking and monitoring my patients vitals, helping them to the restroom, the occasional body bath/shower, cleaning those who are incontinent. Whereas as a nurses assistant in the Emergency Department, we are trained on how to bring the patients in from the waiting room to their assigned room and how to take blood and do EKG's.
As a nurses assistant, we spend a good amount of time on our feet. To answer your question specifically, it depends on what setting you are working in. I work twelve hour shifts as a nurses assistant in a hospital on a medical surgical floor and my job consists of taking and monitoring my patients vitals, helping them to the restroom, the occasional body bath/shower, cleaning those who are incontinent. Whereas as a nurses assistant in the Emergency Department, we are trained on how to bring the patients in from the waiting room to their assigned room and how to take blood and do EKG's.
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Tequila’s Answer
Nursing Assistants (NA) have a variety of responsibilities depending upon where they work. The more technically skilled NAs (sometimes called a nursing technician or patient care assistant) work in emergency rooms or on intensive care units. They have more technical responsibilities like drawing labs and performing and/or assisting with procedures. In some hospitals, they are trained to insert/remove IVs, remove foleys (urine collection devices), and certain tubes. As a RN, I will not work in hospitals without skilled NAs. I don't like having glorified care sitters. That isn't a criticism of NAs, but a direct criticism of hospitals who do not train NAs to their capacity (based on what the State Board of Nursing allows them to do). I value NAs, especially the ones I've worked with in some of the best hospitals I've worked in. There is also a nurses' assistant role which is given to nursing students. They are taught more skills and expected to perform more insightful observations and assessment of patients.
A typical days starts with a NA giving report to the on-coming NA. Their report needs to be comprehensive to include deficits, medical conditions, medical issues to include skin, feeding, mobility, sensitivities, limitations, IVs, labs (blood sugar or other ordered labs), pain, vital signs, psychosocial, and pending discharge plans/tests/procedures. Seems like this would take a long time, but it's tailored to each patient's needs. All of this information is gathered from the RN and from them working with the patient. As you can tell, there has to be a partnership between the RN and NA. Another thing that gets reported is what wasn't done on the previous shift so that those things get placed on the new NA's list of things to do. Then sometime during the first part of shift, the RN gives a shift report to the NA. The experienced NAs establishes their daily routine. They schedule feedings based on the limitation of their patients. They coordinate baths with patients so that they can decide which ones they will do in which order. During or after bathing typically bedding is changed. They ensure patients who can get out of bed are gotten out of bed or sat in chairs. The RN and NA coordinate the care especially in situations when patients are limited in mobility, have extensive wounds, incontinent (poo or pee themselves), or deficits like being blind. Most of us work 12 hr shifts with typically two breaks and a lunch break. NAs direct their own schedule based on the patients and coordinating with the RN to ensure someone is on the floor at all times to address patient needs. NAs have charting responsibilities. In well staffed and managed hospitals, NAs have no more than a 10 patient load; showers/bathing is balanced by establishing who will be bathed at night or during the day; and NAs and RNs work well together with both respecting the role and responsibilities of each other. If the charge nurse does his/her job, the load is distributed so that no NA has all "heavy" patients. Near the end of day, the RN should have a quick "end of shift" conversation so that both are updated and prepared for the on coming RN-NA team. If you're interested in becoming a NA, I suggest you contact a hospital unit manager and ask if you could shadow a NA for a few hours to an entire shift. That works well for the unit manager (a recruiting idea) and you (gives you a better perspective).
A typical days starts with a NA giving report to the on-coming NA. Their report needs to be comprehensive to include deficits, medical conditions, medical issues to include skin, feeding, mobility, sensitivities, limitations, IVs, labs (blood sugar or other ordered labs), pain, vital signs, psychosocial, and pending discharge plans/tests/procedures. Seems like this would take a long time, but it's tailored to each patient's needs. All of this information is gathered from the RN and from them working with the patient. As you can tell, there has to be a partnership between the RN and NA. Another thing that gets reported is what wasn't done on the previous shift so that those things get placed on the new NA's list of things to do. Then sometime during the first part of shift, the RN gives a shift report to the NA. The experienced NAs establishes their daily routine. They schedule feedings based on the limitation of their patients. They coordinate baths with patients so that they can decide which ones they will do in which order. During or after bathing typically bedding is changed. They ensure patients who can get out of bed are gotten out of bed or sat in chairs. The RN and NA coordinate the care especially in situations when patients are limited in mobility, have extensive wounds, incontinent (poo or pee themselves), or deficits like being blind. Most of us work 12 hr shifts with typically two breaks and a lunch break. NAs direct their own schedule based on the patients and coordinating with the RN to ensure someone is on the floor at all times to address patient needs. NAs have charting responsibilities. In well staffed and managed hospitals, NAs have no more than a 10 patient load; showers/bathing is balanced by establishing who will be bathed at night or during the day; and NAs and RNs work well together with both respecting the role and responsibilities of each other. If the charge nurse does his/her job, the load is distributed so that no NA has all "heavy" patients. Near the end of day, the RN should have a quick "end of shift" conversation so that both are updated and prepared for the on coming RN-NA team. If you're interested in becoming a NA, I suggest you contact a hospital unit manager and ask if you could shadow a NA for a few hours to an entire shift. That works well for the unit manager (a recruiting idea) and you (gives you a better perspective).