Duties Archives

What are the Disadvantages of Being Nurse

If you are considering the prospect of becoming a nurse there are a number of disadvantages that can occur as a result of your career path. Understandings of these basic disadvantages can help to prepare you for some the letdowns that can come in your career. Here’s some of the biggest advantages of becoming a nurse direct from experienced nurses:

Physical Exhaustion: long hours on your feet can often be the cause of serious burnout as well as a variety of fatigue factors. Many nurses experience problems with their legs, their back and with their feet. After years of working as a nurse it’s easy to understand the physical toll that the job takes on you, especially working regular 12 hour shifts.

Psychological Exhaustion: Nurses deal with the prospect of losing patience, seeing serious violence and illness almost every single day. The idea of becoming a nurse takes a certain personality type and its difficult to prevent these stressful situations from making their way into their personal lives over time. Having a good support network and making sure that you can handle the psychological exhaustion of nursing is important.

The hours can be difficult: as mentioned before many nurses need to work at least 12 hour shifts. During the early stages of working in a new medical facility as well you could be expected to work holidays, birthdays and other significant events. When you are starting out your career this can be very taxing for nurses.

Patients may not always appreciate assistance: some nurses can experience harassment and more from patients which can be difficult to deal with when you are new and without experience.

It can be draining on your health: working in a hospital environment can expose you to a variety of viruses, germs and more. It’s very important that you have a strong immune system and that you can work to prevent sickness whenever possible.

Keep some of these top disadvantages in mind if you are considering getting into nursing so that you can be prepared for the future.

Duties of Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA)

Certified nursing assistants or CNAs have an extremely vital responsibility. They are one of the primary caregivers in hospitals or healthcare facilities. The exact job description or duties of certified nursing assistants can vary from one facility to another. The career prospects of CNAs are particularly promising now since the sector is witnessing exponential growth. As increasing healthcare needs call for more professionals and trained staff, the demand for certified nursing assistants will only surge.

Let us highlight the principal duties of a CNA:

One of the primary responsibilities of a CNA is to attend to the basic needs of patients. Patients may need help with bathing, eating, dressing and grooming. A CNA will attend to all of these and general caring. For instance, patients may require massages or certain special help with the chores. Patients who have suffered strokes, physical injuries or have undergone surgeries require different kind of care. A CNA will follow the guidelines recommended by the doctor and shall attend to the needs.

A CNA will monitor the vital signs of the patients. Normally, a CNA is assigned a number of patients just as there are supervising doctors in every ward or for a certain number of patients. Certified nursing assistants will check the blood pressure, temperature and even observe the overall health. Any red flag should be spotted by a CNA and the doctor should be called. Certified nursing assistants will also assist the patients to and from operation theaters, physician’s office or even the traveling to and from a hospital if needed.

Depending on the type of medical attention and care needed, a CNA may also be the housekeeper for cabins or wards. Certified nursing assistants may make the beds of the patients, bring the meals and ensure that the rooms or the wards are kept clean. This would include cleaning soiled sheets and bedpans.

Certified nursing assistants are trained to help doctors and nurses, even surgeons. CNAs are trained to handle medical equipments, in the setting up and dismantling of state of the art machines and can also be of active help during various medical procedures.

Not all CNAs would be available for emergency responses but just as doctors on call, some certified nursing assistants may be emergency duties. While on a regular shift, a CNA will be one of the first to call for immediate medical intervention should anything be wrong with a patient.