Work Ethics



Work Ethics



Key Abbreviation


NATCEP Nursing assistant training and competency evaluation program



Objectives



• Define the key terms and key abbreviation listed in this chapter.


• Describe the practices for good health, hygiene, and a professional appearance.


• Describe the qualities and traits of a successful nursing assistant.


• Explain how to get a job.


• Explain how to plan for childcare and transportation.


• Describe ethical behavior on the job.


• Explain how to manage stress.


• Explain the aspects of harassment.


• Explain how to resign from a job.


• Identify the common reasons for losing a job.


• Explain the reasons for drug testing.


• Explain how to promote PRIDE in the person, the family, and yourself.



Key Terms











As a student and a nursing assistant, you must act and function in a professional manner. Professionalism involves following laws, being ethical, having good work ethics, and having the skills to do your work. Certain behaviors (conduct), choices, and judgments are expected in health care agencies. Work ethics deals with behavior in the workplace. Your conduct reflects your choices and judgments. Work ethics involves:



Much of the content in this chapter applies while you are a student. Always practice good work ethics.



Health, Hygiene, and Appearance


Patients, residents, families, and visitors expect you to look and act healthy. For example, a person is told to stop smoking. Yet you are seen smoking. If you are not clean, people wonder if you give good care. Your health, appearance, and hygiene need careful attention.



Your Health


To give safe and effective care, you must be physically and mentally healthy.



• Diet. You need a balanced diet (Chapter 20) for good nutrition.


• Sleep and rest. Most adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep daily.


• Body mechanics. You will bend, carry heavy objects, and move and turn persons. Use your muscles correctly (Chapter 13).


• Exercise. Exercise is needed for muscle tone, circulation, and weight loss.


• Your eyes. You will read instructions and take measurements. Wrong readings can cause the person harm. Have your eyes checked. Wear needed eyeglasses or contact lenses. Provide enough light for reading and fine work.


• Smoking. Smoking causes lung, heart, and circulatory disorders. Smoke odors stay on your breath, hands, clothing, and hair. Hand washing and good hygiene are needed.


• Drugs. Some drugs affect thinking, feeling, behavior, and function. Working under the influence of drugs affects the person’s safety. Take only those drugs ordered by your doctor.


• Alcohol. Alcohol is a drug that affects thinking, balance, coordination, and alertness. Never report to work under the influence of alcohol. Do not drink alcohol while working.




Your Appearance


Good health and hygiene practices help you look and feel well. Follow the practices in Box 4-1. They help you look clean, neat, and professional (Fig. 4-1, p. 34).



Box 4-1   Practices for a Professional Appearance




• Practice good hygiene.


• Wear uniforms that fit well. They are modest in length and style. Follow the agency’s dress code.


• Keep uniforms clean, pressed, and mended. Sew on buttons. Repair zippers, tears, and hems.


• Wear a clean uniform daily.


• Wear your name badge or photo ID (identification) at all times when on duty. Make sure it can be seen. Wear it according to agency policy. It is best to wear it above your waist. Agencies may use first names only or first and last names. The agency may let you decide what to have on your name badge. For security reasons, some staff choose the first name only option.


• Wear undergarments that are clean and fit properly. Change them daily.


• Wear undergarments in the correct color for your skin tone. Do not wear colored (red, pink, blue, and so on) ones. They can be seen through white and light-colored uniforms.


• Cover tattoos (body art). They may offend others.


• Follow the agency’s dress code for jewelry. Wedding and engagement rings may be allowed. Rings and bracelets can scratch a person. Confused or combative persons can easily pull on jewelry (necklaces, dangling earrings). So can young children.


• Do not wear jewelry in pierced eyebrows, nose, lips, or tongue while on duty.


• Follow the agency’s dress code for earrings. Usually small, simple earrings are allowed. For multiple ear piercings, usually only 1 set of earrings is allowed.


• Wear a wristwatch with a second (sweep) hand.


• Wear clean stockings and socks that fit well. Change them daily.


• Wear shoes that fit properly, are comfortable, give needed support, and have non-skid soles. Do not wear sandals or open-toed shoes.


• Clean and polish shoes often. Wash and replace laces as needed.


• Keep fingernails clean, short, and neatly shaped. Long nails can scratch a person. Nails must be natural.


• Do not wear nail polish. Chipped nail polish may provide a place for microbes to grow.


• Have a simple, attractive hairstyle. Hair is off your collar and away from your face. Use simple pins, combs, barrettes, and bands to keep long hair up and in place.


• Keep beards and mustaches clean and trimmed.


• Use make-up that is modest in amount and moderate in color. Avoid a painted and severe look.


• Do not wear perfume, cologne, or after-shave lotion. The scents may offend, nauseate, or cause breathing problems in patients and residents.


image
FIGURE 4-1 The nursing assistant is well-groomed. Her uniform and shoes are clean. Her hair has a simple style. It is away from her face and off of her collar. She does not wear jewelry.


Getting a Job


There are easy ways to find out about jobs and places to work.




What Employers Look For


If you owned a business, who would you hire? Your answer helps you understand the employer’s point of view. Employers want people who:



• Are dependable.


• Are well-groomed.


• Have needed job skills and training.


• Have values and attitudes that fit with the agency.


• Have the qualities and traits described in Box 4-2.



Box 4-2   Qualities and Traits for Good Work Ethics




• Caring. Have concern for the person. Help make the person’s life happier, easier, or less painful.


• Dependable. Report to work on time and when scheduled. Perform delegated tasks. Keep obligations and promises.


• Considerate. Respect the person’s physical and emotional feelings. Be gentle and kind toward patients, residents, families, and co-workers.


• Cheerful. Greet and talk to people in a pleasant manner. Do not be moody, bad-tempered, or unhappy while at work.


• Empathetic. Empathy is seeing things from the person’s point of view—putting yourself in the person’s place. How would you feel if you had the person’s problems?


• Trustworthy. Patients, residents, families, and staff have confidence in you. They believe you will keep information confidential. They trust you not to gossip about patients, residents, families, or the health team.


• Respectful. Patients and residents have rights, values, beliefs, and feelings. They may differ from yours. Do not judge or condemn the person. Treat the person with respect and dignity at all times. Also show respect for the health team.


• Courteous. Be polite and courteous to patients, residents, families, visitors, and co-workers. See p. 39 for common courtesies in the workplace.


• Conscientious. Be careful, alert, and exact in following instructions. Give thorough care. Do not lose or damage the person’s property.


• Honest. Accurately report the care given, your observations, and any errors.


• Cooperative. Willingly help and work with others. Also take that “extra step” during busy and stressful times.


• Enthusiastic. Be eager, interested, and excited about your work. Your work is important.


• Self-aware. Know your feelings, strengths, and weaknesses. You need to understand yourself before you can understand patients and residents.


You must be at work on time and when scheduled. Undependable people cause everyone problems. Other staff take on extra work. Fewer people give care. Quality of care suffers. You want co-workers to work when scheduled. Otherwise, you have extra work. You have less time to spend with patients and residents. Likewise, co-workers also expect you to work when scheduled.




Job Applications


You get a job application (Appendix C) from the personnel office or human resources office. You can complete the application there. Or take it home for return by mail or in person. Be well-groomed and behave pleasantly when seeking or returning a job application. It may be your first chance to make a good impression.


To complete a job application, see Box 4-3. A neat, readable, and complete application gives a good image. A sloppy or incomplete one does not.



Box 4-3   Completing a Job Application




• Read and follow the directions. They may ask you to print using black ink. You must follow directions on the job. Employers look at job applications to see if you can follow directions.


• Write neatly. Writing must be readable. A messy application gives a bad image. Readable writing gives the correct information. The agency cannot contact you if unable to read your phone number. You may miss getting the job.


• Complete the entire form. Something may not apply to you. If so, write “N/A” for non-applicable. Or draw a line through the space. This shows that you read the section. It also shows that you did not skip the item on purpose.


• Report any felony arrests or convictions as directed. Write “no” or “none” as appropriate. Criminal background and fingerprint checks are common requirements.


• Give information about employment gaps. If you did not work for a time, the employer wonders why. Providing this information shows you are honest. Some reasons are an illness, going to school, raising your children, or caring for an ill or older family member.


• Tell why you left a job, if asked. Be brief, but honest. People leave jobs for one that pays better. Some leave for career advancement. Others leave for reasons given for employment gaps. If you were fired from a job, give an honest but positive response. Do not talk badly about a former employer.


• Provide references. Be prepared to give names, titles, addresses, and phone numbers of at least 4 non-family references. Have this information written down before completing an application. (Always ask references if an employer can contact them.) If references are missing or not complete, the employer waits for all the information. This wastes your time and the employer’s time. Also, the employer wonders if you are hiding something with incomplete reference information.


• Be prepared to provide the following.



• Give honest responses. Lying on an application is fraud. It is grounds for being fired.


• Keep a file of your education and work history.


Some agencies have job applications on-line. Follow the instructions for completing an on-line application.



The Job Interview


A job interview is when the employer gets to know and evaluate you. You also learn about the agency.


The interview may be when you complete the job application. Some agencies schedule interviews after reviewing applications. Write down the interviewer’s name and the interview date and time. If you need directions to the agency, ask for them at this time.



Preparing for the Interview.


Box 4-4, p. 36 lists common interview questions. Prepare your answers ahead of time. Also prepare a list of your skills.



Box 4-4   Common Interview Questions



Questions for You




• Tell me about yourself.


• Tell me about your career goals.


• What are you doing to reach these goals?


• Describe what professional behavior means to you.


• Tell me about your last job. Why did you leave?


• What did you like the most about your last job? What did you like the least?


• What would your supervisor and co-workers tell me about you? Your dependability? Your skills? Your flexibility?


• Which functions are the hardest for you? How do you handle this difficulty?


• How do you set your priorities?


• How have your experiences prepared you for this job?


• What would you like to change about your last job?


• How do you handle problems with patients, residents, families, and co-workers?


• Why do you want to work here?


• Why should this agency hire you?



Questions for the Interviewer




• Which job functions do you think are the most important?


• What employee qualities and traits are the most important to you?


• What nursing care pattern is used here (Chapter 1)?


• Who will I work with?


• When are performance evaluations done? Who does them? How are they done?


• What performance factors are evaluated?


• How does the supervisor handle problems?


• What are the most common reasons that nursing assistants lose their jobs here?


• What are the most common reasons that nursing assistants resign from their jobs here?


• How do you see this job in the next year? In the next 5 years?


• What is the greatest reward from this job?


• What is the greatest challenge from this job?


• What do you like the most about nursing assistants who work here? What do you like the least?


• Why should I work here rather than in another agency?


• Why are you interested in hiring me?


• How much will I make an hour?


• What hours will I work?


• What uniforms are required?


• What benefits do you offer?



• Does the agency have a new employee orientation program? How long is it?


• May I have a tour of the agency and the unit I will work on? Will you introduce me to the nurse manager and unit staff?


• Can I have a few minutes to talk to the nurse manager?

Related posts:

  1. Assisting With End-of-Life Care
  2. Assisting With Fall Prevention
  3. Assisting With Safety
  4. Assisting With Exercise and Activity

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Nov 5, 2016 | Posted by in MEDICAL ASSISSTANT | Comments Off on Work Ethics

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