Posted by joan11 (137.118.216.214) on January 31, 2004 at 16:21:50:
In Reply to: Activity Director Clipping Nails During Manicures???? posted by Susan on January 30, 2004 at 14:56:51:
Clipping nails in our facility is delegated to nursing due to hazards. Not to say that aides always do their nails on bath day cuz they don't. When we do nail polishing and see long nails we bring it to the attention of licensed nursing. We do however file rough nails during nail polishing per request of the resident. I believe aides have the time to do a proper job. Sometimes they just want to pick and choose who they pay attention to. They need to be held accountable.
: While waiting for an activities position to open up in my area, I decided to volunteer a bit at a local assisted living facility. This week I was there for a couple of hours to give manicures to the ladies. The AD (who is fairly new and had no previous experience in activities) also did manicures with me. When she started, one resident requested that her nails be cut and the AD proceeded to trim them with the nail clippers. When I have done manicures in the past I have always just removed nail polish, filed and painted their nails with new polish. I learned in my Basic 90 hr. activity course that only someone who is certified to cut nails may do the job. I also remember when my mother-in-law was living with us a few years ago that even the home health aides weren't allowed to trim nails. So I asked the AD if she was qualified to do this (I wasn't familiar with her background) and she said no. I explained that she shouldn't be doing this and she just seemed to shrug it off and continued clipping. What should I do now? Should this be reported and to whom? I hate to be a whistle blower, but I feel in this situation there is just too much risk (both to the residents and in terms of liability for the facility) to just let this go. Also, I suppose if I know about it and don't report it that I'm also liable and risk having my certification (ADPC) affected as well. Any suggestions?