I dont mean to come off in a negative manor, but what your saying is outragous. You really should quite working at the place your at because what your doing is highly illegal. Those nurses would loose thier liscenses in about .5 seconds for what they are doing. Also I cant visualize to many nursing homes where iv starts are the norm. But thier is an exception to every rule. In either case by law no hospital would higher a cna to perform iv starts, or give medications because that hospital would loose the ability to have patients. Its EXTREMLY illigal. Same as hospitals dont higher associates degree or bachaller degree nurses to prescribe medications. We have a working knowledge of medications, but by law we cant give them because we know a patient needs them without a doctors authority.
Also the education involved in becoming a nurse and a cna is on a whole other level. I know very few CNA that know when a patient is going into flash pulmenary edmea, or starting to have cardiac complications or how to work a code. Because a CNA is not taught to, because a CNA is not expected to, nor should they ever need to. Hospitals that pay for travel nurses pay top dollar to these institutions because a well trained nurse is extremly hard to find in some areas, and highly needed. An experienced CNA is a vital nessisity, but the difference between a highly skilled Nurse and CNA is worlds apart. as was stated before, I routinly do bed changes as a nurse, and assist the cna on the floor. I would never ask a cna to push cardizem iv or even lasix because a cna has no working knowledge of these medications, and its also illegal.