Hate being a CNA

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Hello all I am currently a CNA and I must say I don't like it at all. Everyone say that CNA's make great nurses I start school in September to become an LPN but I feel CNA is not for me. It's not the job it's the people I work with any suggestions on whether or not I should stick it out or go work as a customer service rep and finish school?

Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

Being a CNA can and likely will, make you a better nurse or at the very least give you a leg up in the program. At least, MY definition of a "better nurse". A nurse who knows a (good) CNA is worth their weight in Gold, a nurse who is good at delegating because he/she used to be the one being delegated to. A nurse who knows how difficult it is to have 16 patients to reposition, change, toilet, bathe, feed, dress, etc. A nurse who understands what it's like to be a CNA will work well with the CNA's and likely the CNA's will respect and look up to said nurse. This is NOT to say that its impossible to be all of the above without first being a CNA....Thats not what I am saying.

Also, being a CNA first gets you comfortable with patient care. If you aren't freaking out about the bed baths you have to do in the morning for your first nursing clinical you will have more time to focus on other things. If you already know what c-diff smells and looks like you wont be worried about your first case. You will know what to expect, which for me, is invaluable. I would hate having one idea of what the nursing world is like only to find out what its really like. Just some minor examples.....

I just want to say, for the record, there is NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING wrong with being a CNA. CNA's are vital in the healthcare setting and are part of the NURSING TEAM. No, not nurses, but do work as a part of the team. Most CNAs go on to further their education because of the pay rate. For this CNA, I can tell you that's the only reason why I am. I could even deal with the havoc it wreaks on my body but my paychecks insist I move on.

OP- If you like the Job but not the co-workers I would find a different facility. You could have crappy co-workers no matter where you work. If you like it, and you keep your eyes open you will learn a lot, despite what others say. Its simply not true that it doesn't help. I haven't met anyone who actually did work as a CNA and went on to become a nurse who isn't glad they did it. There are lots of people who will tell you they don't think it would have helped them or something like that, but they wouldn't know, would they?

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Specializes in CNA, HHA, RNA,.
Sweetheart? Well aren't you showing how condescending you would like to be. And I never questioned your education but your bachelors is not in nursing so what is your point?

I'm more than one step ahead of a CNA. Oh my!

Can I do my job without a physician or resident? And that's where you show how useless you are! Yes...I can. Since the RNs do a lot of the teaching of residents and protecting patients from them...yes I can live without them.

CNAs have their place and being one does not mean a better RN...they are very different jobs!

Then go ahead and do what a CNA does and then some. Funny enough this is why big chain hospitals go on strike though, when hospitals refuse to hire CNA's and start requiring RN's to do it all since they are so above us.

CNA's are vital to the nursing industry and yet you write them off because they don't get paid top dollar. Why don't you remind yourself of Florence Nightingale and the whole lamp ceremony that every RN takes place in. She by today's standards would not be a nurse, but she was the first nurse and set the record by her goal: maintaining a well-lit, sanitary place for the pt to recover on their own.

By your own reasoning though you've made yourself sound completely useless, your charting and assessment isn't what's saving the pt's life. And then you go on to say you can do your job without a physician? Oh my, even if you have your PRN you will not be writing or prescribing medications without a license M.D. in a snf.

I don't know where you get off thinking that any job doesn't require teamwork. And your blatant disregard to CNA's in a CNA forum is something else. I don't know why you think you're at the top of the food chain and talk as if you are? An M.D. will always be over you and your work. If you could do without them, then RN's would run their own clinics. Nursing is bed-side pt care and Medical practices medicine.

Whether you are a cna, lvn, or rn with exemplified extra licenses and certs, it will still at the end of the day, be bedside care. Regardless of whatever "tasks" you do differently from others.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
Then go ahead and do what a CNA does and then some. Funny enough this is why big chain hospitals go on strike though when hospitals refuse to hire CNA's and start requiring RN's to do it all since they are so above us. CNA's are vital to the nursing industry and yet you write them off because they don't get paid top dollar. Why don't you remind yourself of Florence Nightingale and the whole lamp ceremony that every RN takes place in. She by today's standards would not be a nurse, but she was the first nurse and set the record by her goal: maintaining a well-lit, sanitary place for the pt to recover on their own. By your own reasoning though you've made yourself sound completely useless, your charting and assessment isn't what's saving the pt's life. And then you go on to say you can do your job without a physician? Oh my, even if you have your PRN you will not be writing or prescribing medications without a license M.D. in a snf. I don't know where you get off thinking that any job doesn't require teamwork. And your blatant disregard to CNA's in a CNA forum is something else. I don't know why you think you're at the top of the food chain and talk as if you are? An M.D. will always be over you and your work. If you could do without them, then RN's would run their own clinics. Nursing is bed-side pt care and Medical practices medicine. Whether you are a cna, lvn, or rn with exemplified extra licenses and certs, it will still at the end of the day, be bedside care. Regardless of whatever "tasks" you do differently from others.[/quote']

You are missing the point. The point is when a CNA says she is one step from being an RN there is an issue. I never said anything about CNAs not being a part of the team or anything else. But a CNA who thinks she is just one step away...she's a dangerous part of the team.

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Specializes in CNA, HHA, RNA,.
You are missing the point. The point is when a CNA says she is one step from being an RN there is an issue. I never said anything about CNAs not being a part of the team or anything else. But a CNA who thinks she is just one step away...she's a dangerous part of the team.

It really wasn't all that long ago when they trained from the hospital on the theory and clinical though and that's primarily how a lot of old RN's started out and learned from other RN. So if you work as a CNA in a hospital, in the past or had been for awhile there was a lot to learn and you could learn granted by simply being employed there.

In fact if you wanted to get your license as a nurse from a CNA, you used to be able to simply take the pharmacology portion and challenge the board and if approved, take the NCLEX. And the same was true for LVNs to RN, but the hospital provided a year of clinics.

And that was because in the past, CNA's roles were less defined, they passed meds and drew blood with the right certificates. So essentially CNA's who worked in oncology, surgical and other units did pretty much have the majority of their clinics proportion out of the way and if they were lucky enough to be in a training hospital like UCLA.

But by today's standards and how overcrowded the pool is, most CNA's going in don't have what older CNA's might have had the fortune of having, hospital experience. And I mean a good hospital, the kind you were proud to stay in.

A brand new nurse who just obtained her CNA isn't a step away from being an RN, but if she was all that dangerous the job wouldn't hire her, the DON would approve of her. And that isn't really your judgement call, you just mandate appropriate task to a cna as you would an lvn and as long as its within their scope of practice. Which is what all schools teach and the laws are more clearly defined.

I don't really know where the fear of a CNA is coming from, I haven't ever heard a CNA say "Well I'm one step away from an RN so I'm going to inject medicine the RN left behind."

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CNAs aren't nurses or a form [of] nursing. They provide tasks. They don't have a nursing education. So the things you do as a CNA are tasks.

Well, that's the first time I've ever heard that!

No, they aren't nurses, but they are definitely part of the nursing team.

They are educated in and perform the most basic of nursing tasks.

They are the physical extension of the nurse, who is responsible for all of the patient's care, but may not be able to complete all of it with quality-- hence they delegate those tasks, which they legally can, to the CNA.

They may not be their own distinct form of nursing, but they certainly perform basic nursing care.

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If this attitude bleeds through in your workplace, you don't need to look any further for why the CNAs seem to do your tasks last. When nurses show us respect and helpfulness, we find ways to repay them. And when they don't, we also find ways to repay that.

Okay, this bothers me:

It does not matter how crappy we think someone is being to us.

If the tasks we are being delegated are tasks dealing in the comfort or safety of the pt, then hurt feelings need to be put aside...

The pt you decide to see last because your nurse is being a jerk may actually be the pt who actually needs you first.

In no way should a pt suffer for the sake of passive-aggressiveness amongst staff.

Come on, CNA's!

There are obviously some people out there that view all CNA's as woefully ignorant... let's not add fuel to the fire with this type of behavior.

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For many people, me included, being a CNA sucks, simple as that. I've found being a nurse and being a CNA are very different beasts; the former I can handle, the latter... no way.

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Where do you work? Ive been a cna for going on 4 years. Ive worked in rehabilitation, nursing home, hospital floor and ER. I found that working at the hospital was 100% better. I loved my pts at the nursing home, but I knew I'd be furthering my nursing career and found the hospital much more suitable. Being a CNA, in my opinion, is a must if one plans to go into nursing. You learn to appreciate, you learn time management skills, and you actually know what the hell you're doing when you pass your boards and find a job. Ive worked with nurses who were cnas prior to being a nurse and ive worked with nurses who had no experience prior. Im just here to tell ya you can definitely tell the difference between the two. And now th as that im in RN school myself I am happy to say that im about 10 steps ahead of everyone else.

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