How much do CNA's make these days and is the pay worth the workload?

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Now I know it will be hard work, that I am prepared for...

However, since I have been interested in becoming a CNA while going through nursing school I have heard everything from positive experiences to horror stories. One girl told me CNA's basically deal with the nastiest aspects of nursing and for the lowest pay. She told me I would be changing adult diapars all day for $7/hr.

Now I don't mind changing adults, but I at least need to know I can pay my bills if I take this job.

Also a local hospital offers paid training to become a PCT, so maybe if it's truly "paid" I should go for that instead....?

Suggestions?

Hey my CNA instructor shared this website with us that shows you the going pay rate for CNAs in california based on different facilities. It also shows LVN/RN rates, and number of staff, and alot more. It is a really good tool if you live in California. the website can be viewed here:

http://www.calnhs.org/

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Specializes in Primary Care, Critical Care.

CNAs and PCTs are the same thing in most areas...

I think the pay varies greatly depending on where you are geographically and whether you work in a hospital or a nursing home. Generally speaking, CNAs are not paid enough for what they do but as someone else mentioned, at the end of the day, you know you made a difference and that sure as hell beats working at starbucks while you are in nursing school (or even if you are not in nursing school).

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In Ohio, a more "nurse aide" position gets about $10-$15 per hour and does the typical nurse aide tasks. a "tech" also does blood draws and folleys and makes $15-$20 per hour.

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In southflorida-ish they may a bit under or above 9 dollars an hour.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

How much do CNA's make these days?

I make $8.25/hour and live in MO. I could go to Applebees and make more.

Is the pay worth the workload?

No, it's really not. I have to change briefs, give showers, provide post-mortem care, pass hall trays, feed people, comfort people who are crying because nobody visits them, etc. for less than I'd be making at a restaurant. If I went into this line of work for the money, I'd be sorely disappointed.

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There's a reason I work night shift! I don't have to do any meals or baths/showers. Most everyone sleeps all night and I just have to do q4 vitals and q2 safety checks. I spend a lot of time playing on the computer during the night. All we do for post-mortem care is remove everything (last time I removed a folley and CVC) and put them in a bag and wheel them down to the morgue. It is pretty quick. The only people I've had die are people who were sent to my floor from ICU to die so far.

Most of my nights are very easy and people who have worked both day and night shift say night shift is way easier and you get paid an extra $1.55 an hour for it!

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There's a reason I work night shift! I don't have to do any meals or baths/showers. Most everyone sleeps all night and I just have to do q4 vitals and q2 safety checks. I spend a lot of time playing on the computer during the night. All we do for post-mortem care is remove everything (last time I removed a folley and CVC) and put them in a bag and wheel them down to the morgue. It is pretty quick. The only people I've had die are people who were sent to my floor from ICU to die so far.

Most of my nights are very easy and people who have worked both day and night shift say night shift is way easier and you get paid an extra $1.55 an hour for it!

I work at a hospital and get's really hectic and stressful in the daytime. I've been thinking about working nights, but I don't think there will be as many learning opportunities since most patients are sleeping throughout the night. I've done post-mortem care, but we always bathe the patients, comb their hair, and put a clean gown on them before we put them on the gurney.

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I work at a hospital and get's really hectic and stressful in the daytime. I've been thinking about working nights, but I don't think there will be as many learning opportunities since most patients are sleeping throughout the night. I've done post-mortem care, but we always bathe the patients, comb their hair, and put a clean gown on them before we put them on the gurney.

From people who have worked both, I've heard that you actually get more learning opportunities during the night shift. The day shift is so hectic that nurses don't have as much time to talk to you, explain things, and let you watch procedures. There is also a lot more family there during the day shift and you have more job responsibilities during the day shift.

While people do definitely sleep a lot during the night shift, you always get your patients who don't sleep. We also get A LOT of interesting admissions from the ED during the night shift. The nurses have a lot more time to talk to me, explain things, and let me watch things. I've learned A LOT.

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Just remember: The closer to the patient that you are and the more time you spend with them, the less money you make. We do not value the work that the cna does. Think about the doctor who comes in for 2 minutes and the amount of monies he charges and the aide that is there for 8 hours.

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I make $10.13 an hour at a community hospital in Virginia. Its not a ton, but I'm in nursing school at the moment and it's worth it. I'm PRN, my hours can be whatever I want them to be, and I get experiences that my school doesn't offer (like doing phlebotomy). The workload can be insane - usually up to 20 patients per day at different acuity levels, with a constant influx of new admissions and discharges to deal with. But most days, I'd rather be juggling all of that than sitting at a desk!

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Specializes in LTC private/CBRF.

I work for a company that owns a small number of (phenomenal, immaculate, caring) group homes for ABI/TBI (brain injuries) - 4 ppl per home max. Starting wage for a CNA with our company is $11 per hour. The house I work at is very enjoyable and considered 'easy' although some of the other homes have more difficult clients. I feel the pay is decent; there are a few nursing homes that offer more; 12.75 for casual, but hard to get in, while many others pay range is on average $9 to $11 - more on the lower side.

There is a huge need for people who are caring and patient to work with those with brain injuries. Might be something to check into and is quite different from a nursing home setting.

As far as a hospital paying for continuing education - go for it!

Chris

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How much do CNA's make these days?

I make $8.25/hour and live in MO. I could go to Applebees and make more.

Is the pay worth the workload?

No, it's really not. I have to change briefs, give showers, provide post-mortem care, pass hall trays, feed people, comfort people who are crying because nobody visits them, etc. for less than I'd be making at a restaurant. If I went into this line of work for the money, I'd be sorely disappointed.

I totally agree. I made around $15-18/hr (total) as a server, didn't have to pay for training (5 months in NC, by the way, not two weeks), and didn't work nearly as hard. The only reason I'm working as a CNA and not a waitress is to gain experience and contacts and be more competitive for nursing school. BTW, the pay where I work (at $8.65/hr) SUCKS!!!

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