Making a living as a CNA

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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You can definitely make money as a CNA. I started out working in nursing homes for about 9 months and I finally got an offer to work in a hospital. It was the best thing money wise I could have done.

I work at least 104 hr a paycheck. After my regular 84 hrs I make $15.74 a hr which is great and I can get all the overtime I want. I am in MS of course cost of living is not that high here. I will admit to make money you have to work really long hrs. What I like to do is turn my 12 hrs into 16 hrs a day and work 7 days a week. Therefor I can get my overtime and not have to work on my off days. This year I made close to 30,000 and that is a huge jump from the 15,000 I made in ltc. I encourage any CNA to get into a hospital and especially one that offers a lot of overtime.

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Specializes in Urgent Care, Pulmonary Med, Primary Care.

I miss those nights! Overtime is awesome!!! Sigh, I need to get back to my PCT job :( I was a critical care PCT (I mainly worked MICU with occasional pulls to the ED, Step Down, SICU, and PACU).

Enjoy it!!! Now I'm in school and that is a job in it's self. I'm considering a PRN gig.

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I can't even imagine working that much. If I work 5-12s in a row I know my patient care and safety is being compromised. Good for you for being so dedicated, I'm just grateful I have days off.

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I can't even imagine working that much. If I work 5-12s in a row I know my patient care and safety is being compromised. Good for you for being so dedicated I'm just grateful I have days off.[/quote']

I absolutely agree that time off away from this type of work is needed.My job compared to others is not that hard.On my floor the cna duty is to take baths,turn patients and get vital signs every 4 hrs.When I come in 4 hrs early its usually a cna who is their so i help her with her work.I am grateful to work with Registered Nurse's who don't mind wiping a butt or two if I am too busy.I also work the night shift and on nights from 12-3 I have a lot of down time.

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I miss those nights! Overtime is awesome!!! Sigh, I need to get back to my PCT job :( I was a critical care PCT (I mainly worked MICU with occasional pulls to the ED, Step Down, SICU, and PACU).

Enjoy it!!! Now I'm in school and that is a job in it's self. I'm considering a PRN gig.

Congrats!!!Are you in school to be a RN?You are so right that is a job within itself.Until I go back in August I will be saving up so I won't have to work so hard and still be able to pay my bills.

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Hi everyone

I am a nursing student going for my RN degree. Lately, I've been thinking about getting my CNA license so I can start gaining some experience in patient care. I have never been exposed to this field, so I think it would be a good idea to start by working as a CNA. Would you recommend I do that?

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Specializes in Surgical.
I can't even imagine working that much. If I work 5-12s in a row I know my patient care and safety is being compromised. Good for you for being so dedicated, I'm just grateful I have days off.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm in school part time and after a 12 hour NOC, I feel like I need a full 24 hours to recover! I feel like I'm in a daze the shift after a 12 hour NOC.

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I used to work a lot of hours too. I worked PRN for a facility and they'd work me every day if I let them! It's good money if you're willing to do it, but it does wear you out. Recently I went to home health care and I'm lovin it :)

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Hi everyone

I am a nursing student going for my RN degree. Lately, I've been thinking about getting my CNA license so I can start gaining some experience in patient care. I have never been exposed to this field, so I think it would be a good idea to start by working as a CNA. Would you recommend I do that?

I would definitely recommend it because you can gain a lot of knowledge being a cna in a hospital.I know about different medicines and what they are used for.I even know the steps to starting an IV.You also gain confidence in how to handle different patients and their attitudes.I am so happy I became a CNA before I went straight into nursing.I decided it wasn't for me and that I would rather be a Physical Therapy Assistant.Being a RN is so much responsibility and I am not ready to have someone else's life in my hands.I have heard to many nurses say that if they would have known it was this hard that they would've tried something else.But I have heard a couple say that they love their job.It just really depends on the person.I would definitely encourage you to become a CNA and see if being an RN is something that you truly want and have a passion for.

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Good for you!!! I am a cna for four years now but have not worked in a hospital environment yet.

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Thank you for your response. I really appreciate it. Yes, I see a lot of CNA/LPNS in school that have so much experience when it comes to technical procedures, medicine, etc and that's really a plus. I love the program so far, but I feel like I'm learning from scratch and don't have anything to relate the material I learn in school with.

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I would definitely recommend it because you can gain a lot of knowledge being a cna in a hospital.I know about different medicines and what they are used for.I even know the steps to starting an IV.You also gain confidence in how to handle different patients and their attitudes.I am so happy I became a CNA before I went straight into nursing.I decided it wasn't for me and that I would rather be a Physical Therapy Assistant.Being a RN is so much responsibility and I am not ready to have someone else's life in my hands.I have heard to many nurses say that if they would have known it was this hard that they would've tried something else.But I have heard a couple say that they love their job.It just really depends on the person.I would definitely encourage you to become a CNA and see if being an RN is something that you truly want and have a passion for.

Thank you for your response. I really appreciate it. Yes, I see a lot of CNA/LPNS in school that have so much experience when it comes to technical procedures, medicine, etc and that's really a plus. I love the program so far, but I feel like I'm learning from scratch and don't have anything to relate the material I learn in school with.

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