CNA Staffing Levels

I read so many posts by frustrated, overworked, underpaid burnt out CNA's whose chief complaint is that they just have too many patients/residents to provide good quality care, you know, the care we were trained to provide and take all those tests for. It's so appalling to think that a CNA would give all he or she has, just to leave at the end of their shift in physical and emotional pain knowing they couldn't do what they needed to do to keep their patients/residents safe and comfortable.

To add insult to injury, the average pay for a CNA is around $10/hr with only a lucky few receiving any meaningful benefits. This is a deplorable situation, and what does it say about our society that we value so little the people who are supposed to be giving our most vulnerable citizens what they, at a minimum, deserve? It speaks volumes, but it doesn't have to be this way. I've told my aging mother I will never allow her to go into a nursing home, even a "good" one, after what I experienced during the clinical part of my training.

So what can CNA's do to change their situation, beginning with staffing ratios? I suggest every CNA who feels like they could do what they were hired to do, if only there were more of them to help, write to your state legislators, your federal legislators, and your state nurse regulating agency. Get petitions going! Staffing ratios are determined by STATE law, so the more information you can give to your state government -- beginning at the grass roots level -- the better the chance that ratios in your state will improve. If you have stories to tell that might turn their stomachs, or make them wonder what would happen should they or their family members have to rely on a long time care facility (nursing home) some day, they need to hear from you. Trust me, they will listen.

It's the GOOD CNA's who are driven away from this job, not the mediocre or lousy ones who enable the situation to remain this way. For as little as the average CNA earns, and for as much as is expected of them, they (we) need to make sure those who make the rules hear what our reality is. Maybe some of you are even willing to testify before your state legislature. I believe strongly that we all have a right to be heard, and we will be heard if enough of us are willing to speak out loudly. Don't assume nothing will ever change. That is only the case when people become complacent and just accept what clearly are unacceptable circumstances for many CNA's.

stepping down from my soapbox. Thanks for listening.