[BabyRN2Be]

Originally Posted by onesmallspark

Here's a link I thought might have some good info. I found it while doing a google search.

http://nursingassistantcentral.homestead.com/

This one does have a lot of good information about the work of a CNA. Check this one out too!

[chadash]

Originally Posted by pink2blue1

I am a CNA in a hospital, not LTC. I do lots of things and anything I do, I don't consider it "just" anything. I take vitals, help people to the bathroom, give them baths (Or set them up for a shower or bath) Get them water, or snacks, help them eat if they can't, position them, get them pillows, extra blankets and anything they need to make them comfortable and make their hospital stay nicer. Yes I do clean up vomit, wipe butts, clean out nasty bed pans and bedside commodes and sometimes even the beds they have soiled. I collect specimen samples to be sent to the lab too. I talk to people, hold their hands, give them tissues to wipe their eyes because they are scared or in pain. I assist the RN in doing things I can even if it's just holding the flashlight while she tries to start a foley on a female patient. In my facility CNA's cannot do accu checks or anything invasive.

Do I love the job? If I didn't I would be at it for 3 years and I wouldn't be moving on to get my LVN and then RN. I love it, but I don't think it's for everyone.

Good luck to you!
Shannon

From your description, I think hospitals sound like a great environment to work in.... I have always done geriatrics, love older folks, but as I grow older myself, hospital work just sounds more sane. Is that true?

[onesmallspark]

First of all - forgive me if I offended anyone with my choice of wording (i.e. -diapers) or if anyone felt slighted by my calling the duties "just". I have obviously displayed my naïveté with the finer points of this field of work. Please accept my apologies.

Secondly - I am REALLY EXCITED about this field after reading these posts!! Please keep the info coming!

[NoCrumping]

Originally Posted by onesmallspark

I'm a secretary right now and am thinking of becoming a CNA to get some hands-on experience in the healthcare field while I go to school to be a nuclear medicine technologist (if I can get accepted). I really love helping people (especially pediatrics) and I had a psychic tell me once that I have "healing hands" (whatever that means).

Anyway I need to know the down and dirty of being a CNA. I want your best and your worst stories. I want to know what all being a CNA means - do I just clean up vomit, change diapers/flush Foleys or is there more? I want to know if you love it - I want to know if you hate it. Nurses - what do you love about your CNA's - and what's your biggest peeve?

I have soooo many questions... Am I only assigned to one specific nurse all the time or do I get rotated? What if my nurse hates me? Am I assigned to only one area of the hospital or will I get to know my patients? Do scrubs come in tall sizes (I'm 5'8)? Do I have to do anything "needle-related"? Do I have to insert catheters? Are CNA's respected or do they just get dumped on? I noticed that most hospitals in the Dallas area want CNA's with 3 months experience or more - where am I supposed to get that if no one will hire me without experience??

HEEEEEEELP!!! Flood me with your knowledge and wisdom....

Change diapers...yes
flush foleys... never
anything needle related.......never ever
insert catheters.... never ever
will a nurse hate you?.....chances are good.... (but thats not specific to you)
be respected?.....absolutely NOT .... actual NURSES arent even there yet
scrubs?..........yes they come in all shapes and sizes....
do cnas get dumped on?...........YES
move around?.....probably, they tend to send you where they need you, but you could work on just one unit, somewhere.,
experience?.......dont worry, plenty of places hire right out of the course, some ltc places even hold their own courses, hiring the participants

alot of physical work, your back will hurt, your feet will ache.
I dunno.... you said you want to work as a nuclear med tech? This is a whole different world, one that I try my best to steer people away from with all my might!!!! How about a phlebotomy tech? A medical assistant in an MD's office? Dont be a CNA.

[wannabenursetx]

What is "death care"?

[onesmallspark]

Originally Posted by NoCrumping

.
I dunno.... you said you want to work as a nuclear med tech? This is a whole different world, one that I try my best to steer people away from with all my might!!!! How about a phlebotomy tech? A medical assistant in an MD's office? Dont be a CNA.

I get the feeling you don't/didn't like being a CNA...

Did/do you have more experience in a hospital or LTC setting?

Wouldn't I have to take the same CNA classes to be a medical assistant in an MD's office? What does a phlebotomy tech do?

Also - one thing I guess I should also explain. While I already mentioned that I would use the CNA certificate to allow me to work in a healthcare setting while I'm (hopefully) in school, I failed to mention that it's also going to give me a direct advantage over other applicants to the program since acceptance is based on a points system. I get extra points for HAVING the certificate (even if I never used it) and I also get extra points for actually working in the healthcare field (based on time worked).

PS - anyone know what the general salary range for a CNA in the Dallas area is?

[onesmallspark]

Originally Posted by wannabenursetx

What is "death care"?

I would guess that would mean cleaning up the body for the funeral home or for the family if they weren't present at the time of death.

I don't know for sure.

[pink2blue1]

Originally Posted by NoCrumping

Change diapers...yes
flush foleys... never
anything needle related.......never ever
insert catheters.... never ever
will a nurse hate you?.....chances are good.... (but thats not specific to you)
be respected?.....absolutely NOT .... actual NURSES arent even there yet
scrubs?..........yes they come in all shapes and sizes....
do cnas get dumped on?...........YES
move around?.....probably, they tend to send you where they need you, but you could work on just one unit, somewhere.,
experience?.......dont worry, plenty of places hire right out of the course, some ltc places even hold their own courses, hiring the participants

alot of physical work, your back will hurt, your feet will ache.
I dunno.... you said you want to work as a nuclear med tech? This is a whole different world, one that I try my best to steer people away from with all my might!!!! How about a phlebotomy tech? A medical assistant in an MD's office? Dont be a CNA.

Wow, sounds like you either were a CNA at one time and hated it, or you had a bad experience with CNA's you worked with. As for Nurses respecting you, they sure do in our hospital. For every 1 nurse that seems to like to dump on us CNA's there are at least 2 handfuls that respect us and the job we do to help them. Given that a shift usually has 6-7 RN's it's hardly ever that I work with the 1 or 2 that seem to dump on us. Infact when the hospital I work at was going to eliminate CNA's altogether, the nurses banded together with their union and fought to keep us! I think being a CNA is very rewarding and I for one and so glad that I did it for 3 years before starting my nursing program. How is what we are doing (Scope of duties aside) really very different than what an RN does? I mean I know the meds, the invasive stuff, but we are still there and we still care and sometimes it is the CNA that gets to spend more time with the patient than the RN because of all the stuff the RN has to do. I for one love being a CNA and I hope that the original poster doesn't turn and run away from just reading this post.

[Ekklesia]

Originally Posted by onesmallspark

Anyway I need to know the down and dirty of being a CNA. I want your best and your worst stories

Let me tell you a little story.

Once upon a time, I was a middle management “big-shot” that jetted to Germany, Japan, and all over the US for a large automobile manufacturer. I liked my job for the most part, and did it well. I was in charge of multi-million dollar projects. I oversaw everything from the basic design of the equipment, to setting it on the floor and getting it up and running. I did this for 15 years, and thought I was “doing my part”. I thought it was a satisfying job for the most part.

I decided to quit for several reasons, 1- I was burnt out, and 2 I had always been intrigued about nursing. So I up and quit and am in my final week of Nursing Assistant training. I’ll be a sophomore in a BSN program this fall.

My very first day in clinicals utterly negated the last 15 years of my life (in a good way).

My first resident was a frail elderly man that needed to be fed. He was on a pureed diet with thickened liquid, and I was REAL nervous because I had never done anything like this before.

When I walked in the room I could tell right away that his bed was soiled, he had slid waaay down in bed, and the air conditioner was blowing directly on his exposed skin—in short; he looked miserable (and a little neglected).

I spent the next two hours doing almost every “skill” that we had just learned in class: occupied bed change, peri-care, catheter-care, feeding, mouth-care (with dentures), shaving, and bed-bath. I found stage two decubitus ulcers on his heels and sacrum and reported it to the charge nurse.

He seemed to be somewhat confused the whole time I was helping him, but when it was all said and done, he used his good hand to grab mine, and just looked at me…

He could not verbalize much at all, but he didn’t need to. His face was utterly beaming. I knew right then and there that I had made the right decision to quit my old job and get into nursing.

Those two hours helping that man were more rewarding than the entire collective 15 years at my previous job, and I am not exaggerating one bit.

The next resident cussed at me the whole time, and tried to hit me LOL. Oh well.

[EDValerieRN]

First of all, congratulations on your decision! It takes a special person to work in healthcare, especially as a CNA.
You said in your post that you were especially interested in pediatrics. Before and during nursing school, I worked as a CNA on a pediatric/women's services floor. I loved it.

As a CNA, you are often the one with the most contact with the patient. You are in the rooms (usually) hourly, and because of this, you are usually the very first person to notice a change in the patient's status. You directly report to the RN (or LVN) for your patient. This is really important in children, because once they begin to "crash," they need quick intervention. I was often the one who first saw the crash and rallied the troops.

I checked vital signs on kids, did some charting (intake and output, vitals, baths, etc). I spent a lot of time making moms and dads more comfortable, and taking care of their children when they needed to step out and have a break. I bottle fed kids, changed diapers (much easier on kids than adults =), and colored with my patients. I gave them wagon rides, and comforted them after a painful treatment.

Some of the bad things I found when I worked with kids were hard to handle. Often in the pediatric population, you see child abuse (sexual, physical, and verbal). It's really hard not to grow too attached to these children, or to kick their mom around a little for not taking care of her child (fathers too). You also have to worry about not only the child, but making mom and dad (and the rest of the family) comfortable and informed. When a baby is in the hospital, mom and dad often turn into different people because of their fear, and can become quite hard to handle at times.

I loved taking care of children as a CNA, and it was invaluable when it came to getting my BSN. Since I had worked in the field for so long, I had a big advantage when clinical time came. Plus I had nearly stalked all the nurses in my spare time, and tried to absorb everything they did so I could learn what was good and bad for my patients. The longer I worked there, the more nurses trusted me and tried to explain their rationale, labs, treatments, and meds. They helped me with NS homework, and were wonderful.

I worked in OK, so practice issues may be different. I was able to discontinue IVs and Foley Catheters, teach and assist in ambulation, crutch walking, and wheelchair techniques, check blood sugars by finger stick, assist patients with activities of daily living (bathing, eating, grooming), and do basic life support in code situations. As nursing school progressed I was able to do more (as an extern).

I will advise you to get into a hospital with a good orientation program (minimum 6 weeks for CNA) and one that will work with you and your school schedule. Talk to some of the people when you take a tour of the hospital, and see how they like it. Again, good luck! PM me if you have any other questions, or anything I could help you with. I learned more in my years as a CNA than I ever did in nursing school. You just can't teach some of that stuff with a book.