Nursing Student HATES Nursing Assistant Job

[PeachyERNurse]

Before I started nursing school I was really freaked out because I've never worked in a hospital and I wasn't sure what to expect when we started clinicals. So, I decided to get a job as a PCT on a med-surg ortho floor (also known as CNA or nursing assistant) to gain some experience. Well, I HATE my job. The nurses treat me like crap (I don't even bother telling some of them I'm a nursing student because most of them sterotype PCT's as being stupid and uneducated), and the unit secretary is a pain in my a$$. She's always following me around telling me to go do this and that. She'll even call me (on the intercom thingy) while I'm in a patient's room to tell me to go do something else when she can clearly see that I'm busy. I hate doing Q4 vitals on 15-20 patients, I hate passing 15-20 trays, I hate being called every 5 seconds to "go do this, or go do that", I hate everything about nursing that I've experience thus far. Thing is, I only work once a week, and each week I find myself becoming physically ill at the thought of having to endure 8 hours of their crap. I'm starting to wonder, if I can't even hadle being a PCT, how the heck am I gonna be able to handle being a nurse? Sorry for the long rant. I just needed to vent.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

As a fellow nursing student/NA, may I reccommend finding another job on another floor/hospital. The majority of the nurses on my cardio floor are great, and my unit director is very accomidating to the student nurse's school schedules. There are plenty of aide jobs out there. If you want to give it another shot you don't have to settle for what you've got.

[Esther2007]

This post is exactly how I am feeling rightnow. I have been working as a student nurse tech for about 5 months, and I hate every second of it. So far, I have done one catheter. I never get a chance to observe the RNs, because I get too many patients (7, 10) depends on the shift. I have to do vitals signs on 15-20 patients and I keep getting calls when I am in a room. Last Wednesday I worked, I did not even get a break. After the Summer, I will quit for sure. There is no way, I am going to keep doing CNA work, hurting my back for $12 per hour. I want to save my back for when I graduate and become and RN. I almost feel like I am going backwards, instead of forward.

[CritterLover, BSN, RN]

you actually mentioned everything i hated about being a pct.

i just hated how it seemed to be so "assembly line."

vs on 32 patients. trays to 32 patients. bath to 16 patients. ambulate 10 patients. more trays to 32 patients. another 10 baths. finger sticks to 10 patients. empty foleys on 20 patients. total i/os on 32 patients. yuck.

if it is the tasks that you dislike, then maybe nursing isn't for you. but i doubt that is the case. for me, it wasn't the tasks themselves i disliked, but more the assembly-line mentality i had to have.

i actually enjoyed being a unit secretary much more. i got to see what orders went with what dx, and i got to read the charts. (i also learned how to read doctors' handwriting ).

i did the pct thing my first year in nursing school; the last 1 1/2 years i worked as a unit secretary. maybe you'd like that better. either job really does give you very valuable experience, and though you may be miserable now, it will pay off in the future.

it does sound as though a job change is due, though. either to a different role, or at least a different unit (or maybe even just a different shift). even though i really didn't like being a pct, i worked with some great nurses, and it made things tolerable. they taught me quite a bit, things that i still use today, wisdom that i still thank them for.

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

PCT- Patient Crybaby Treaters......I work on a ortho floor, and it amazes me how many post knees/hips will refuse to do even the simpleist tasks for themselves....feed/drink/turn off the tv (with remotes)....etc.

I usually have a pretty good case load 10-12/ don't have to pass trays unless needing setup or isolation or feeders/ nurses are mostly understanding when they ask us do to things.....

I just always think to myself that it's good OTJ training for how to deal with difficult dans....although, the woman who wouldn't leave while I was trying to bathe, change the sedated guy on a vent got a little huffy when I involved the RN....Always try to start the shift with a smile, but it goes out by 12/1....

PCTs get the short end of the stick...I will always treat the ones I have when I'm an RN, with nothing but respect.....

[Lisa CCU RN, RN]

Wow. Why do you have to pass trays to the patients? In every hopsital I've been in dietary does that.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Wow. Why do you have to pass trays to the patients? In every hopsital I've been in dietary does that.

Really? Dietary delivers the trays to the unit, we pass the trays.

[jill48, ASN, RN]

I don't think you NEED to become a CNA before becoming a nurse; although alot of nurses recommend it. Being a nurse is alot different than being a CNA. If I was a CNA first, I probably never would have become a nurse.

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

It got me used to hands on and made me more confident with the patients. It was horribly busy and demanding. I enjoyed the one-on-one with patients while I was taking their vitals, passing their meals and performing ADLs without having to worry about critical thinking.

There's a day in every new grads life when you think "gee I wish I was a CNA without all this responsiblity". LOL

ITA. I learned 99% of all my nursing skills from being a PCT. So when I went into the ICU, I wasn't overwhelmed with learning the skills and theory.

Also, like Tweety said, sometimes I long for the days when I was a tech and didn't have to worry about every little thing! Being a PCT was a walk in the park compared to nursing.

What sounds like the problem is that this is a horrible unit to be on! Look around for greener pastures...Cardiac floors are nice.

[trepinCT]

I think all prospective and current nursing students should work as a CNA. I worked as a CNA for 16 years before deciding to become a nurse and I will always remember where I came from and how difficult it can be to be 1 CNA with 20 patients and the demands of 4 RNs!!! I definitely learned to prioritize(and to rearrange my priorities as new situations arose) I learned to communicate with the nurses and I know that I will be aware of the fact that the CNA is not my own personal assistant and that there are other members of the team who need her for patient care, errands, ordering/stocking..etc..I will know that when things get hectic and busy, it is NOT above me to pitch in and pass meal trays, empty a garbage, make a bed or get my own supplies...we are all a team and should work together as a team...so, being a CNA, although completely different from nursing duties, is something I recommend..gives us a better appreciation for the work they do.

[jjjoy, LPN]

I don't think you NEED to become a CNA before becoming a nurse; although alot of nurses recommend it. Being a nurse is alot different than being a CNA. If I was a CNA first, I probably never would have become a nurse.

I'm curious what kind of nursing you do then? Is it med-surg or the like? Or is it ICU or something else? Basically, I'm curious if there's anyone who hated med-surg CNA work but found being a nurse on a similar unit that much better. Regardless, the workload and work environment make a great difference in one's experience as either a CNA or a nurse, and I wonder how much that effects one's attitude towards the different kinds of work.

[krazy_coconuts]

AMEN trepinCT!!

[Lisa CCU RN, RN]

Really? Dietary delivers the trays to the unit, we pass the trays.

Yes, they bring the cart up and deliver the trays to each room and then come back and pick it up later, though sometimes we do take the tray out of the room if the patient is still eating during the time dietary comes back up to get trays.