CNA Average Hourly Pay/Salary

Ash13 · Jan 26, 2012

I'm not very familiar with the pay in the Louisville area; I live in the Lexington area. But, I can give you a little insight from my experience. It really depends on the facility, and after you gain experience it will start to go up. My first job as a CNA was 10 years ago, I worked for a nursing home and was paid 7.50/ hr (then, that was more than min. wage). I only stayed there for a year. The next job was 7 years ago at a more upscale retirement community. With my prior year of experience, I made 10.00/hr. I thought I would rather work in a hospital, so I found a job at a hospital and started @ 9.34/hr. That was in 2006 and with 2 years of experience. I stayed there for four years and left making 11.25/hr. I took a couple years off, and now I am at another hospital making 13.04 based on 6 years combined experience.

So, it took me a while to make as much as I do now. But, it is my understanding that most places today offer around 10-12.00/hr with little to no experience. Again, this is in the Lexington area. Louisville may pay a little more. I know RNs are paid slightly more there.

Hope this helps some.

MVitiello · Jan 26, 2012

Thank you for all the great information! Do you enjoy being a CNA? When did you enjoy it more; working at a nursing home, upscale nursing home, or in a hospital? Ok so I have an odd question, last night my dog got really sick and was vomiting everywhere and so I ended up cleaning it all up and while I was doing this I was gagging and making gagging noises which made me think "Is it inappropriate to gag when cleaning up body fluids around a patient?" How are you supposed to get around that? I mean its not like your trying to make a patient feel uncomfortable because your gagging due to cleaning up their body fluids. I hope that question came out ok and made sense. What do you do? Body fluids don't bother me but I still gag.

What would you say is the worst and the best part about being a CNA?

Ash13 · Jan 26, 2012

Well... I personally hated working at the nursing home; it was very poorly managed. It was not unusual to be assigned to 20+ patients per day. With that said, there are definitely some nicer LTC centers out there. For instance, the upscale nursing home was better because they had more staff. The first hospital I worked for was wasn't acute, it was rehab. That has so far been my best experience. Although those patients needed help, they were there to get better (not die). I just started my new job last week and i really am nervous. Last week, I only went through the orientation process. My first day on the floor is tomorrow, and I will be on a med/surg/telemetry unit. I had to go through sort of an ekg training for this job. I am nervous because I am going to be responsible for watching the monitors and notifying the nurse if something is abnormal (on top of the other usual CNA type of responsibilities).

As far as the gagging- do your best not to. If it can't be helped, do your best to do it in a way that isn't so obvious. I understand your concern... that was what worried me the most about starting the job as a cna to begin with. As most things do, it gets easier with time. Really. I went through my CNA training at a nursing home, they paid for it all. My instructor taught us that if at first we couldn't stomach it, to rub cherry flavored carmex or lip gloss under our nose. I never tried it.

The worst part about being a cna is not really the gross stuff that comes along with the job, like I thought in the beginning. It is mainly that can be back- breaking labor most of the time. The other thing is that there are times when you may work with certain nurses that will try to make you feel bad about yourself.

The best part about being a CNA for me, is just getting my foot in the door and gaining experience. I became a cna because I wanted to be a nurse. But, 3 kids later... I never found the time. Now, I am in school and I have applied to 2 different nursing schools. Many schools require you to be a cna before starting, others don't. But, I have been at work while students would come in for their clinical rotation and act like they were just smacked in the face. I have literally heard girls talk about dropping out of nursing school because they weren't expecting it to be that way. So, I think being a cna is a great way to get your feet wet.

Sorry to run on and on...

Brannray · Jul 11, 2012

I have been at work while students would come in for their clinical rotation and act like they were just smacked in the face. I have literally heard girls talk about dropping out of nursing school because they weren't expecting it to be that way. So, I think being a cna is a great way to get your feet wet.

I couldn't agree more!! I had girls in my CNA class change their minds after clinical's started.... One in particular said *right after the first day of them* that there was NO way she was going to be a nurse after that! All I realized was I don't want to work in LTC! And that I def wanted to go on to get my RN! LOL! =)

allnurses Guide · Jul 14, 2012

The 10-12 dollars an hour sounds about right, for most places.

You will generally make more in the nursing home, than in the hospital.