Any CNA's out there want to answer a few questions?

havehope · Jul 13, 2012

I live in VA, have been a CNA less than 6 months, I graduated high school June 9th of this year and started a CNA job June 13th, I make $8.50, I work in a LTC facility but the particular unit is a "rehab" unit, 12 hr days, thankfully schooling was free, I plan to continue education to at least BSN hopefully Master's or Doctorate, death I have thankfully never experienced yet, the funniest...i can't think of anything right now. I hope I answered all of your questions :)

AlexCNA · Jul 14, 2012

I live in Texas and I've been a CNA for 5 years. I was guaranteed a job when I signed up for the class. How much I worked and when were not guaranteed, however I ended up working 16 hour shifts on weekends (which is what I wanted) before the class even ended. I make $8.00/hr (the same as all other CNAs where I work). I now work 10pm-6am Mon-Thurs at LTC. I didn't pay anything for the classes I just paid the testing fee to the state which was about $70 at the time. I haven't decided if I will apply to a LVN program or another program when I reenter school. We don't have a whole lot of funny things on our shift, but the funniest I guess would be when we got a new resident who was in a coma and expected to die within a day or 2. He had been in the coma for 3 days already. At 5:30 the next morning the mans first routine blood sugar check came around. The nurse checked it and found that it was in the low 40s. She came out of his room yelling for me to tell her what to do. (She's not the sharpest tool in the shed.) I told her to get the IM glycogen out of the ER kit and call the doctor for an order (He didn't have an order for it and we don't have standing orders there.) She did, and I read off to her and the doctor the suggested dosage and how to get it. He ordered it and she gave it. 15 minutes later the man was up and walking. Scared the crap out of us. We still don't know how he was able to stay in the hospital for 3 days without having his blood sugar checked. He ended up living for several months in fair condition.

As for how I deal with death it's pretty easy for me. I prefer to do post mortum care whenever I am there and there is a death. Most of the people I work with don't like to be alone with them so it works out well. It gives you time to say goodbye and prepare them for their family to see them. We never leave a person alone after they have died so we spend a good 20 minutes in there with them most of the time.

Cali_Nurse_209 · Jul 14, 2012

I live in California and have been a CNA since 2008 so 4 years. It took me two months to find a job. I started working in an assisted living facility, moved on to LTC, now I work in a psych facility. I work 8 hours shifts and used to work the AM shift now I work the Noc shift. Death doesn't bother me and I have done post mortem care before. I attend a university and fees cost about $3500 a semester not counting the supplies I have to get. I receive Pell grants, Cal grants, and took out a loan just in case for unexpected expenses. I'm also applying for more scholarships. I will be starting the BSN program next month. I'd say the funniest thing that I can really remember happened when I worked in LTC. We had a gentleman who spoke Spanish. I took Spanish in high school so I tried communicating with him in Spanish as best as I could and he would listen. I would have the hardest time telling him things but he would eventually figure out what I was trying to tell him. This went on everytime I would take care of him for about a week. Then one day as I'm taking care of him he tells me in English, "Young lady I do know how to speak English," and he just started laughing at me and all I could do was laugh too.

Alliedhealth · Jul 15, 2012

I live in NY work for an agency placed in hospital for 8.5 week days 9 weekends. I finished school last sept took the test in oct failed the physical part, took it over in Jan passed. Class cost close to $800. I knew the agency was hiring since before I took the first test. After I pass I didn't apply until may of this year then started working. I get to make my schedule once a month but if I need a day off I can get it. Shift are 7.5 hrs so if u want you can work doubles everyday. The funniest thing that ever happened was a combative, non compliant pt. He kept screaming and screaming calling us all the names in the book. So when he kept trying to get out the bed we just kept putting his legs back in the bed so he said we we're gangsters like mobsters. Another one was in the Er. We sober drunk in the Er. So this guy was so wasted he could not walk everytime he got up a swarm of ppl would go over to him. After an hr of calmness he asks me do I think he can go to the bathroom without my swat team coming. I haven't delt with death at work while I was on duty.

nguyency77, CNA · Jul 15, 2012

what state do you live in?

i live in nm.

how long have you been a cna?

1 year

how long did it take you to find your first job?

a month.

how much do you make an hour?

$12.75

what is your shift? 8 hr, 12hr, days, nights?

8 hr evenings, prn.

do you work in a hospital, home health, ltc or other?

snf, rehab, and ltc.

how much did you pay for your schooling?

about $600.

do you plan to continue your education..lvn, rn, bsn?

yes, bsn. i'm applying in 2 weeks.

whats the funniest thing that has ever happened on your shift?

i don't remember; my best friend at work moved to germany to study nursing because her husband is in the air force.

how do you deal with death?

in general i grieve, depending on who it is. if it's someone close to me, i think about it for a long time. if it's a friend's acquaintance or relative i try to reach out and lend a hand with whatever they need.

if it's a resident i'm close to, it's quite difficult to get over it. i had one lady who was alive, kickin', and swearing like a sailor one day and the next had a heart attack in her sleep. it made me feel happy that i was her favorite aide of all time, that i made her time on earth a little more enjoyable. yet it was quite sad to know that she would never roll up speeding down the halls in her wheelchair, and demand i open the door to the patio and "come have a smoke with me, darling" or tell me all about her new boyfriend who lived down a different hall ever again.

alovelymother · Jul 15, 2012

What state do you live in? AZ

How long have you been a CNA? 5 years

How long did it take you to find your first job? 1 month

How much do you make? $21.74 but I work in the role of OBST

What is your shift? 8 hr, 12hr, days, nights? 12 hrs nights

Do you work in a hospital, home health, LTC or other? Hospital

How much did you pay for your schooling?

Do you plan to continue your education..LVN, RN, BSN? RN

Whats the funnist thing that has ever happened on your shift? The physician sleep room is across the hall from the nurses station. It was probably 2am and all of a sudden we here a huge crash and screaming then laughter coming from there. Turns out one of the OBs had snuck his wife in and they broke the bed. She hasn't come to visit since and he may never live it down.

How do you deal with death? Its always a fetal demise, miscarriage or still birth. As cold as it may sound I think I've learned to distance myself. There are occasionally times when the situation overcomes my emotions and I need to cry but I'm only human.

IEDave, ASN, CNA, LVN · Jul 15, 2012

What state do you live in?

California; or Insanity. Works out about the same.

How long have you been a CNA?

Just about 4 months.

How long did it take you to find your first job?

About 6 weeks, although I had a job offer in 4 days after completing my training.

How much do you make?

$9.00/hr.

What is your shift? 8 hr, 12hr, days, nights?

Curently on call - I typically do patient escort runs (days) when my school schedule allows.

Do you work in a hospital, home health, LTC or other?

LTC.

How much did you pay for your schooling?

$1,900.00

Do you plan to continue your education..LVN, RN, BSN?

Yup - currently working on prereqs for LVN, but ultimately want to get an NP of some sort. Really looking forward to the day when I can go work hospice.

Whats the funnist thing that has ever happened on your shift?

Hmm - getting chewed out by one of the "senior" CNA's, who turned around, stormed away from me, stepped in some poop on the floor and ended up on her butt. Had to compose myself before assisting her to her feet.

How do you deal with death?

By not dying. :thankya:

Seriously - that one concept had me really rattled when I first started, but after a few deaths it became obvious that it's really a non-issue. You find a resident not breathing & get ahold of the LVN, who get ahold of the RN, who assess the situation & determine whether they're dead or not. Haven't run into a situation where resuscitation was really an option yet - if I had, I'd start ventilation & compressions stat, hit the call light & get someone to get me a nurse. Majority of my peeps are DNR anyway, so CPR is a no-no for them.

After that - post-mortem care, straight out of the book. Really, it's like doing care on an unconscious resident; clean 'em up, make 'em look pretty (as much as you can), use bedsheets as a shroud & wait for the funeral home/hospice folks to come and pick 'em up. Assist with transfer into the bag & make sure the body is properly ID'd - then, it's out of your hands for the most part. Gather up & document all their personal belongings, then hand 'em over to the next of kin/hospice/whoever. Housekeeping cleans the room - we make the bed & get everything tidy for the next patient.

Emotionally - really, it tends to run the gamut. Some patients really get to you, but most don't. It's usually something of a bittersweet moment for me - I feel bad because I won't be able to spend time with them anymore, but I'm usually happy for them because they're usually in such bad shape that when the end comes it's something of a relief for them.

Thanks for the info guys (:

You're welcome! :)

----- Dave

pnkgirl25 · Jul 16, 2012

Whats the funnist thing that has ever happened on your shift?
Hmm - getting chewed out by one of the "senior" CNA's, who turned around, stormed away from me, stepped in some poop on the floor and ended up on her butt. Had to compose myself before assisting her to her feet.

How on earth did you keep it together and not laugh your butt off? lol

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Jul 16, 2012

What state do you live in? California

How long have you been a CNA? 7 months

How long did it take you to find your first job? Less than 1 month to find 1 full time and 2 on call jobs!

How much do you make? The full time job was in a SNF paid $10 to start with $11 to follow after review period. The on-call job in the hospital is the one I kept and it paid $9 to start and after 6 months, I am up to $10. (-: The on call job I didn't take was $12/hr in a SNF.

What is your shift? 8 hr, 12hr, days, nights? I work through a registry that sends me to a hospital. I work any shift: AM, PM, Noc or 12's. I work mostly nocs while school is in session.

Do you work in a hospital, home health, LTC or other? Hospital

How much did you pay for your schooling? $900

Do you plan to continue your education..LVN, RN, BSN? I was a prenursing student prior to becoming a CNA working toward completing the prereqs to get into a BSN program. I am still on that path and proud to say I completed 11 units with all A's while working part time as a CNA last semester. 1 more semester and I can apply to nursing school!

Whats the funnist thing that has ever happened on your sift? Because I work with confused and agitated patients as a sitter CNA, I see lots of crazy stuff. One night, a very strong patient spit her pills into the air and they landed in the RN's bra. Because the pill was a controlled substance, we had to fish around for the pills. After that, the nurse wore a face shield while giving meds. The RN kept offering me a drink after that as compensation for having to deal with the patient. That whole night was really funny. The same patient kicked me in the stomach and I almost wanted to quit my job. I'm much more resilient now.

How do you deal with death? Most of the time, I find myself more fascinated than repulsed. My ideas on death and quality of life have changed since working in the health care field. My patients aren't young and vital, they are very sick. Once I had a peds patient who'd tried to commit suicide and I nearly broke down over that, but usually, I'm good at holding my feelings in and not feeling anything.

IEDave, ASN, CNA, LVN · Jul 16, 2012

How on earth did you keep it together and not laugh your butt off? lol

It wasn't easy.

For her, the worst part was that the whole exchange occurred in the main hallway, and several people witnessed both the tirade and the, um, "landing", shall we say. Thankfully the poop on the floor wasn't on a part of the run I was assigned to, 'cause she was gunning for me. That episode got some of the heat off of me, and she's had to tone it down quite a bit due to being the day shift laughingstock.

And, yeah - after she was back on her feet and away from the area I cleaned up the feces - both an infection control hazard and a traction control hazard. Can't be too careful...

----- Dave

IdianaCNA1993 · Jul 16, 2012

What state do you live in? IndianaHow long have you been a CNA? 7-8 monthsHow long did it take you to find your first job? 5 months all the postions I wanted required a year of experienceHow much do you make?starting out I made 10.25 now I make 10.75 What is your shift? 8 hr, 12hr, days, nights?12 hour nights it has its perks but it mostly less help than on days Do you work in a hospital, home health, LTC or other?a little of LTC and vent patients and dyalisas unit it ran like a hospital almost so most of the nurses who come from a hospital say. How much did you pay for your schooling?$890 Do you plan to continue your education..LVN, RN, BSN?some day but right now its not for me. Whats the funnist thing that has ever happened on your sift?one of the quadropleagics looked at the male RT and said boy your hot Im good at giving bjs and she started sucking on her straw like she was you know to his you know. and said take off your shirt! How do you deal with death?well it happens most of the peope I work around are people that are on there last legs of there life journey so some get there and with in a month or two just die one women got admited and then died 45 minutes later then later that night I played a joke on the nurse and wrote her a message and said the state called and wanted to know why one of your new admitts died with in an hour of getting here and one of the state boys asked for your number so I gave it to him. I accidently left a few little pink slips of paper in my pocket she came down my hall was like ok whose playing jokes on me? my nurse said what do you mean? (she was in on it too) I walked out of the RT office and my nurse goes well look at whose got the pink papers in his pocked and I said oh SH!t and ran in the the bathtub room and through them all out. the other nurse was like good going you scared the sh!t out of me! (with a smile on her face)