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

Jessicainsantafe · Jul 16, 2012

What state do you live in? New Mexico

How long have you been a CNA? Certified as of 7/14/12

How long did it take you to find your first job? A week. I am employed by a home-health agency as a HHA, but I am currently volunteering and looking actively for alternate employment.

How much do you make?10.50 to 11.50 an hour depending on the location of the client.

What is your shift? 8 hr, 12hr, days, nights? Everything but overnights.

Do you work in a hospital, home health, LTC or other? Home health. For now.

How much did you pay for your schooling? Thank God for the Pell Grant and scholarships which pay for my classes....but I paid for my own CNA testing which was $100.

Do you plan to continue your education..LVN, RN, BSN? I hope to be an RN by 2014. I still have lots of Biology and Math to do.

Whats the funnist thing that has ever happened on your shift? In clinicals (at an LTC), I was never assigned anyone funny. I never saw anything funny, either. My assignments were the 'tough' ones because my instructor felt I would get the most experience....and she was right!

How do you deal with death? My 3rd clinical involved a hard-of-hearing resident who was just a pain....no one could get her to bathe, eat with the other residents, go outdoors, the list went on and on. Not only did I get her to take a shower and wash her beautful silver hair, I got her to go outside in her wheelchair to hear the birds and feel the sunshine on her face....and eat with the other residents in the dining room! The charge nurse, the volunteers and other residents were amazed....and on my way back to the breakroom at the end of our clinical shift, I go over to this resident and give her a kiss on the top of her head and say "I'll see you next week, sweetheart"....she grabs my arm and says, "I love you"....Wow!

She died the next night.

I cried in class when our instructor told us. I still cry inside when I remember that wonderful woman who loved me for just being with her on the last day of her life.

mstearns09 · Jul 17, 2012

What state do you live in?

--Kansas.

How long have you been a CNA?

--A year.

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

--3 weeks. I work at the same location I did my clinicals. They were impressed enough with my abilities during clinicals that they decided to hire me.

How much do you make?

--$9.50 an hour.

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

--8 hours, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. or sometimes later.

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

--LTC.

How much did you pay for your schooling?

--$450. The facility paid me back for it.

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

--I'm 3 credits short of what I need to apply for the LPN program and I'll start working on those this fall.

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

--A few incidents stand out to me and they both involve the same resident. He was very feisty gentleman who fought to keep every bit of his independence and often would have to be an one-to-one and he was still with it enough that he would make inappropriate comments to aides on a regular basis. One evening, I went into the breakroom to grab a quick drink between call lights and he was sitting in there with another aide. He'd already eaten 2 plates of food at dinner time and was eating his 3rd. I said something to the effect of, "Wow, you're eating again?" He said he'd share with me...for a price and gave me a $@#!-eating grin. A couple weeks after that, we finally convinced him that it would be a good idea for him to lie down and sleep in his bed. He agreed but wanted me to lie down in the bed with him. :nono: He asked me to put Baza on his backside one day while I was toileting him and he reached up on the shelf and grabbed a tube of Fix-o-Dent. I told him that he didn't want me using that because I'd glue his butt cheeks together. He told that would be alright. :lol2: He would often ask to talk to his brother who was dead so finally one night, the nurses tricked him. They gave him a spare pager and sat him on the other side of the nurses' station and the nurse sat on the opposite side and pretended to be his brother on the phone. He went along with it and it calmed him down. I know some people would disagree with what they did, but he was at the point that he was so confused most of the time that it actually made him behave better.

How do you deal with death?

--It gets...I don't want to say easier, but in a way it does...over time. I mourn the loss and try to carry on as best as I can. I have only found one resident deceased but it happened to be a lady who reminded me so much of my paternal grandmother that I took it harder than any other death in our facility.

funtimes · Jul 18, 2012

How long have you been a CNA? almost 3 years

How long did it take you to find your first job? 2 weeks

How much do you make? 14 an hour with shift differential

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

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

How much did you pay for your schooling? 1,000 bucks

Do you plan to continue your education..LVN, RN, BSN? Going to school, but not for Nursing

Whats the funnist thing that has ever happened on your sift? Too many to remember or choose THE funniest. Ill just pick one though. In EMT school I saw a teenage patient come into the ER complaining of an episode of numbness in their arm and hand. They explained that they had just woken up and their arm was tingling for a while. The triage Nurse asked if it was still tingling now, they said no. She asked if they had been sleeping on that arm, they said yes...

How do you deal with death? In a hospital its not like I see patients die every shift, Many people go home or to a hospice facility to die, or to a LTC facility when they are nearing the end. Some trauma deaths and suicides Ive seen as an EMT have stuck in my mind for a while, and as a CNA I did take care of a girl in the end stages of cystic fibrosis and that one still bothers me. I have hobbies to take my mind off of work, but death is a part of life....unfortunately its the last part.

Abigail612 · Jul 18, 2012

What state do you live in? ME

How long have you been a CNA? 4+ years

How long did it take you to find your first job? Two weeks befor I finished my classes.

How much do you make? $10.00

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

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

How much did you pay for your schooling? $900

Do you plan to continue your education..LVN, RN, BSN? About to enter into my junior year for BSN

Whats the funnist thing that has ever happened on your sift? Oh gosh how do I just pick one, I could seriously write a book! One of the funniest things was one sunday after noon when we had a church service being held in the dinning room one of the ladies (she had dementia) started singing a song about masterbation, she wouldn't stop singing it and NOBODY could get her out of the dinning room so for the whole half hour of the church service the lady sat in the back singing her little song! I just about died from laughter!

How do you deal with death? For the most part because I work in LTC many of the deaths I feel at peace about because their deaths are usually long and hard not only on them but also their families.

Abigail612 · Jul 18, 2012

Whats the funnist thing that has ever happened on your sift? Too many to remember or choose THE funniest. Ill just pick one though. In EMT school I saw a teenage patient come into the ER complaining of an episode of numbness in their arm and hand. They explained that they had just woken up and their arm was tingling for a while. The triage Nurse asked if it was still tingling now, they said no. She asked if they had been sleeping on that arm, they said yes...
*hand to forehead*

Sconnie_Nurse · Jul 18, 2012

what state do you live in?

wisconsin

how long have you been a cna?

i have been a cna since 2008.

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

not very long at all.

how much do you make?

about $15 an hour.

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

my shift is 8 hours on the pm shift which is from 3 to 11.

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

i work at a nursing home.

how much did you pay for your schooling?

when i attended the cna class, it was about $350. not counting the state certification test. but when i received my first job they reimbursed me for my class and state certification test!

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

i just got accepted into nursing school for the fall semester =).

whats the funnist thing that has ever happened on your sift?

i work with the elderly. there has been countless things that have happened on my shift!

how do you deal with death?

it used to be hard for me. especially since a lot of the people i take care of are at the facility for years. you get to know the person individually and think of them as family. but you get used to it the more you deal with it.

nicogonz, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2012

[color=#003266]nguyency77, [color=#003266]jessicainsantafe, i also live in nm. i'm about to take my cna exam can you recommend any facilities? i need prn while in nursing school.

nursey909 · May 20, 2014

Southern California, 1month with seven years of patient care experience, took 2weeks, am 6am/230pm, 1800program cost, make $11, snf, im currently studying and preparing to take my nclexpn, I deal with death by knowing they are in Better place without pain

verene, MSN · May 20, 2014

What state do you live in?

Washington

How long have you been a CNA?

5 months

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

Less than a week. I got a call back the day after I applied on the first application I sent out.

How much do you make?

Starting rate is $11/hour, to raise after 6 months work and additional training.

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

8 hours, evening (3-11pm), 3 days a week.

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

Assisted Living (Community Mental Health boarding home).

How much did you pay for your schooling?

$645

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

Yes I'm in it for the long haul. I'd like to get my MSN and work as an NP one day.

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

Lots of funny things happen all the time... trying hard to think of the best one. Mostly it's little random actions between residents or between residents and staff that aren't that funny out of context but in the moment are pretty silly.

How do you deal with death?

I haven't dealt with death in my job. I do volunteer with a local hospice and work with the actively dying on a regular basis. I've done some postmortem care there as well. I guess it doesn't bother me since it is something I choose to do. I was a little freaked the first time there was a death, but that was also my first day of orientation... I was a little overwhelmed anyhow. The staff I work with though is very professional, and death is not a crisis in this situation. The nurse pronounces death, the doctor, family, and funeral home are notified. The tech helps to prepare the body for family viewing and funeral home pick up, and as a volunteer I assist the tech in preparing the body, gather together a serenity quilt for the bed and candle for the window, and assist the staff and family in whatever is needed.

Missingyou, CNA · May 20, 2014

What state do you live in? Connecticut

How long have you been a CNA? 20 years

How long did it take you to find your first job? Don't remember, but it didn't take long!

How much do you make? Currently $14. hour, with yrs of experience.

What is your shift? 8 hr, 12hr, days, nights? 2nd shift, 8 hours.

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

How much did you pay for your schooling? $1500. but I was reimbursed by the state once I started working in LTC.

Do you plan to continue your education..LVN, RN, BSN? Nope. No desire to.

Whats the funnist thing that has ever happened on your sift? Some of the silly things residents say. Their wisdom amazes me. :)

How do you deal with death? I remember it is a part of life. It happens, and I accept that I can not change or control it.

caringtech · May 21, 2014

What state do you live in? TN

How long have you been a CNA? 2 years

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

I was hired of right of my training class before I was certified

How much do you make? $11.50 I work nights

What is your shift? 8 hr, 12hr, days, nights? 12 hours and I hate it. The nights can drag by

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

How much did you pay for your schooling? Nothing it was free. I went through a training class at a local LTC. Once hired they also pay for my certification test. I left the nursing home shorting after I got my certification.

Do you plan to continue your education..LVN, RN, BSN? I don't know... Thinking about LPN because it's only a year.

Whats the funnist thing that has ever happened on your sift? A resident said it middle of the night while I was changing her brief "Your pushing on my ribs and then said " Your doing a great job". It was too funny

How do you deal with death? I haven't had anyone on my assignment die during my shift. I think it would be hard once you get close to a patient. I still remember the first death of resident. I was so shocked. I don't think I will ever forget that little lady . I makes you remember not take one day for granted.

4ivyMN · May 21, 2014

Hi! From MN here $14/hr.assisted living.but my previous job was from home care I take home atleast $1200 per pay check (every two weeks) after insurance&taxes.but it requires a lot of travel and traveling in winter sucks big time.so I decided to transfer to assisted living.night shift.

Been a cna for 5yrs.

Less than$200 getting my certificate as I challenge the cna exam.

I have bsn rn in te Philippines Bsn equivalent here but I flailed nclex 2x so I am sill trying to take again.

Funniest moment when my pt (Parkinson's) want to get up to wanting to shovel the snow for me.

He also think I am a kid so he want to talk to my mother.lol