Bad experience as CNA :(

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I am currently a student who wants to become a nurse so badly. I'm doing a few more prereqs for an accelerated BSN program since I already have a bachelor's degree. I did a CNA class and started working at a nursing home a few months ago, as my first CNA job.... it was honestly too much and I've just given my two weeks notice. I'm wondering if anyone has had the same experience? It's got me freaking worried that I won't like being a nurse :dead:

Things I do not like about it:

  • I was given 3 days of training and then thrown on the floor left to my own devices
  • I'm assigned way too many patients at once (10-15), which means I don't have enough time to devote the level of care I want to give each of them
  • With that many patients, call lights are never ending, and I never even have time for a break let alone to catch my breath
  • It's extremely physical - lifting/turning patients who are contracted or disabled, and many of them were overweight - it feels like back breaking work
  • Being screamed at and sworn at by combative patients and having to deal with it 100% on my own as a new CNA... I can handle it but I wish the nurse or on of the admins would follow up and talk to the patient

Things I do like about it:

  • I really enjoy connecting with patients and encouraging them to be as independent as possible as part of their therapy (on the short-term rehab wing of course not long term wing, and seeing them make great personal accomplishments as the weeks go by. I really like connecting with their families/visitors too
  • Love feeling like I'm making a difference in people's lives
  • I've gotten so many compliments from the more alert/oriented patients saying that they really trust me and that I work hard and do a good job, they are super sweet and tell me I'm going to be a great nurse, which of course melts my heart

I don't mind the dirty work that comes with the job such as bathroom duties and cleaning patients bottoms. I feel comfortable touching patients and interacting with them, and I feel like despite the craziness, I've got a good bedside manner. I just think that LTC might not be for me. Any suggestions?????

Someday when you're feeling like you must be nuts to want to be a nurse, check out the Specialties tab at the top of the page and cruise around. You'll have far, far more doors open for you when you have your BSN than when you're a CNA.

Hang in. Many of us have been there (I sure have), and it doesn't go on like this forever, even if you adore bedside care and stay in it for decades, if you have the smarts to succeed ... and by the looks of your writing, you're already up on a lot of your peers.

Stay in touch! Good luck!

Thank you GrnTea!!! This was so nice to hear. I will definitely check out the specialties tab!! I can't wait to get my nursing degree. Thank you for the wonderful compliment and for sharing your positivity with me!! I will definitely keep in touch :) I put my two weeks in not long after I made this post, and I've been applying to hospital jobs like crazy. I've heard back from one so far and did a phone interview, and they said they'd call me back this week to schedule an in-person interview after the holiday weekend is over! Fingers crossed :laugh:

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Being a CNA in a NH was more difficult for me than being a floor nurse at the hospital. It was brutal. I experienced everything that you described from the three says orientating to the patient load (we had 30 but two CNA's worked together).

I would suggest you apply at hospitals as a PCT. You learn so much more. It is still hard work but much more of a team environment and will help you when it comes to getting a job as a nurse. I had no idea at 18 years old that I could have worked as a CNA in a hospital and I wish I had.

Thank you Karou!!! It does feel brutal :/ I've been applying to a lot of hospital jobs and I'm really hoping to land an interview on a Med/surg floor! They contacted me for a phone interview and now I'm just waiting to hear back from the next person for an in person interview. Thank you!!

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I worked as a CNA in a hospital while I was in nursing school and LOVED it. Nursing home, not so much. I'd started out in an LTC and quit within weeks.....it was just brutal. But in the hospital I got to see so many interesting things, and I learned how to prioritize which helped me greatly when I went back as an RN.

This gives me hope! I was hoping to stay at the LTC facility for 6 months and barely made it through a few. I'm glad your hospital experience allowed you to learn more, I'm super eager to see more than what LTC has to offer! :)

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
I've never worked in a LTAC facility, but, I have had many patients who are LTAC on my floor.

Sorry, little pet peeve as a former LTAC nurse... LTAC=long term acute care. Facilities are accredited hospitals. Many patients are admitted directly from ICUs because they aren't critical/unstable anymore, but are still on a ventilator, or other such things that preclude them from transferring to floor or stepdown. Long term doesn't mean lifelong, unless the patient/family decide to go to comfort care. Generally the "long term" is compared to typical hospitalizations--weeks to months, vs. days to weeks.

LTC=long term care=nursing home.

I'm not disagreeing with your point at all; I just see LTAC a lot here on AN when the poster means "long term care," or "LTC/LTAC" as if they are similar things. ;)

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

I worked as a CNA for 3 yrs in LTC and 2 in a hospital (ortho floor.) I personally did like LTC, but it was not easy. What helped in my situation I think, was we seemed to have really good teamwork with the RN/LPN.

A couple things to keep in mind as you finish out these two weeks, and beyond (as you will likely always care for elders, unless you end up in peds/L&D/NICU etc):

1.) Most combative, verbally abusive elders really can't help it. If their younger healthy brain could see their old deteriorating brain, they would probably be horrified. Try not to take it personally.

2.) Taking care of yourself is extremely important. I say this to RNs on here quite a bit, in response to "it's so busy I don't even have time to pee!" comments. If you wait for everything to be perfectly settled before you take your break, it won't happen. You need to decide roughly when you'll go, settle things as best you can for that moment, and then go eat. The nurses will manage for the time you are gone, and you will come back nourished, rested, and better able to deliver good care.

3.) It is very physical work. Don't ever be afraid to ask for help when you need it, and then offer to help your coworkers with their more physical tasks. It's not about weakness; it's about self-preservation. You only have one back, and you'll live in it for the rest of your life. Take care of it.

One of the great things about nursing is that there are so many different branches...acute care, home care, critical care, clinic, public health, private duty, sub-acute rehab, emergency, school............ GrnTea had a really good suggestion to browse through the "Specialties" tab in here! Disliking aide work in LTC doesn't mean you aren't cut out to be a nurse. You just need to find your niche.

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I worked as a CNA in several LTC facilities for TEN years and I hated every minute of it. Don't get me wrong I LOVED my patients and it killed me to leave each facility but I was never able to give each patient the care they needed because I generally had 15-20 patients on a shift. The last facility I worked at had so much broken equipment and was so short on staff that I injured my back trying to get a large patient up off of a broken hi/lo bed that stuck on the floor. That wasn't even the last straw....the last straw was when I was treated so badly by the administrator (because I was injured) that she actually made me break down in tears... I left that job and I never looked back, I even let my CNA expire.

In between I applied at any and every hospital I could and was never called back. There just weren't any positions available at that time. It's been almost 7 years since I did that kind of work and I still have nightmares about it. I've been going to school part time working on my prereqs for nursing school and I have been accepted into the nursing program for this coming fall. I have high hopes that I will enjoy being an RN much more than a CNA and I plan on taking an internship at the VA and continuing my career there.

All that to say...don't feel bad for hating working in LTC, it is VERY hard work and always understaffed. I like to think that anyone who can survive any amount of time working as a CNA in LTC facilities can survive just about anything. :yes:

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I lasted in a LTC for abt 6 weeks. Got a PCT position in the hospital on a very busy med/surg floor. Way to much work quit that in 7 months. Now I work in Peds and love it! Try to find a specialty and ask CNA's and nurses questions abt where they work and what all they do.

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Specializes in Pediatric Home Care, Dr Office/Clinic.

I worked at a SNF as my first job as a CNA, I hated it. I quit after 3 weeks. Then I worked at a subacute facility for 3 months, I liked it but they weren't giving me enough hours, so when I got a job offer to work at a hospital I took it. A hospital job was my goal all along so it was perfect timing. I've been at the hospital 4 months now, it super hard work but I love it there...I really love the atmosphere, RN's, CNA's & nurse manager on my unit.

Sometimes you have to go through a couple of jobs/facilities to figure out where you fit in. I also have a 2nd job at an assisted living, which I also love but I love the hospital more.

Just started my prereqs for RN school, but I plan on staying at the hospital I'm working at now once I get my BSN or transferring to a sister hospital (depends on where I get approved for my RN residency).

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I also worked as a CNA in the hospital, and still had 13-15 high acuity elderly telemetry patients (literally next door to retirement community) assigned to me, usually with at least a few on Lasix with no foley, or GoLightly, and 1/4 to 1/3 on contact precautions every day. Q4 vitals, two rounds of blood sugars, strict I&O, plus all that toileting, baths if I ever had time, running specimens down to the lab that couldn't be tubed.....and somehow charting it all, and working where the majority of RNs ignored call lights all the time.....

It was awful. I hated it. Hospice homie for life over here.

When I worked on the med/surg floor it was like working at a nursing home with sicker patients. CNA did the footwork while the nurses just passed meds...sound familiar.

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The negatives you mentioned ( too many pts, thrown to the wolves with little orientation, work too physically demanding) are typical in nursing, imo.

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Thanks so much Here I Stand! Yes, I realize the elderly people who are combative are either not themselves anymore most of the time, or in some cases, they are trying to get kicked out on purpose because they think that they'll be able to go home. And I totally get what you're saying about the take a break thing... I was always waiting for the call lights to settle down and never took a break except for on my first day when I was training. Big mistake. I won't do that to myself again at my next job!

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Thank you!! My family has been very supportive during this tough decision, and even though my Mom's not a nurse, she mentioned how I'm better off from having this difficult job because it has prepared me for other difficult experiences that will come in the future as I continue my path to become a nurse! I'd say that definitely applies in your situation too :) way to stick it out and work hard!

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