Let me start off by saying that a Certified Nurses Aide (CNA) are the backbones of every Nursing home. Without our assistance, the Nurses job would be way more difficult than it is. Apparently CNA's have it so easy and our job is 100% stress free according to some Nurses that I work with. If our job is so easy then why are we in such high demand? Also if that were to be true, then why can't the Nurses (RN and LPN) handle their work plus ours in a 12 hour shift?
Responsibilities of a CNA;
1. Get residents dressed for the day.
2. Shower and or bathe residents.
3. Toilet residents.
4. Assist residents with eating if applicable.
5. Assist residents with Physical Therapy needs such as restorative walking or passive range of motion.
6. Provide emotional support to residents and residents family members.
7. Answer each and every call light as soon as it is noticed and accomodate resident with their requests.
Although the responsibilities of a CNA versus a Nurse differ vastly, and the nurses resposibilities listed look noticeably longer - a CNA encounters much more physical and mental stress in an eight hour work day than a nurse does in a twelve hour day.
Nurses want to *****, moan, and complain about how they have it so hard. To be quite honest, a nurse in a nursing home setting mostly does the following;
1. Pass medications when a QMA (Qualified Medications Aide) is not on staff for that shift. 5% physical work*
3. Check blood sugars (when a QMA is not on staff for the shift) 2% physical work*
4. Deliver insulins. 1% physical work
5. Resident charting. (medications, behaviors, vital signs, etc.) NO PHYSICAL WORK REQUIRED
6. Resident assesments. NO PHYSICAL WORK REQUIRED
For the most part, the above list is about all a Nurse has to do in a nursing home setting. The CNA has to lift heavy people in and out of bed, on and off the toilet, up and down out of a wheelchair...and get around 11 or more residents ready for bed each day. We only have eight hours to take care of 11+ people and have to provide accurate care following every step correctly according to nursing guidelines with no leway whatsoever at all.
I'm sorry but our job definitely involves way MORE physical and mentally stressful work than a nurses does, and whoever disagrees with me, so be it. I know first hand.
*Estimated percentage of physical work
**Estimated percentage with the assistance of a CNA or QMA
I went to nursing school so my job wouldn't be so physical. More stressful more responsibility and still some what physical. I'm not denying some nurses can be pricks to the CNAs and vise versa but comparing how physical your job is an equating it as more difficult is not true. If it was you'd be getting paid the same.
There are a ton of nurses who know first hand what it's like to be a CNA. There are zero CNAs who know first hand what it's like to be a nurse.
I do. Because the work load was too much on them they let their license expire and stayed an NA. Can't say zero whatever you can think I'm sure someone on the planet has thought it, seen it, or did it.
OP: You sound, um... very burned out. I hope that you're not mean on a regular basis. No way that's healthy.
Yes, we CNAs do the 'dirty grunt work.' Who likes poop? Aside from gastroenterologists. But so what?
Could you imagine how much worse LTC would be if nurses actually had to drop what they were doing to go change all 20 briefs, give all 10 showers, feed everyone, and answer every darn call light between phoning the doctor, assessing every single patient, arranging discharges, doing wound care? What about trach-suctions, and GI tube feedings? How do nurses deal with those annoying doctors who can't seem to write orders using the 5 Rights? What about those patients that are wanting pain medication around the clock? On top of that, when someone passes away, do you as the CNA deal with it? No, we get to clean the body and make it look pretty...Then we're done and don't have to deal with the family. Then the family comes and attempts to bite off the nurse's head because they think the staff killed their 100 year old grandpa. Can you juggle all this while checking the CBG several times a day of multiple diabetics who may or may not be on different types of insulin?
Do you think medication passes are just putting pretty colored pills in a cup and going to each room? It's more than that. I am taking a pharmacology class right now and it has shaken my confidence a little-- How in the world am I gonna keep track of the dozens of potential ADR for every drug for every patient? When do I know to give this BP med--or not? Then there's a whole different question of whether the patient will even swallow it. EDIT: As an RN you'll also be responsible for catching the MD's mistakes; for example, the MD prescribes propanolol for someone with COPD. If you give the propanolol to them without thinking about it, you will constrict their airway and make it nearly impossible for them to breathe. And whoever administers the drug is responsible for it. I don't think you thought of these things when you wrote this post.
Neither job is easy. EDIT: CNA is physically exhausting, but nursing is mentally exhausting. Would you rather sleep off a tiring shift, or have your conscience bug you as a nurse for a week because you made what you think was a bad choice? The point is to put yourself in the other person's shoes. I totally get why you're bitter and upset that you get no respect. But I think maybe you need a nice long vacation.
Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
It sounds like you are burned out,I hope you are not taking this out on your helpless residents and bullying your co-workers.(I suspect you are)
As many of us have done,I worked as a cna for years before I went to nursing school and have worked in acute care,long term and home care.I know I busted my butt physically as a cna.I also know I always took my breaks,left on time and never thought about the place after I clocked out.
That kind of "tired" is NOTHING compared to the physical and MENTAL exhaustion I feel after a rough shift now.You say the nurses give it to you from the top and the residents from the bottom-the nurses get it from all sides ,too.We are responsible for making sure any BURNED OUT,miserable cnas are delivering the care the resident deserves, and making sure the excellent members of the team are feeling valued as such,while they work alongside people who are sucking the life force out of the unit and getting paid the same for not giving a crap.Your description of what you perceive a nurse's duties to be is woefully inadequate and exposes your ignorance.I have worked with plenty of cna's and nurses who always think THEY are the busiest,THEY are working the hardest-incapable of seeing what is going on a around them. When you have actually become a nurse yourself I want you to re-read your posts on this and other treads. Can't wait to see what you think....
I think that post was meant to touch a nerve, and obviously it did.
As a CNA, I respect my nurses. Some of them don't always respect me, but whatever, that's their attitude and I'm usually too busy anyway to really care about personal issues with the nurses.
They can't punish me with extra responsiblities, I enjoy my job. It gives me personal satisfaction.
I also know how hard they are working too. The others are right. My sister is a RN and she would talk to me during my first year as a CNA when I would come home complaining about the nurses. That is good insight as someone who isn't a nurse for what the nurses behaviors were and how I contributed to it.
I try not to bother them so much during medpass and when they're on the phone. Seriously though, the others are right about apples and oranges. You're also talking about LTC. In the hospital the nurses do our job as well as theirs.
How do you pass meds if your patient has C diff. and is pooping every 20 min or so?
You ask your wonderful CNA to help you out with that patient's ADLs so the others don't go neglected and get even worse because they missed a med. (not to mention infection control)
I worked in a group home setting for people with developmental disabilities for 3 years and have been an aid for 1 1/2 years. I graduated from nursing school this past May and have started training for my new career as a nurse. It seems trivial to compare jobs to see who has the "most demanding" one. Each and every person in a healthcare facility has a very important responsibility from dietary, human resources, social services, therapy, activities, nursing (which includes both CNAs and nurses), ect. Each and every department is demanding and challenging in its own way. However, what makes the environment more pleasant for both residents/patients and staff is teamwork. Understanding that even though we each have different roles, we would not be successful as a healthcare team if we did not work together.
If you have an issue with your facility, perhaps you should bring them to the attention of your immediate supervisor and the director to get it resolved. Good luck with your career. I always find the accomplishments of the patients and residents to be extremely uplifting and reminds me of why I chose to work in healthcare:)
In a hospital, I think the RNs have it worse, after all they pretty much do the job of the CNAs plus their own job on a somewhat regular basis, but as for LTC, I dont buy it that RNs have it worse. Maybe it varies by facility, but where I used to work, CNAs were fired all the time, they were investigated all the time, they suffered career ending back injuries, and despite much better than average pay, they quit all the time. It was tough to get CNAs through orientation, and getting through orientation just meant they a 90 day try out. I dont think a single RN would have traded places with the aides, and they would come out and say that.
You ran all shift long, with no breaks. On a good day you had a chance to go to the bathroom. You were hit, punched, slapped, spit on, bitten, puked on, ****** on, yelled at by family, by residents, and occasionally RNs and supervisors, all while busting your back getting people in and out of wheel chairs and on and off the toilet all day. At any time you could be called into the supervisors office and told you are being investigated, so the stress wasnt just in losing your job, but effectively ending your health care career.
From what it sounds like, this is pretty much the typical LTC CNA experience.
Not sure what's up with the CNAs posting these bitter rant threads lately, but let's stop this horizontal violence. It's unbecoming, unprofessional and definitely embarrassing.
I was a CNA for 3 yrs before becoming an LPN. I hated every minute when I worked in LTC and I truly believe it takes a special person to work in those facilities b/c they are emotionally draining. I work in a detention center & there are no CNA's or Med Tech's (they are jails in my area that hire them though, mines however does not) so us nurses must work as a team. I just want CNA's to know that if you do decide to go to nursing school,the job does not get easier. With a higher title comes MORE responsibility. Sure, my current job isn't as physical as my job as a CNA was, but it requires a lot of critical thinking & nursing judgment.
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tothepointeLVN, LVN
2,246 Posts
I went to nursing school so my job wouldn't be so physical. More stressful more responsibility and still some what physical. I'm not denying some nurses can be pricks to the CNAs and vise versa but comparing how physical your job is an equating it as more difficult is not true. If it was you'd be getting paid the same.