CNA disrespect?

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Hi, I am really motivated to becoming a cna but have heard a lot of horror stories. Are cna's really disrespected and treated badly? Also, is it worth to invest in a cna program? Also what is your salary as a cna? Thank you for reading my post. 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

I work at a hospital as a CNA and feel extremely valued, but I did clinicals at an LTC where I felt very devalued. It depends on where you're working and who you're working with. I feel very fortunate that I work with nurses and doctors who see me as an integral part of the health care team. Doctors and nurses where I work are very helpful and don't mind pitching in which is so amazing. Just this morning after shift, a doctor helped me boost a patient up in bed... it was a beautiful thing... a "let's roll our sleeves up and do this thing together" moment!

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No. Dont do it. There are just so many other jobs out there that will pay the same with more dignity. In nursing school i stopped being a cna and went to work at the mall. Made more in the mall, my body didnt hurt and i had fun at work. Plus nursing schools do not care about that exp anymore. If you want to help people id say non profit organization s like group homes pay a little more and much better work environment and usually dont require cna.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Hi, I am really motivated to becoming a cna but have heard a lot of horror stories. Are cna's really disrespected and treated badly? Also, is it worth to invest in a cna program? Also what is your salary as a cna? Thank you for reading my post.
Your thread has been moved to our CNA forum so other CNAs can answer the questions you have asked.
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I am working as a CNA while finishing nursing school. I have always felt appreciated and respected by the nurses, doctors, and patients. I love the work I do and feel like I am learning a lot while making a positive difference for the patients. The only times I have felt disrespected was by other CNAs that I have been assigned to work with.

The pay is terrible though.

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The general work environment for a CNA is one that the ltc facility gives too many patients. The CNA's become overwhelmed and the workload too much. After being a CNA for 2 years do I recommend one become a CNA? No maam. But if it is to work as a CNA part-time or just a means for some experience to get through some type of program, then yes I would recommend it.

Also to become a CNA to make you more hirable, if you want to open up your options that would be a good choice. There are a lot of hours available (in TX) for overtime, and jobs so if you work just to get the hours needed that is just an option. You could also work as a sitter or in home health, and becoming a CNA would make you more hirable. Home health/private duty is a lot less demanding.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I'm still a rookie myself, started in home health back in April 2014 and just started a per diem position at the hospital back in May. I highly agree with what most are saying about giving what you get and etc.

I've worked with nurses who are excited to hear that I'm starting nursing school next year and who are grateful that I volunteer to help (other CNAs too) and some who don't even give me the time of day. (I just assume they had/having a bad day and let it be).

I've had patients in home Heath who would cuss me out for being 10 mins late (even after I called them) at the hospital I've been peed on, gotten poop on my uniform spit on, but at the end of the day, I know that I'm making a contribution to getting that patient better and home, or making them more comfortable in their home setting.

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I just became a CNA and I just started working at a SNF. Yes, I clean poop all day, deal with rude family members, demeaned by SOME nurses, get hit by dementia patients, cussed out by resistive patients, deal with death and heartbreaking situations but every single day I feel blessed to do what I love. It is a hard job, emotionally, mentally and physically. Some days you will leave work without patience. Some you will not want to go back. Other days you will leave heart broken. You will be angry, you will cry. But, if this is what you love. You will have small moments that will make the "big bad" things all worth it.

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I am not yet a CNA, but I do work with the public in retail. I have been treated rudely by customers even when I was doing everything in my power to solve the situation.

The very first customer who wasn't afraid to let her mouth flap at me was when she was in a hurry one early morning with her two small children. I was new and had been thrown into the self-checkout area without any training. She had finished scanning her items and apparently she didn't know how to use the new version of the credit card. She didn't understand why it wasn't letting her make the payment and proceeded to call me over for help.

Again, being I was new I didn't know how to fix it, and she proceeded to be very open-minded with me, saying how this "always happens when I'm in a hurry" and how it was "my fault". I kept apologizing which she kept refusing by telling me I wasn't. I finally got help from my supervisor and we resolved the issue in which she then turned her frustrations onto him (much to my relief, no offence).

That is when I learned you can't meet everyone's expectations. As long as you try your best and treat them with respect, you don't have anything to beat yourself up about. The only time I've cried was one I knew I wasn't doing my best and a customer called me out on it.

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Schools may not always require the cert or the exp, but getting a job is getting tougher, even in the nursing field. Hospitals don't like to hire new grads for the lack of exp, and being a CNA while going through school is a major perk to getting your first job, and it also helps with clinicals because you already know how to do most of it and makes you feel more comfortable.

Also, in my area I'd actually be earning a dollar more as a CNA than at the job I'm at now.

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I don't think all of the horror stories you hear are true. With that being said I have worked with some nurses I get a long with so that things run smoothly, that does not mean that when something doesn't seem right that I don't speak up for my patient and let it slide. I think it is worth the investment if you are wanting to take care of people and have the right mindset for it. My pay is 12 dollars and hour as a na2. I also have a lot of nurses that I work with who have been in my same position and are more than willing to get in and help with baths. You get what you put in and teamwork is key.

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Specializes in Critical Care Transport, Cardiac ICU, Rapid.

Memory Care/LTC: felt very valued from staff-families-residents

Skilled Nursing: always felt valued from staff-families-residents

Hospital experience: i would say i feel undervalued because my role is one in which i take more of a backseat role and let the nurses/doctors take care of mostly everything (ICU), but nurses and families always appreciative when i help. Have had 2 nurses on my S list due to frequent poor encounters/berates from them specifically everyone else is good though

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As a CNA, I was treated badly only by other CNAs, never by a nurse.

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