CNA or EMT while in school, CNA being a "dirty job" help please

casi, ASN, RN · Sep 7, 2008

Doesn't matter if you are a CNA on the floor or an ER Tech in the ER. People who are unable to care for themselves poop and someone has to clean them up.

CNA_Timmy · Sep 7, 2008

Doesn't matter if you are a CNA on the floor or an ER Tech in the ER. People who are unable to care for themselves poop and someone has to clean them up.

Never heard it said better... here here casi!!

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2008

Being a CNA helped me a whole bunch when I got my RN....I am NOT scared to move patients, talk to them, teach them...talk to doctors, and so forth. It helped me learn EXACTLY what the CNAs do during the shift, and when I could probably ask them to do something and when I should probably just do it myself. More than one of the aides has said that they appreciate me being considerate..and "asking" versus telling them tasks to do...they know that I only ask for the little stuff if I'm swamped....and the big stuff is stuff all the nurses ask them to do.....

I'm just saying...you're never above cleaning someone up.

LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN · Sep 7, 2008

I work as an ER tech, but you have to be a CNA first, some hospitalsin my area hire EMT's for techs, but each hospital is different. Today we had a patient that came in by ambulance, homeless, ETOH, vomiting, loss of bowel and bladder. Guess who cleaned him up? Two RN's did the job, I got the shower warmed up and went and got all the suppiles and helped with cleaning up the bed, but it was the two RN's who did the "ditry" job, of shampooing and wiping. I was being paged to do EKG's and transports. So even though you become an RN, you still have to do "ditry" work.

Kylea · Sep 7, 2008

I personally, would rather work with an RN that was a CNA first. I'm an LPN now, and where I work, I usually fill the role of a CNA. An RN who was a CNA to begin with remembers the crap that a CNA deals with IMHO better than someone who has never done a full shift doing only CNA work. All nurses 'wipe butt', there is no way around that. Some facilities/units don't use CNA/tech at all. If you don't like CNA work, being an RN isn't for you.

casperx875x · Sep 7, 2008

I highly recommend obtaining a job as a CNA/PCT while in Nursing school. You will be way ahead of your peers, and let me tell you, it will make orientation as a nurse that much easier. I could not imagine orienting as a nurse without any previous hospital experience. Having been on both sides, I do feel that being a tech was much more physically exhausting. More patients to help, trying to meet the needs of all the nurses you are working with. You can usually tell if a nurse was a PCT prior to becoming a nurse. Having PCT experience will give you a much greater appreciation for how exhausting it can be to be a PCT. I feel pretty darn lucky that we have such awesome PCTs.

You are smart for wanting to get the experience beforehand. Good luck finding a job!

Murse901, MSN, RN · Sep 7, 2008

I guess I'm going against the general consensus here, but I'd vote for EMT by a long shot. To the guy that said you won't learn anything about bedside care as an EMT -- Hello??? :confused: You're sitting right next to them the entire time you're with the patient. Can it get much more bedside than that?

Anyway, I am an LPN and a TN EMT-IV, and I just feel that you'll get a lot more experience in patient care and handling various scenarios as an EMT than you would as a CNA. Yes, as a CNA, you will be more comfortable in a hospital environment, but that's about the only advantage.

Continuing education opportunities are scarce for CNA's in my area, but I'm not sure how it is in other areas of the country. The ambulance company I work part time for offers PALS, ACLS, ITLS, CPR Instructor, and many, many other certifications at no cost. As a CNA, I'd like to see you try to convince your hospital to shell out the $$$ for any of those certifications. Heck, when I worked fulltime as an LPN on a Med/Surg floor at a local hospital, I was told that I had "no reason whatsoever to get ACLS or PALS certified", so they refused to let me attend the classes unless I was willing to pay for it myself. True, as an LPN I would not be pushing the ALS drugs in the code, but neither will the EMT. Still, the point is that all direct patient care staff should have access to that kind of education so that they can get the big picture. But, for whatever reason, that hospital felt that only RN's should benefit from education.

You will be exposed to a broader range of scenarios and widely varying types of patients as an EMT. As a CNA, you will more or less be doing the same thing day in and day out on a floor with a narrow range of patient types.

This is in no way meant to belittle the knowledge and education of CNA's. It is simply to say that an EMT is in all reality a higher level of practitioner than a CNA, has more autonomy, and has to make more critical choices at any given time than a CNA.

Another interesting note is that in Florida, if you are an RN with an EMT-B certification, you can challenge the Florida Paramedic exam, which will open up some more opportunities for you.

However, my concern is this: how will you find time to go through EMT school if you're doing pre-req's for nursing school? I'm not sure how it is in Florida, but out here, the fastest you can go through EMT school is 3 months, and that's going 17 hours per week. Unfortunately, it may not be feasible to do EMT school in your situation.

Good luck with whatever choice you make.

GOMER42 · Sep 7, 2008

... but I also function as a right arm of the nurses-- doing the EKG's, starting IV's, placing foley catheters.

I didn't know that interpreting ECGs and starting IVs were in a CNAs scope of practice.

EMSnut45, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Sep 7, 2008

I went through an advanced CNA class and can obtain EKG's (not read them), draw blood, insert saline locks, and insert foley catheters.

sistasoul · Sep 7, 2008

I didn't know that interpreting ECGs and starting IVs were in a CNAs scope of practice.

I was a CNA while in nursing school. We could not insert Foleys or start IV's. We could perform EKG's but were not trained to read them. We could straight cath patients. Even as a NS I was not trained to start IVS.

I would shadow a CNA for a shift. I enjoyed working as an aide. Yes, it is exhausting as you try to meet everyone's needs but it is so rewarding too. THe patients were so greatful for even the smallest things you could do for them. I was always too busy to really go with the nurses too see what they were doing, but I used a lot of communication skills and seen first hand how hard hospital nurses worked. I do not regret for a minute being an aide. I would recommend it to any nursing student.

SA Girl · Sep 7, 2008

I have to agree with all the other posts. You have to do what is best for you. Do not let someone else tell you what you should do with your future. CNA is a great way to start and gain some insightful knowledge and experience. I wish I had the time to start a CNA course before starting NS. But, I thought of it too late, besides I here that is where I'm going to do my first clinical away. LTC I mean. Good luck and stay focus on what is best for you not what is best for the next person.

Thornbird · Sep 7, 2008

I went through an advanced CNA class and can obtain EKG's (not read them), draw blood, insert saline locks, and insert foley catheters.

Sorry, if you are doing inserting IV's you are not doing it legally. EMT-B's also don't develop "working Diagnosis", paramedics do that. EMT-B's do BASIC assessments to determine if ALS intervention is required or just transport with BASIC Life Support protocols.

That said to OP: I did both before nursing and both jobs helped in their different ways. Both are hard jobs and both can very dirty. Picture being confined in an ambulance with smelly drunks, vomit, diarrhea, etc. Not very nice. You should look into job opportunities in your particular area. It may be difficult to get a paying job as an EMT, there are still many areas where this is a volunteer job. Hospitals may not always have PCT jobs available. See how available shifts work with your school schedule. If you must choose one over the other, I found CNA/PCT helped most because I got used to dealing with multiple patients at once and mulit-tasking. I also learned a lot more about how nurses function. Although both part of health care, EMS and nursing are very differenet areas of expertise.

Except for administrative nurses ALL working nurses get dirty. Most appreciate the hard work that their assistants do and are willing and ready to pitch in when needed.