CNA information

The best part of being a CNA is you get to observe nurses who are great at their jobs and borrow their best attributes while also making notes about the type of nurse you DON'T want to become. This is a real world experience that can not be learned in nursing school.

The job itself will vary, depending on if you work in LTC, hospice or a hospital. It generally involves vitals, toilet assistance or brief changing, showering or bed baths, dressing/ getting ready for the day, feeding if necessary & linen changes. Most places tag "or anything else" to the end of that job description.

If the "icky" part of the job doesn't appeal to you, join the club. Just remember this could be you one day and you need to treat the patient/ resident/ client as if it were you that needed the help. You would expect privacy, professionalism, thoroughness and compassion. Just my:twocents:

I've heard from a couple of my friends that CNA work is not like what the RNs do. I was wondering the same thing you were about if being a CNA was a stepping stone into RN work. I found that it really wasn't.

I took this class that was offered at a nursing home to become a CNA. I went through the book and then trained with an actual CNA. Once I "graduated" from the class I was able to work on my own, but as a nursing assistant. Even after I was done with the class, my work had me work one on one with someone for a week.

I usually catch on to things pretty quick and I found that being a CNA is not easy work at all. I felt that with my training with a mentor I still was not prepared to work on my own. I was scared and at least once a week, I ended up crying because I was felt very overwhelmed. I was doing all the grunt work-doing vitals, changing their briefs, feeding the resident, bathing the resident, dressing the resident, toileting them, making beds, etc.

I don't know how it is in each state, but when I took the CNA exam not too long ago, it was a lot to remember. I felt that for all the work I had to do, I didn't get paid enough money.

Plus, I don't know how well you work under pressure, but I was told by a few people that I used to work with that for every 1 CNA, there are about 12-16 residents/patients that the CNA takes care of. For me, that was too many to take care of, I got the chance to work with about 6 residents one day and was able to handle that load so much easier.

I am currently working as a CNA in a hospital while I complete my pre-req's for school and I LOVE it. I recently transferred from Tele to ICU and the work, while it can be hard (turning heavy patients who push against you as you turn them) it is also fascinating. All sorts of patients come thru ICU; OD, acute MI, open heart, CVA, MVA...I could go on for days. It is a constant learning experience; I am in the room while the RN does the initial assessment, I ask questions about the multiple drips the patient is on, questions about the vents, questions about tests - in fact the nurses I work with welcome any and all questions from me. And I have a lot! I am learning so much just from having my hands on up to 9 different patients every night.

Yes there is time spent changing poopy bottoms and seeing horrific stuff suctioned from a pts mouth...but it's such a GREAT learning experience that I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's incredibly gratifying to see a patient come successfully off of a vent and sit up in bed and TALk to you. And yes, patients die. And everyone is sad to see them go but it's incredibly moving to be in the room when someone passes and we are all there touching the patient and making that time as peaceful as possible. And as another poster pointed out - someday in the future it might well be ME in that bed and I would want someone willing to wipe the nasty stuff from my bottom with compassion and understanding. And to hold my hand when I am expressing my concern about a scheduled procedure.

And for the record, ALL the ICU nurses I work with are right there with me wiping. Starting as a CNA is a very valuable experience that I will take with me all the way thru nursing school and into my future. I can't compare my situation with a NH but as a hospital CNA I can tell you my job is rewarding financially as well. Good Luck!

I have been a CNA in three different settings over the past three years. I started working in mental health (and still do PRN). I worked in an inpatient psych unit and a group home. On the unit I basically just talked to the clients and assisted the nurses. At the group home I really did nothing even close to being a CNA. I assisted mentally ill adults in learning basic housekeeping and cooking skills. I also worked in LTC (LOL and still do PRN). This was by far the most demading. I helped residents with their ADLs, morning care, showering, bed baths, oral hygiene, positioning, and taking vitals. I really loved working with the residents... and most of the staff. It was a bit of an overload at times, with 12-15 residents per CNA and 24-30 per nurse. The call lights were always going off, and as soon as you finish with one resident you have to move on to the next. Finally my current full time job is as a PCT (patient care tech) at a local hospital. This is by far the best paying of the three, but very different atmosphere. I get to do a lot more procedures like CBGs, DCing foleys and IVs, and it is alot less demanding. The major downside to the hospital is many of the nurses treat me like trash, not all, but at least half. Most of the patients I have are very appreciative at least, but I never really get to know them like I did in mental health and LTC. Basically it is a rewarding job, with a lot of benefits, however you have to be the kind of person who enjoys helping people to be a good CNA. If you resent your job you will not make it, and the patients/residents/clients will suffer.