CNA to LPN School Worries

[Thujone]

I think I hate certain aspects of being a CNA. Today, I came in as a PRN worker, and I have one patient resident who will start crying over the slightest little things, and one can not understand her because she tried to kill her self and ended up in a hospital and pulled an esophageal tube of some sort out of her throat. She would cry over a fly on the wall. Another man has one leg and the other cut off up to the knee, and I had never transferred a patients with only one leg from their bed to their wheel chair, so I was having difficulty doing it, and then he just told me to "get someone who knows what there doing in here," which kind of ****** me off, but I explained to him that I had never done this before and that I would tell his nurse, or his CNA (which was on break, and I was just filling in for him.) There are some patients that do no want me simply because I am a male. I am a fairly new CNA, about 2 months, and I work PRN about 2 to 4 times a month which is not very much at all. That said, I had probably 4 or 5 patients that were total care, and I loved caring for them because I could do things my way, and the rest of my patients loved me as their CNA which makes me very happy. I am going into a LPN program this Fall, and I am very worried that I am wasting my time and will end up miserable for the same reasons that I am having problems with now. What do y'all think?

[Twinkle007, LVN, RN]

Hi Brian

Any kind of transitioning is a bit hard to do , but the most important is to see the positive aspects. Look , you're gona enter an LVN program with some experince and this is a biggg plus. People are different sometimes caring for them might be challenging , but from the other hand this is the part of this job right?

Don't worry give yourself some time and go for your LVN

PS sorry for my english

[IEDave, ASN, CNA, LVN]

What 'nowitzki' said.

Or, in a bit less succinct form...

Let's face some important facts here - first, no job is going to be butterflies & unicorns 100% of the time. Second, CNA work (and pardon me for what I'm about to say next) just isn't one of the most glamorous jobs on the planet - really doesn't matter whether you're in a hospital, an LTC, home health...you're dealing with the tail end of the entire nursing profession, so to speak, not to mention the tail end of your patients. And their families. And everyone else.

That said - looking at your post I have to say that while you've had some challenging patients; guess what - so've I. And, I dare say that every CNA out there has had their share of tough patients (got one right now on a g-tube with contractures that has a habit of woofing up mucus all over the place - on the bed, his gown, his wheelchair, passers-by; just hurls whenever he has to), sexism (yep - some patients have a tough time with male CNA's - some nurses do too, BTW), non-compliant patients (had one patient tell me "either change my f&*&@! brief or leave the f*(&%^&*! room", after I'd explained that I needed to get the supplies to do the brief change - so I said, "O.K." & left. Which precipitated a full-bore temper tantrum, and one of the other CNA's ended up having to do the brief change), obnoxious co-workers, gossip, etc., etc., etc. But - it sounds like the majority of your patients are relatively straightforward to deal with, and are probably pretty pleasant folks. No real drama - just get in, get 'er done and on to the next.

So - the questions I'd be asking myself are: (1) Is it the PRN work that's an issue? (2) Is it the difficult patients that are an issue? (3) Is it the workplace that's an issue (I'm assuming LTC here)? Try and nail down specifically what it is that's causing you difficulty - then, examine that aspect closely. All of these can be addressed in one form or another.

As far as the LPN issue - well, LPN work will require you to be able to tactfully & diplomatically deal with difficult patients, plus you'll be supervising CNA's, doing lots of charting, med passes, catheter changes, g-tubes, IV pumps, and so on. A lot of the nasty-grimy stuff you'll be leaving behind (you won't be doing too many brief changes, for example), and you won't be able to spend nearly as much time with your patients as you did as a CNA - but, you'll have a whole new set of challenges to face.

In short - before making the decision to bail on an LPN career, look very carefully at what's causing you problems as a CNA, and see if they're fixable issues. My guess is that the issues that are bothering you are either (a) transitory, (b) correctable, or © both. Because it sounds to me like you still care about your patients - and, ultimately, when you stop caring about them, that's when it's time to go.

For what it's worth, I hope you choose to "stay the course" and go after that LPN - 'cause it sounds like you've got what it takes to be a fine nurse.

----- Dave

[truckinusa, BSN, LPN, RN]

When I first started as a CNA I was totally inept. I did some stupid stuff like putting the catheter tube under a man's leg. As I learned to work smarter and got my routine down better it became a whole lot easier. I know exactly what to do. I know a few tricks to make things easier for me. It has been a year and things go very smoothly now and nobody hastles me about being stupid or not knowing my job.