CNA=Poop cleaner?!

Nursing Students CNA/MA

Published

I told a neighbor I was thinking of maybe doing a CNA course in a few weeks, and they told me "why would you want to clean poop off people for a living? That's all they do, you know, right?" This was from a nurse! That kind of made me wonder if this is really something I should bother even pursuing. I get that it's part of the job, but I didn't realize it's the MAIN part. Is this true?

ETA: No, i'm not afraid to clean poop, I've cleaned tons in my 11 years as a mom, I have no issues with it. I just don't want it to be the only part of my job as a CNA, which this nurse told me it will be. I want to know if she's just trying to talk me out of a CNA course. She thinks I should just go right into nursing, which isn't in the cards with my young family right now. BTDT.

There may be some perks to being a career Cna but at the moment I can't think of anything. If you don't have to worry about money it might be alright and didn't care about being talked down to by nurses and outright ignored by doctors.

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i make a decent wage, and the nurses and doctors at my hospital have never treated me as anything but an equal. i look forward to coming to work.

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I would have a seriously cushy job if literally all I did was wipe butts.

"I'll be off taking a nap, call me when the Miralax kicks in!"

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Story of my life as an LTACH ICU RN. Diarrhea. Diarrhea. And more diarrhea. If it's not the ABX, it's the CDiff. Or the lactulose. And no, our facility doesn't believe in diapers. It's disposable chux. So that **** is blowing out down to the feet and just for fun, blowing up the the armpits too. Oh what fun!!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Oohhh, and even more awesome....we don't have CNAs in the ICU. It's just me and my disposable chux to the rescue.

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Story of my life as an LTACH ICU RN. Diarrhea. Diarrhea. And more diarrhea. If it's not the ABX, it's the CDiff. Or the lactulose. And no, our facility doesn't believe in diapers. It's disposable chux. So that **** is blowing out down to the feet and just for fun, blowing up the the armpits too. Oh what fun!!

Wow. You must have some seriously awesome laundry people! I have learned the hard way that briefs don't always stop the avalanche of liquid BM.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Wow. You must have some seriously awesome laundry people! I have learned the hard way that briefs don't always stop the avalanche of liquid BM.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but we throw the disposable chux, wound dressings et all right in there with the linens. Our laundry people deserve a medal. And a raise.

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In my neck of the woods we are all pooper scoopers. The poop never ends. Ever. :no:

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Specializes in Nurse's Aide.

Cleaning up poop is not all we do. That nurse is silly for commenting about CNAs like that. Yes, cleaning up after a resident has an accident is one of our duties but we also do a tremendous amount of other duties, too. We wash them up for the day Or night time, we do oral care, shaving, brushing hair, putting lotions on their skin, dressing them, providing incontinence care, ambulation, feeding, showers , and bringing them to activities. We are there for our residents and its rewarding. Were not just Poop Cleaners!

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Cleaning up poop is not all we do. That nurse is silly for commenting about CNAs like that. Yes, cleaning up after a resident has an accident is one of our duties but we also do a tremendous amount of other duties, too. We wash them up for the day Or night time, we do oral care, shaving, brushing hair, putting lotions on their skin, dressing them, providing incontinence care, ambulation, feeding, showers , and bringing them to activities. We are there for our residents and its rewarding. Were not just Poop Cleaners!

I agree, we don't just clean poop. For for many of us, especially those of us who don't have PCAs or CNAs, poop (and what I really mean is DIAHRRHEA) is not just a daily occurrence, it is a problem. The inventor of the FlexiSeal should get a prize. A big fancy prize.

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It's easy to be dismissive of the role of the CNA, but if you look at it more closely, cleaning up that poop is vital to patient treatment. Cleaning it up can reveal so much: A rash, a fungal or bacterial infection, a decubitus, blood in the BM, constipation, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, c.Diff, so many things. The general public is so focused in their disgust for a natural bodily function that they miss how critical it is to overall health until they have elimination problems. I realize the OP said the neighbor is a nurse, but it's easy to forget that it really is important.

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I don't think any nurse I've ever known will say a cnas role isn't important. You make there job so much easier. The only time I've ever heard nurses get snippy is when cnas start to think they are nurses. It's the whole stay in your lane thing.

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