CNA questions

Depends on where you live & it ranges dependent on the facility too but CNAs earn within the $9-12 an hour range. HHA earn $12-16 & sometimes a little more in some states...

For you BSN, apply for as many grants & scholarships as you can to help offset the cost out of pocket.

No it is really not that difficult to get a job in long term care as a new CNA. That is usually were a lot of CNAs start. The pay depends on the state, area, and type of job you are applying to. Usually hospitals tend to pay more than LTC. In my area pay ranges from $8.50-$10, but in other parts of the state they pay $10-$12. I don't know what the pay is like were you are but I had to work full time for 2 years, and then worked perdiem for an additional year and all that paid for one year at a community college ($5,000) and one year at a state university ($15,000). The last couple years I had to rely on loans and scholarships. Good luck! :)

Thanks for the replies. Just trying to get an ideas of what I'm getting my self into!

Depending on the area in which you live, you probably won't have too much difficultly finding a job in LTC. What may be more difficult is finding a place where you are not over worked and underpayed. There are several places around me that a new CNA could walk in and get a job easily, but the facilities are understaffed and the pay is low. Check out the facilities around you to see what they are like. If you know anyone who is working as a CNA or a nurse at any of these places ask them what it is like. The hospitals tend to pay more, but they are also looking for people that have at least a year or more of experience under there belt. Check online for copies of their past state surveys, these are even accessible at the facilities themselves. Look to see what type of citations they recieved. In Michigan it has been years since I have known of any facilities to be citation free, but what you are looking for is did they have any major citations that put the well being of the patient in danger.

Pay varies from state to state and from even different areas. Around where I live CNAs start off between $10-11 a hour. After 6 years of experience a new place that I started at the end of September last year is paying me a little over $13 a hour. It is just enough for me to live on supporting myself, but with going back to school I will be depending on financial aid to get me through

Yeah I'm depending on grants scholarships and financial aid at the moment as well.

Did you enjoy you job as a CNA? People tell me all I'm going to be doing is wiping people and pretty much "degrading work". I don't really care about that but I was told by an friend, who is a surgical tech, he seen many abused and neglected residents. And id get satisfaction from knowing I helped keep someone happy and comfortable for as long as possible.

Yeah I'm depending on grants scholarships and financial aid at the moment as well.

Did you enjoy you job as a CNA? People tell me all I'm going to be doing is wiping people and pretty much "degrading work". I don't really care about that but I was told by an friend, who is a surgical tech, he seen many abused and neglected residents. And id get satisfaction from knowing I helped keep someone happy and comfortable for as long as possible.

At this time I am still working as a CNA and will continue to do so I as I go back to school. As a CNA you will be doing a lot of the grunt work, helping people clean themselves who are not able, transferring, repositioning in bed, dressing, bathing, and feeding depending on the type of place that you are working at and the needs of your patients. The job is physically demanding and emotionally draining at times, but you are the person who spends the most time with that patient even more so than the nurse usually. Some people may view the work as "degrading", but you are helping someone with things that they are no longer able to do for themselves.

I have worked in long term nursing facilities for most of my time as a CNA, a lot of times the patient load was heavy and the work hard. I have experienced burn out and at one time was even considering finding a job that involved anything other than health care, after 5 years at a very stressful work environment. But even during those times I developed some very close relationships with the people under my care and hope that I touched their lives as much as they had mine. The current place that I am at now is short term rehab only, most of the time the physical aspect of the job is not as demanding in lifting and moving people. However the people that I am taking care of now are more alert and oriented and tend to have more demands that they voice so it keeps me busy.

As you are wanting to pursue a career in nursing I do personally think that working as a CNA will greatly benefit you as a nurse and as you go through nursing school. When you start your clinicals you will already be comfortable talking with the patient. You will already know how to take vitals, along with all the opportunities that you will have to observe and talk to the nurses that you work with.

Thank you! Very helpful.

I work 2nd shift and in my location I make almost $14 as a CNA so it's not too bad. I'm also a BSN student and I think it helped me so much to work as a CNA. It is grunt work, but the residents need it and its an opportunity to make a difference in their day, even if you have to be quick about it. I don't see it as degrading. I got a job within a month of getting my certification, but my facility always needs CNAs. Just get through the first couple months and it will get easier. Sometimes its hard at first when you don't have a routine and are rushing around a lot getting used to things, but it gets easier the more experience to get under your belt. And don't forget if they get grouchy with you, don't take it personally. Good luck :)