CNA to RN: Used & Abused?

[NurseLyssie]

i have worked at a small community hospital for the past two years. i was initially hired after my first clinical rotation, and viewed this as an ideal opportunity to gain experience. when i received my bsn, i was not granted a raise. in october, i took my boards and passed. as soon as i found out, i contacted the nursing manager who originally hired me as a cna, and was offered (and accepted) a per-diem rn position that had been posted.

as a per-diem cna, i had been assigned hours through november before taking my boards. at that time, i was under the assumption that i would be able to cancel my shifts after a two week grace period in order to be able to start my rn orientation. however, i was asked to complete all of my cna shifts, and my orientation would start shortly thereafter. because two other cnas had quit without notice, i agreed to this because i felt guilty leaving the hospital even more short-staffed. still, i did not receive a raise. but this has been the least of my concerns.

i will be completing the mandatory 8-hour training for the new documentation system our facility is switching over to. this training is specific for rns, for i have already completed the 4-hour class for cnas. my training is on the day before my last cna shift. i asked my manager how i should 'swipe in' to get paid since this was for my rn position. i was told to "swipe in like i usually would, because i'm still technically a cna." mind you, for one more day. keep in mind that all of the rns currently working, and all of the external new-hire rns are being paid at an rns hourly wage.

now that my shifts have dwindled to the last week, some of the supervisors have asked/begged me to pick up shifts after my last scheduled date as a cna. i explained that i've been waiting to begin my rn orientation and felt i shouldn't be working as a cna and rn at the same time. i was told i still could pick up cna shifts while working as an rn. i can't help but feel this would enable my fear of role-confusion during my transition in such a small hospital.

after being asked to pick up a shift out of desperation, and saying i was unavailable, my manager told me if i came in, we could make my schedule for orientation. i sacrificed what i had planned for the day and went in, because i am eagerly impatient to begin orientation. however, when i got there, i was simply told that they had hired another per-diem rn and wanted to orient us together, so our schedule would be made next week. i felt like i had been falsely bribed to fill that void.

it has been rumored that it is illegal to work as a cna after becoming an rn, especially considering the rns are union members there. i can't help but feel i am being used and abused, and that the hospital is simply getting 'the biggest bang for their buck.' in total, i've worked approximately 128 hours since becoming an rn, meaning they have 'saved' (and i have lost) nearly $3000 by postponing my hire.

i feel like my superiors are taking advantage of my inexperience and lack of professional knowledge. but i've reached a breaking point, and want to speak up for myself. however, i am lacking the appropriate evidence to back up my case. does anyone have any advice, information, or resource i could use?

thanks so much

[chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

. . . it has been rumored that it is illegal to work as a cna after becoming an rn, especially considering the rns are union members there. i can't help but feel i am being used and abused, and that the hospital is simply getting 'the biggest bang for their buck.' in total, i've worked approximately 128 hours since becoming an rn, meaning they have 'saved' (and i have lost) nearly $3000 by postponing my hire.

my understanding is that this may vary by state and so it might be wise to check with your bon. in my home state of pa, it is acceptable for rn's to work in other capacities: i'm a member of a volunteer ambulance squad and run shifts as an emt-b, as does someone else who is actually a practicing physician. from what i see though, the real issue is not the legality of an rn working as a cna but rather a health care facility taking advantage of an employee. this may be legal but it certainly is not ethical and you have every right to feel used and abused.

for what it's worth, my advice would be to "grin and bear it" and get that all-important year's worth of experience as an rn. as soon as that happens, flood the area with your resume, get yourself a better paying job and then leave that pos hospital without looking back. as the french say, "la vengeance se mange très-bien froide" (revenge is a dish best served cold).

[ahowe07]

oh my gosh lady! You gotta take control of this. You get paid as an RN NOW like as in TODAY, or you tell them you're going to leave and find a new job which you can and will! They are going to lose you as a CNA anyway and if they are really hurting so bad that they have to fill a CNA position with an RN than so be it, they'll get a new CNA fast those are a dime a dozen. You need to be paid that is the bottom line.

*** I am not a RN or even in nursing school yet I was just reading posts to get some of MY questions answered and this just sounded crazy that you're not getting paid. In the real world this is NOT okay but it nurse world, I couldn't tell you sorry.

[gizzy123]

In NJ you cannot work as a CNA if you have your nursing license. It is illegal; they say it is a liability issue. There are CNAs at my hospital who have had to give up their jobs because they have passed the boards. Some don’t even have nursing jobs yet. A girl I work with has not taken her boards yet because she cannot find a job as a RN. I would look into it. When I graduated I took a position that use to be a graduate nurse position they were paying us as graduate nurses. When the other RNs found out that we had our license and were not being paid as RNs they flipped out. We are a union hospital and the union rep helped us get paid at an RN rate. You’re a RN you should be paid as an RN!!!! Fight for what is right!

[PetsToPeople]

Yup, they are totally taking advantage of you and they will walk all over you for as long as you allow them. There are a lot of other posts on here about CNA's trying to transition in there facility to an RN and getting treated like crap. Take control now and be ready to move on to greener pastures if you have to!

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

Wow.. They have a sweet deal. They have a need for a CNA, and they have an RN working as a CNA. I would say you need to say that this is not ok. You have you to be willing to leave. Good Luck to you!

[MatRNstudent]

I have to agree with Chuckster...I wouldn't flip out or get into a "deathmatch" over it. Just tough it out until you get your year in. Then, they have no leverage over you whatsoever and you can go where you want. I know the post is getting a little stale and irrelevant by now, but I felt it worth mentioning the economy is still rough and nursing jobs aren't quite as plentiful as we'd all like them to be especially the entry level ones Hope everything turns out well.