CNA training scared the he** outta me!!!

[dorselm]

I didn't want to write a big post about the issue but to sum it up in a nutshell, today was 1st day with my own assignment of 8 people from 2 wk CNA orientation. Didn't get to take break or lunch. Feet and back are aching outa this world and I don't make half of what I was making as a boring accountant. I miss that 9-5 no weekend, overtime or holiday job. I became a CNA so that it would make it easier in nursing school and so that I can work while going to NS full time in the day. Now I'm regretting ever thinking of going to nursing school. If it's going to be like this then I don't know if I'm gonna last. I love the patients that I take care of at the LTC facility that I work at and my coworkers so far are cool but you just don't get paid nearly as much as this job is worth. I love taking care of people or so I thought. I feel like a selfish person for thinking this way but I think I should have gone straight into NS and bypassed CNA work because I'm scared as hell thinking that the rest of the years that I have to work will be filled with stressed out no break taking, back breaking, days of guarding my license and not seeing any holidays. Is Nursing like CNA work or is it worse? I will be working at UPMC in Pittsburgh so any thoughts on this would be GREATLY appreciated.

[mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP]

Here is my background during NS.....I started out in a nice little NICU being a US and why I left, I will never understand but I wanted more patient care and involvement....so I went to an ER. LOVED the ER but that is what I've done for 10+ years is emergency services in some capacity or another so it was my niche. Long story short, this place wouldn't hire a new grad in the ER so I went on my final semester of NS to a Medical Cardiac floor so that I could have a job when I graduated (much bigger facility, many GN positions, etc....).

Let me tell you - not a day went by that I didn't curse my job as a tech on that floor. I loved the patients and the people I worked with - but the work was exhausting. I cried every single night all the way home. On my way to work, I would have to stop at a min. of 1 restroom, sometimes 2 because I would get IBS from the stress of that job. It sucked and I hated it but I kept on trucking because I knew that I was learning valuable lessons that would only help me in the end....boy was I right.

Now...I am an GN on this floor (same place I hated as a tech) and I love it. Yes, the work is long, tiring and exhausting, but it's different now. I appreciate the techs more. Yes, I do my far share of butt wipping a shift, that hasn't changed, but it's 1 or 2 butts a shift rather than 12, which makes a whole lotta difference. The work I do now is more mentally exhausting than physically exhausting, which I think makes a huge difference.

So, in a round about way, what I'm trying to say is stick with it. It may seem like the worse job ever but you'll learn a lot about people, your co-workers, how to treat patients, you'll learn docs handwritting, you'll learn about doctors. You'll learn so much doing this job and when you are done and ready to move on to being a nurse, you'll have a much better understanding of it all....I promise.

[Plagueis]

I am a CNA who is planning on going to nursing school this year to become a LPN. I have been doing this job for almost two years now, and I am still exhausted and stressed out after work, even though I should be used to it by now. My coworkers who have been at it for over 10 years are exhausted, too. However, my belief is: "I love my work, but I hate my job." This is tiring work, make no mistake about it. Even the nurses who took a section when staffing was low told me that they were never as tired working as a LPN as they were when they took a section as a CNA. Don't feel bad that you are tired and that you feel you made a mistake. I sometimes wonder why I am a CNA myself, but I realize that I am helping people, and I hate to use a cliche, but I am making a difference in their lives. Also, I will, and you will to, have experience in areas such as transfers, vital signs, and ambulation that some our future nursing classmates won't have, and this will be helpful in nursing school. (I've been told this by nurses who were CNAs first.)

[dorselm]

To every person who responded to my cries, I thank you very much. Your words gave me the second wind I needed to face another day. Today I wanted to walk out but I actually thought about you all's words of encouragement and I decided to hang in there. I had 11 people today but I did get a lunch break so I did a little better than yesterday.