CNA of 11 years, almost RN, with major burnout :,(

[Swirl531, BSN, RN]

Hey guys! So like the title says, I’ve been a cna for 11 years in nursing homes, and hospital settings. I only have a couple months left to go of nursing school, and I can barely stand the thought of working as a CNA that much longer.
I have become seriously burned out with the mega under-appreciation, Heavy patient loads, and running around like a chicken with its head cut off every shift with little help from nurses. I’m a good CNA and work my butt off to make sure my patients are comfortable and cared for and I’m EXHAUSTED.
Any advice on how to combat this? I know it’s silly that I’ve been a CNA so long and only have a couple months left, but guys, I’m struggling.
does anyone else feel this way?!
♥️

[Ndoht, BSN, RN]

Hi. I completely understand your stress and hardship. I was a CNA for 4 years with experience both in the hospital and nursing home too. I would like to congratulate you for graduating RN school in just a few more months! You are almost there! I would say if it's not an option to change the hospital CNA job to a per-diem position, maybe you can look at reputable home care agencies in your local areas. I worked at a home care agency before. You will be doing case-by-case where there is only one client that you are taking care of. The client's condition can vary, but it is definitely way easier mentally and physically than the hospital job. Often times the home care agency lets you pick and choose which days or hours you want to work, and if the client is taking a rest, you may even have the opportunity to study or do homework on the side. The major downside to working home care in my opinion is the unstable assignments. Sometimes you can have the same client assignments for months or even year straight, but sometimes you would suddenly loss your old client assignment for different reasons. Another thing is that the hours with home care can vary too. Sometimes you are working less than 36 hours per week, but sometimes you can work more than 40 hours a week depending on your preference.

[Rosaaay]

You are so close to the finish line! What do you currently do for self-care during your time while not at work? Would it be possible to start working less and less hours as a CNA as you approach graduation? Some time off/away might help you feel refreshed.

[Swirl531, BSN, RN]

Hey guys! Thanks for your replies and your advice. I know I’m so close, I’m frustrated that I can’t see the light and that it doesn’t give me some peace going in to work right now!

[Skayda]

Oh yes, burnout. I know thee well. I can guess, probably with 100% accuracy too, that every single one us has dealt with it at one point or another if they’ve been in this business for any amount of time. I started out working in LTC and then in smaller facilities with 6 clients/residents or less in my early twenties and back then doing back to back 24 hour shifts didn’t really phase me but it began catching up to me after I entered my late 30s and mid 40s. Now I work for a nice home care agency where I only have to take care of one person at a time in their home and the stress level went way, way down. I used to work for myself as an individual contractor and find my own jobs but I found that the other parts of that can be just as stressful; taxes, etc, so, working for an agency is perfect. Especially since you still call the shots as to how often or how less you want to work and only having to care for one person per shift is a real mental health saver!

Maybe you could look into doing something like that? Take some jobs in home care for awhile?

Edit: I just realized that other people have just suggested this exact thing but since I wrote all this I’m gonna share. I feel your pain, honestly, and am rooting for you to get to the finish line but be sure to not forfeit your own health and well-being in the process.

~Ami