Let me start by saying I am a CNA and I'm not talking about all CNAs. I have a problem with some coworkers and even some CNAs in the forums here that just complain all day about how hard our jobs are and how the RNs don't do any thing, we do all the hard work they just pass meds, sit, and chart. Even heard someone say we should get paid as much as the nurses smh
1. We all work hard, CNA, LPN, RN, etc
2. There's more to being a nurse then passing meds and charting, and they do their fair share of work doing things we as CNAs don't have the knowledge and skill to comprehend and do
3. CNAs are paid horribly and deserve more, but to say as much as a RN is ridiculous, c'mon lets get real
4. If you feel this way shut up and find away to get more education and move on like I am
Again I'm a CNA, I'm overworked, and sometimes there are lazy nurses but all the whining and ridiculous comments are annoying. Sorry for the little vent.
I always say please and thank you no matter who I am asking. I do not see CNAs as beneath me. But if you don't like being a CNA, then don't be a CNA.[/quote']
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I'm sure nurses mistreat aides, and no one is saying that's OK. We are discussing difficult aides. Most of the ones I worked with were terrific. I only remember. One who was a troublemaker and didn't do her job. There are bad employees everywhere.
I'm an RN working in the PACU with the 2 best LNAs in the world. If someone tries to steal them, I will haunt their unit until the LNAs come back... But I digress.
To the good LNAs out there: THANK YOU. Thank you for being my extra pair of eyes when my fluid bag is about to run dry but I'm trying to get vitals on a wiggly patient. Thank you for standing at the bedside of said wiggly patient so he doesn't climb off the stretcher while I go get meds for him. Thank you for refilling the blanket warmer, IV fluid warmer, and supply drawers so I don't have to waste expensive recovery time rooting around for supplies; I am way slower than you and I know it! And thank you for going to get those items for me when I'm titrating a neo drip, paging anesthesia, and up to my armpits in peripads and Foleys and dressing checks. I know that you have your own job and are not there to do mine, and I promise to always strive to show you the utmost in professional respect, because we are a team, the same team, with the same goal: excellent patient care.
To the lousy LNAs: please think about why you are in this job, and feel free to find something else to do if it isn't your thing. Not everyone has to like patient care... unless it is their job. It is your job, it is my job, and we have to do those jobs side by side. I am relying on you, and if I have to check and recheck your work, I will, because the buck stops with me. I'm sorry that you may not have had the opportunity to go back to school to become an RN, but resenting RNs for being RNs is like RNs resenting docs for being docs and having that level of education, respect, and accountability. Think about why you are doing what you are doing; make it make sense. And again, I know that you have your own job and are not there to do mine, and I promise to always strive to show you the utmost in professional respect, because we are a team, the same team, with the same goal: excellent patient care.
OP, thank you for your insights. You are definitely the kind of LNA with whom I would be proud to work; I hope you would say the same about me as an RN! :)
We ALL work hard, NONE of us (CNA, LPN, RN) has an easy job by any means. We are meant to be a TEAM. Each member of the TEAM needs to be realistic here. You are paid for the education and hard work you have put in. RN's have more education, thus we are paid more. BUT, we have more responsibility and liability. Just because someone see's me sitting at a desk does NOT mean what I'm doing isn't hard. We have the job of critically thinking through patient care, meaning our job isn't limited to a collection of physical tasks but making decisions and looking at a bigger picture to make sure each patient is getting what they need when they need it. There are so many subtle nuances in patient care that if missed can mean the difference between life and death...the more education = higher pay = higher risk, liability and responsibility.
As others have said, if you don't like your "station" then do something about it. Many of the nurses who some CNA's may hate...well they may be willing to cheer those CNA's along and mentor you should you express the interest to move further with your education in healthcare.
I as RN am thankful for any help I get, be it from a CNA, LPN or a fellow RN. It's not about pay (RN's aren't paid well enough for all the hard work to get the RN and the hard work we do as the RN honestly). IT'S ABOUT THE PATIENT, time spent hating each other is time and energy taken away from helping someone who really needs it - this for me is the bottom line.
I do feel that CNA should make like ten an hour to start some places only pay 8.50 per hour that sucks However I agree with you about being paid as much as the RN and go get more education but some cannot do it for other reasons then they cannot do it because they have families to support etc not because they don't want to.
I was a CNA am now a nurse. Having both pts of reference now I get it. If I can help out a CNA I will, but CNAs need to realize they are important and needed nurses don't have the time to do total patient care for 6+ pts. If u don't like the job description of CNA find a new job and don't become a nurse because while you likely will spend more time charting and passing meds than u will with bed pans u will still do bed pans! I think people should just focus on being the best CNA or Nurse they can be and not worry about what other people are doing . When I was a CNA I worked with some seriously lazy CNAs that said it wasn't my problem and I didn't feel slighted I signed up for MY job and I was gonna do the best job I could do regardless what others were doing. I love that in this field when u come up on the nursing station and gossipy whining is happening u can just walk away rest assure there's something that can be done with a patient to avoid all the nonsense. that's how I survived being a CNA staying patient focused !
It's a choice. Not to toot my own horn, just trying to make an example, but when I was a CNA, I took it as an opportunity to grow as a human being by showing compassion and humility assisting people with their most intimate care. It's like a sacred honor to be the one trusted to look at someone else's hoo-hah on a daily basis. For that duty to be treated with disdain because "the RN is lazy" is just messed up. Look at yourself and what you were hired to do, and what your duty to the patient is, not what other people are or aren't doing.
One time, when I worked in an LTC, I was doing my rounds and I heard a blood curdling shriek. I ran down to the room to see what was going on. It was a new resident. It was her first night at our facility. She didn't know where she was, and she wanted to go home. *I* was the one who was there for her, who held her hand and had to tell her she *was* home. I turned on the light and looked at the pictures on her wall and asked her about the people in the pictures. Eventually, she calmed down and was able to lie down and go to sleep. Because of ME. The CNA.
Of course, I had no "training" in what to do in this situation. I had to rely on what my instincts told me as a human being.
I had another lady that would call me several times a night to help her to the bathroom. She always talked to me about her house, and how she wished she could go back there. *I* was the one who held her hand and listened.
Another time, I had a resident fall and sustain a head lac while I was getting her up. EMS came and took her to the hospital. When all the fuss had died down, her room mate looked at me and said "Can you get me out of here, too?".
When I was being oriented, the CNA told me "He hits.". I found out that he only tried to hit when you went into his room and tossed him around like a wet blanket instead of treating him like a human being with dignity.
Being a CNA is its own sacred duty. Being a CNA gave me the foundation for my practice as an RN, and I cannot stand aides who would rather focus on what the nurse is doing than focus on their own practice and the human being that is in front of them.
I don't understand how you can look at yourself in the mirror knowing that you gave more of a crap about what the RN was doing than what the human being in front of you needed.
It's a choice. Not to toot my own horn, just trying to make an example, but when I was a CNA, I took it as an opportunity to grow as a human being by showing compassion and humility assisting people with their most intimate care. It's like a sacred honor to be the one trusted to look at someone else's hoo-hah on a daily basis. For that duty to be treated with disdain because "the RN is lazy" is just messed up. Look at yourself and what you were hired to do, and what your duty to the patient is, not what other people are or aren't doing.
One time, when I worked in an LTC, I was doing my rounds and I heard a blood curdling shriek. I ran down to the room to see what was going on. It was a new resident. It was her first night at our facility. She didn't know where she was, and she wanted to go home. *I* was the one who was there for her, who held her hand and had to tell her she *was* home. I turned on the light and looked at the pictures on her wall and asked her about the people in the pictures. Eventually, she calmed down and was able to lie down and go to sleep. Because of ME. The CNA.
Of course, I had no "training" in what to do in this situation. I had to rely on what my instincts told me as a human being.
I had another lady that would call me several times a night to help her to the bathroom. She always talked to me about her house, and how she wished she could go back there. *I* was the one who held her hand and listened.
Another time, I had a resident fall and sustain a head lac while I was getting her up. EMS came and took her to the hospital. When all the fuss had died down, her room mate looked at me and said "Can you get me out of here, too?".
When I was being oriented, the CNA told me "He hits.". I found out that he only tried to hit when you went into his room and tossed him around like a wet blanket instead of treating him like a human being with dignity.
Being a CNA is its own sacred duty. Being a CNA gave me the foundation for my practice as an RN, and I cannot stand aides who would rather focus on what the nurse is doing than focus on their own practice and the human being that is in front of them.
I don't understand how you can look at yourself in the mirror knowing that you gave more of a crap about what the RN was doing than what the human being in front of you needed.
I admire this ^^^^, so much! I will toot your horn and hope you will with me because you deserve IT!!
that's how I survived being a CNA staying patient focused !
Witty3RN
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