Desperate CNA - Indiana

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I have been working as a CNA for a little over a year now. It was hard for me to adjust to my job at first because my facility just threw me out there to figure it out after a short orientation. I have always wanted to be a nurse because I love helping people. I feel like that is my purpose in life! Although.. after working as a CNA I have found myself doubting becoming a nurse because of my current position. I have not lost my passion for wanting to help people and make a difference. Of course I do the typical CNA duties but I feel like most of my job is changing residents dirty briefs. I know someone has to do it and they need it done but I want to do more than this. I want more job duties that are actually going to benefit my nursing career. I have learned a lot being a CNA but I want to learn more things. I am bored with changing briefs. Don't get me wrong I am VERYYYY busy because the facility I work at is a J.O.K.E!! The facility I work at is understaffed and has horrible management. Currently, they are cutting hours BUT are desperate for people to pick up shifts because there isnt a cna on that unit. I have reported two times now about abuse and they do not do anything about it. Also they let people call in whenever they want which leaves everyone short of help and causes an even bigger work load. My unit has a capacity of 20 patients (not all fully dependent) and I also have to pick up 6 people (who are fully dependent) on the unit next to mine. There is only one nurse and one CNA per unit. Also.. my nurse is lazy and rarely helps me answer call lights. It isnt like she is busy passing meds .. she legit is just shopping online at the nurses station. I have nicely asked her for help and when that didn't work then I got a little feisty with her and she shrugged me off. It is completely pointless to tell upper management because if they are not willing to take care of an extreme issue such as abuse then I know they won't care about her not helping me out. I have come home in tears from dealing with all this. I feel like I do my best for these people but I can never make a difference. I can't be in a million places at once, although I need to be.

I hate going to work.

I am soo excited about learning how to do things in nursing school but in "the real world" if this is how it is.. I dont want to be a nurse. If human beings do not respect life then ... I cant endure this job. We all need to work as a team and actually care about the people that need us to help them.

As of right now I still have about 2 years and a few months left of school. I cant continue to do this. I need other options. I would like to work in a hospital but it is sooo hard to hire me on. I apply ALL the time. I have also applied to a mental health tech jobs and dialysis patient care tech jobs. I need a part time job since I go to school full time.

I need help .. I need some major advice please.

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Specializes in hospice.

Have you looked into hospice? I used to work in a hospital and could have written your post two years ago. Since I switched to hospice, I am much happier, my work load is usually realistic, and the nurses actually help! Also maybe look into home care. You have lots of options to find something better, and you have experience which will help you a lot!

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Where are these nursing jobs where nurses have 20 patients, aren't busy, and spend the whole shift shopping online? For evey task that can be delegated to a CNA, there are many, many more that cannot be. I'm guessing that the nurses you work with are a LOT busier than you perceive them to be.

CNA work is hard, and although you may find it boring, it is your current job. Don't be one of those CNAs who wants to flip through charts and do "interesting" things while the tasks you were hired to do go undone. You can learn the interesting things in school and do the interesting things when you graduate and have a license in hand. Work is work. It's nice to learn new things that relate to your interests or educational goals, but it's not always possible.

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Specializes in hospice.

Some people refuse to believe that there are nurses out there that ignore call lights while shopping for vacations and designer bags online.....I guess they have been lucky.

I guess if I had only worked at my current job, I wouldn't believe it either.

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Some people refuse to believe that there are nurses out there that ignore call lights while shopping for vacations and designer bags online.....I guess they have been lucky.

I guess if I had only worked at my current job, I wouldn't believe it either.

I want to believe! Where can I have 20 patients, delegate everything, and not do any work? I'm willing to relocate. :yes:

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Thank you for your comments. However, I want to clear up something. I never said she delegates everything and I did not mean for it to sound that way if it did. I know that her duties as an LPN are not under my scope of practice. She does give meds randomly throughout the shift but she spends majority of the shift shopping online. She always waits until the end of the shift to pass meds and do treatments. Then she acts so overwhelmed that she wont be able to get everything done to go home on time. I know this is her fault for bad time management. The other nurses do not have these problems because they space their stuff out throughout the shift. I am not one of those CNAs that flip through charts and try to find something to do. I keep this issue private from work because I know that my job description as a CNA is what it is. That is why I wrote this post .. is to see if there is any other job that I could do to with a CNA certification to switch it up.

Thanks for your comments and advice Duskyjewel & Pangea Reunited

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Specializes in Long term care.

Rather than thinking of your job as "changing dirty briefs", think of it as learning observations skills, learning to recognize the changing conditions in a patient. As a CNA you are very likely the 1st person to notice a change in a patients condition. It is a skill that will be very valuable as a nurse. As a CNA you will observe the physical effects of disease, emotional effects of illness...etc. You will see these things first hand as a CNA. You will read about them as a nursing student...and will understand so much more as a student and as a nurse someday, because you experienced it with your residents now.

Think of your current job as "training" in how to be a better nurse and learning to appreciate your future CNA's.

My sister was a CNA first, and is now a nurse and she tells me how much she misses the patient contact she had as a CNA...she spends most of her shift behind a med cart and behind a computer charting..

Also, it sounds like you are in a very challenging facility. You can't judge all facilities by the one where you work. Sounds like this facility takes alot out of you...don't let them take the desire to be a nurse from you too. :mad:

Try to stop looking at just the dirty briefs and step back and look at the bigger picture.

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Thank you. I needed that advice and encouragment.

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