Did you like being a CNA?

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I started my 1st CNA job at a hospital on a busy floor. I have an avg. of 13 patients on my shift, ranges from (10-16). I find it very difficult to time manage. I don't dislike the work itself, however I feel overwhelmed with how much work must get done, from washing, turning patients, to moving them, charting, vitals, etc....There really is no time to do anything else. I feel i could possibly make a mistake or injure my back with how the staffing ratio's are done. If it was like 5-8 patients that would be a more appropriate level in my opinion. How do current CNA's manage to handle this type of stress. I have to give all CNA's credit.

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You're lucky to land a job at a hospital right away, but you are also unlucky that you landed a job at a hospital.

It's a very common complaint among staff that there's not enough CNA's or nurses working the shifts in hospitals.

I don't work at a hospital but I do work in home health and starting a new job in a surgery center.

I don't necessarily hate home health but my skills there are not being developed. It's more of a caregiver and homemaker type of expertise. I hate it in a sense that I was a given a client who does not need any personal care but just needs someone to clean his home. I did not spend a whole lot of money in school to be someone's maid. The client needed a maid not a CNA. He was actively playing sports and was able to take care of himself, so it felt like a waste of my skills.

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You're lucky to land a job at a hospital right away, but you are also unlucky that you landed a job at a hospital.

It's a very common complaint among staff that there's not enough CNA's or nurses working the shifts in hospitals.

I don't work at a hospital but I do work in home health and starting a new job in a surgery center.

I don't necessarily hate home health but my skills there are not being developed. It's more of a caregiver and homemaker type of expertise. I hate it in a sense that I was a given a client who does not need any personal care but just needs someone to clean his home. I did not spend a whole lot of money in school to be someone's maid. The client needed a maid not a CNA. He was actively playing sports and was able to take care of himself, so it felt like a waste of my skills.

Sometimes with Home Care you have to be patient and wait to get a client that needs a lot of personal care. They don't just throw a new CNA into high tech cass. You have to remember a lot of times we work alone and you don't want to get into a situation you are unsure of or get over your head.

Agencies start you off slow to get a feel for who you as an individuel. What can you handle, by observing how you are with the more simpiler casses first. They eye are you reliable getting to your clients on time. They may talk to your clients to get a feel for how you take care of them are you a plesent person. Extra. Then after you have proven yourself to be a good CNA then you might get more care related cases. You have to remember the agency does not know you and they have a major responsibility to there high end care clients that who they send to take care of them can be able to handle the job.

I have worked for my agency for over two years now and I as well started off with some simple casses, and slowly built up to more care needing clients. I now have my first which for home care could be considered acute client. It can be like a step up program. You have to slowly work yourself up and prove yourself to the agency, and then in return they slowly step you up to casses that you indeed use your CNA skills.

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I actually used to work in home health however I saw I was more of a maid as well and wasn't utilizing any skills u learn in school. I didn't like the idea of having to cook for my patient since I really don't like to cook. Being a Hha the work is easier and a lot less stress but the idea of going to strangers homes bothered me since you never know what you will find. Overall being cna in the hospital you will do but also learn a lot mirw.

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I'm with you on this especially if your client requests for 4-8 hour shifts. You are most likely to do a lot of cleaning, cooking, and laundry. It also get boring if your client is not that social.

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.

No way. I don't like working hard for very little money. There were parts I enjoyed when the patient load was low (8 patients or so), but as soon as it would get that low, they'd float someone and give everyone more pts.

I did enjoy being a unit secretary, though. Somehow I found that endless, thankless work more enjoyable.

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Specializes in Long term care.

13 patients/residents IS typical. It IS hard work.

You are still new, getting a routine down and feeling somewhat organized takes time. You will get the hang of it.

....and you are right, there just isn't any time for anything other than turning, washing, toileting, taking vitals...etc. and the ideal patient to CNA ration is best set at 6-8:1, but, that will never happen in long term care or hospital setting. If the ratio ever gets close to that, they cancel shifts for the CNA for low patient census!

The only way to get that ratio is to do home care or assisted living which doesn't pay as well.

:confused:

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You're lucky! At my facility we are 26:1. I care for 26 people at a time while doing everything that you stated.

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Chile please; 13?

My last job someone called out and i was issued 50 patients (nights) with 8 get ups (8 of the heaviest, total care, none ambulatory residents) by myself. + do everything you have to do.

Consider yourself lucky to be a hospital CNA--

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Specializes in hospice.
Chile please; 13?

My last job someone called out and i was issued 50 patients (nights) with 8 get ups (8 of the heaviest, total care, none ambulatory residents) by myself. + do everything you have to do.

Consider yourself lucky to be a hospital CNA--

I sure didn't. I had the same kind of ratios as the OP in cardiac telemetry, and it was awful. Just because it's worse somewhere else doesn't mean OP's situation isn't bad. I can tell you with absolute certainty that vitals were being faked on that floor. I stood out as slow because I didn't do that, but I had to find ways to cut corners elsewhere because there was no way to get everything done that was expected. I could not count on the other aide because she was as swamped as I was, nor the nurses, and that was a combination of bad attitude from some and being pushed take more patients so they could cut a nurse from the floor.

For what it's worth, I conceded defeat after 7 months and now work for a hospice company. I usually work inpatient, and my biggest load has been 14, but that's with two nurses and I've found my hospice co-workers much readier to jump in and help with care. On nights, I am the only CNA, so they don't have much choice if there's a x2 assist, but I've met very few who mind helping. Completely different attitude from what I dealt with at the hospital. I've also done in-home care and sitting where I'm 1:1, and while that is obviously easier to handle, there's a reason people need sitters, and they can run you ragged too.

OP, being a CNA is a hard job. Some places make it harder. Look around though, there may be something better out there. To be totally honest, I feel blessed to be where I am because I know it's a rare find.

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Thirteen is a high number, especially if you're new, but I've never had under twenty residents to myself except when I do home care. I still love being a CNA. I don't love the insane ratios of aides to residents, I don't love being chronically understaffed, I don't enjoy office politics, but I do love my residents and being able to say I make a difference for them.

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You're lucky! At my facility we are 26:1. I care for 26 people at a time while doing everything that you stated.

If this is a hospital that unit manager should be fired ASAP. LTC is hard, but continuously overloading techs and CNAs in a hospital is downright dangerous.

Charge Nurses are usually acutely aware of the patient load for RNs, as most of them work the floor. With techs and aides they are usually totally clueless, and to be honest its out of their hands in most cases anyway as the staffing is set by the unit manager, who was probably never a tech/CNA or was when times were different and many hospital admissions weren't as acutely ill as they are now(ive worked on simple telemetry/medsurg units where I had 12 plus patients and not ONE was a walkie talkie.)

I think it should be made a requirement that in order to be admitted into an RN program you need to have worked as a CNA. PA's, Paramedics and other health professionals have similar requirements, not sure why RNs would be any different.

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