Discourged a bit...

meyun06 · Oct 24, 2008

Hi Im not a cna or anything, but I have many relatives who are. My aunt has been a cna for 30 years. Eventhough her job consists of many nasty duties and rude patients, she loves it. Yes cnas are responsible for cleaning the patients and bathing them. It's a lot of hard work. To be a cna, you have to want to help people. You have to have a passion for caring. The residents at the nursing home where my aunt works fight her, curse at her and many other rude things. Just think of it in a positive way. If you were old or disabled, you would want someone to take care of you. Oh and some cnas work at hospitals doing other stuff too. :)

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2008

I was a CNA before becoming a nurse, and you do wipe butts, clean up feces and urine, clean dirty dentures, give baths, feed people who can't eat on their own, and so on.

As long as I had someone to help me with the heavy lifting, I was happy to do it. I like old people.

BradleyRN · Oct 24, 2008

It is not the function you are performing that makes your job great, it is the interaction with patients. We get paid to do the one thing that this life is all about, helping people. When you work in the medical field, the only people you will see are people that are sick, so there are many tasks that we do at all levels of care (from CNA's to doctors) that would be considered "gross". But if you can understand that the patient does not want you to have to do these things, never wanted to be in these shoes, and may be self conscious or shamed by what they are going through, then you can understand how important it is to have a caregiver that takes pride in understanding this and preserving their dignity. If your presence can perhaps displace the presence of someone that doesnt care about their job, then it will be a blessing to the vulnerable people that we care for. There is plenty of room for good people.:)

Gloin · Oct 24, 2008

Thank you guys for your kind words, And especially thanks to you Brad. You have really opened my mind and eyes to this... And even though it wont be my favorite thing to do I can do it. And I can do it long enough to become an RN anyways, so i wont have to (as much).

RNperdiem, RN · Oct 24, 2008

Many people do these same activities at home with their own children. I wiped many a butt when my kids were little, and I have washed them down when they got dirty. That is part of the job. You do it out of compassion and necessity.

Jo Dirt · Oct 24, 2008

If you look at it that way, yes, it's bad.

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2008

Probably best they are an "ex cna", with an attitude like that I bet the work was hard for them There is so much more to being a CNA than simply cleaning people.

JennRN65 · Oct 24, 2008

Thank you guys for your kind words, And especially thanks to you Brad. You have really opened my mind and eyes to this... And even though it wont be my favorite thing to do I can do it. And I can do it long enough to become an RN anyways, so i wont have to (as much).

When you are a RN, you still will be performing these same duties.....You will still bathe people, clean their bottoms when they are incontinent and help them do all of the tasks they are not able to do.

Also, while you clean them, you will be assessing their skin status and other systems.

chevyv, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2008

I agree that part of the job is to wipe butts, but I can only hope someone will be willing to wipe mine someday if I so need. I was a cna for 12+ years and I can honestly say that I got so much more from my patients that they ever got from me. Older people are living history! How cool is that? I've been given lessons about back in the depression, world wars, cooking from scratch, raising babies. My son had bright red cheeks for awhile when he was a baby. Doc said everything was fine but I couldn't help but wonder. I took him in to work and a grandma took one look at him and said "Oh, he's teething".

It's good your friend got out of it, she sounds like it just wasn't for her.

Gloin · Oct 24, 2008

I guess it's something that you can look at like, half empty or half full, or maybe even... the taste of vegetables, at first you don't like them, but then they grow on you, and there good for you to boot. Instead of thinking, ew this is gross, just think, it has to be done, and I'm gonna do the best I can to help these people feel as good as they can.

Thank you so much guys, you all have helped me see another side to this thing, and not only that but as silly as it sounds, a whole other side to life..

any advice that you guys have to offer, keep them coming i keep refreshing this page every hour or so.

ann945n, RN · Oct 24, 2008

I loved my time with the elderly, they are a great population to work with and I really respect that generation. Wish I was still there, its not all bad!