Does. Anyone like their CNA job??

francescakelly1 · Jun 21, 2015

I agree! Although the work can be challenging whether it is in hospital or LTC, Working at a hospital is a little better than a nursing facility, I know there are many happy CNA's at LTC facilities and that is fine, but I have worked them both and it is my opinion that hospitals are better, I have been a CNA nearly 20 years, and will finally try LPN school again! After a very long hiatus! Thanks!

Lulu Belle, RN, EMT-B · Jun 21, 2015

I'm brand new and absolutely do not think I could do this long term. There are moments when my residents put the BIGGEST smile on my face and I'm so thankful I get to work with them, but I do come home exhausted and can't get myself to relax if I know I have to work the next day.

I love being an EMT, however. If the pay were better, I would choose to become a paramedic instead of a nurse. Yeah, there can be gruesome calls, long hours, and soul-sucking patients, but personally I do better in the prehospital environment.

Look into all your options before you commit.

Valcorie34, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 23, 2015

I love my job! I am working on my nursing degree. But i truely LOVE what I do. I work for a nursing and rehabilitation facility with 100 beds. I work with a great team and am privelegded to care for amazing people. I have seen people recover and go home. One was 104 after hip surgery. I watched a daughter perfprm a ceremonial dance for her mother, while wearing her mothers hand made dress while her mom played the drums. Her mom died that night and it always makes me teary. I have cared for ww2 vets with amazing stories, and dementia patients that are very hard to work with but you know you have pride in giving them great care anyway. DeaIng with poo, showers, transfering difficult people is all part of the job. But I wouldcreally never trade my job I love it.

iNurs5, CNA · Jul 23, 2021

I love taking care of the residents or patients and work with other healthcare workers. It's depressing when people don't answer their call lights because they're too busy for them.

I'm not being a snitch or sell out, the behavior is atrocious of some workers but expect good pays. ?

amason2021, CNA · Sep 9, 2024

In long term care? Oh heck to the no! I start hospital setting next week, which is what I want anyways.

amason2021, CNA · Mar 3

fairdinkum said:

I feel bad telling you, but I really dislike being a CNA and desperately wish I could move on. It's got to be one of the worst jobs in the hospital. But reading over some of the other responses you got, it seems that CNAs in home health and hospice are happy. I'm strictly acute care and float to pretty much every type of unit, and some are definitely better than others.

In acute care, CNAs are treated like crap by so many people, that being a hospital CNA can be a very demoralizing job. I even had an EMT comment once that she didn't think she could ever do my job because of the way she sees us getting treated. I enjoy patients and care a lot about the quality of my work, but try to imagine what it's like to go to work every single day and have no one feel you do anything right, and leave every day having been treated like an incompetent moron. The problem is that you have huge responsibility and no decision-making power. You're also the last person everyone can dump on when they get overwhelmed, and when you get overwhelmed everyone who did the dumping is upset because their work didn't get done. At this point, I do the job the best I can for my patients, hide from the mean RNs and hope I'll someday have the means to move on.

Also, please listen to the other posters who are telling you how hard this job is on your body. I've hurt my back, hips, shoulders, etc. having to lift and change 400-lb patients alone, because it's so hard to get someone to help (they're all too busy too). I work 12-hour night shifts, sometimes 3 nights in a row, and have to be able to stay awake and alert. I've been punched, kicked, hit, shoved, and even had a commode thrown at me! You cannot get angry and you can't get tired or you won't be able to keep up the pace, which is extremely fast in an acute care scene, even in the middle of the night.

All this being said, I can't regret the range of humanity I've experienced, and what I've learned about people - how to talk to them, how to handle emergencies, how to calm people in their worst moments, etc. I don't know if there's another job outside of the nursing field where you experience so much of what people are, just keep in mind that a lot of it isn't good. If you aren't willing put your whole heart into resuscitating a rapist or providing care to a drug dealer, this isn't for you.

If you are interested in acute care anyway:

great floors: oncology, ICU and post-partum are where I have my best experiences

watch-out floors: med-surg, especially post-op/GI and units with shared rooms

hit-and-miss: ortho (it can be horrible or excellent, totally depends on the staff)

I HATED Ortho when I was in hospital setting. I found my calling(s) in surgical oncology and tele. Loved every minute on both units except my home unit of ortho/neuro/uro(liked the manager but hated ortho, and it was a combination unit of three specialties).