Fed up with my CNA job. What to do now?

[michigan94]

I'm looking for some advice, I've worked as a cna at a hospital for about a year and a half and am on the wait list for my RN clinicals, however I can't stand my job anymore. I like the 3 12 hour shifts a week and get paid decent, however they just do not care if we are staffed or not. I enjoy work on days we actually have staff but that's rare. It's normal for me to have at LEAST 10 patients and I work days on a busy med surge floor. I sometimes turn and lift very large patients alone (I barely weigh over 100) because I just cannot find someone to help me. I'm tired of working my butt off and still having it not be enough because of my work load. I'm tired of being expected to do everyone else's job on top of my own, and whenever a nurse or someone needs something I have to drop whatever I'm doing to help them. I want to stay at my job because I know it will bring my good opportunities when I finish school, however I've been having to drag myself to work and I lately I cannot sleep at all only the night before work, because I think I just know it's going to be a stressful day so I can't relax myself enough to sleep. I'm afraid to leave a great job but I don't know if it is worth my happiness at this point. I've been on the lookout for a waitressing job or something else that wouldn't put so much emotional and physical stress on me. I'm just looking for a little advice, am I right or wrong if I were to quit? Thanks

[Sour Lemon]

I'm looking for some advice, I've worked as a cna at a hospital for about a year and a half and am on the wait list for my RN clinicals, however I can't stand my job anymore. I like the 3 12 hour shifts a week and get paid decent, however they just do not care if we are staffed or not. I enjoy work on days we actually have staff but that's rare. It's normal for me to have at LEAST 10 patients and I work days on a busy med surge floor. I sometimes turn and lift very large patients alone (I barely weigh over 100) because I just cannot find someone to help me. I'm tired of working my butt off and still having it not be enough because of my work load. I'm tired of being expected to do everyone else's job on top of my own, and whenever a nurse or someone needs something I have to drop whatever I'm doing to help them. I want to stay at my job because I know it will bring my good opportunities when I finish school, however I've been having to drag myself to work and I lately I cannot sleep at all only the night before work, because I think I just know it's going to be a stressful day so I can't relax myself enough to sleep. I'm afraid to leave a great job but I don't know if it is worth my happiness at this point. I've been on the lookout for a waitressing job or something else that wouldn't put so much emotional and physical stress on me. I'm just looking for a little advice, am I right or wrong if I were to quit? Thanks

It's going to be a lot worse when you start working as a nurse. You'll still have all those problems, plus a bunch of new ones. When the nurse is too busy to help you, they're busy doing something that you can't help them with, either. Bad staffing is bad staffing- no matter what your role is.

[brownbook]

You sound like an excellent CNA. Where you are working is lucky to have you.

What you describe does not have to be, nor is, the norm.

Yes bad staffing is bad staffing and that does describe your unit. But there is the occasional bad/busy days versus just plain old daily chronic bad staffing. Any unit that has chronic bad staffing is going to see it's employees leave, as they should!

Perhaps you could apply to another unit within your hospital, even other hospitals or clinics in your area.

Also there are worker safety, safe patient handling, guidelines recommendations by OSHA. It is easy to Google their recommendations.

I don't know if hospitals are mandated to follow these guidelines? You should not be lifting and turning patients alone. You will ruin your back!