first CNA job opportunity, what to look for...

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I just recently became certified as a nurse's aid and am looking for my first opportunity for work. It looks like I can get a job in a small LTC facility. I'm wondering what to look for-I got a quick tour yesterday, and it seemed like a good place-very clean, no smells, etc.. I was told that there were usually 2 CNA's for 22 residents. Is that a good number? The DON seemed nice enough, but I got the distinct feeling that I wouldn't want to be on her bad side.

Also, as a related question, how do those of you who work nights function? I have 2 small kids and don't want to pay for daycare, so I am looking for evening/night shifts. However, as my dh pointed out, "when do you sleep and how will you manage 2 toddlers on no sleep?" How do you function with your days and nights mixed up? I am hoping I can get an evening shift from 2-10pm, but it looks like they want 10pm to 7 am.

I've been lurking on this board for a year and I do have to say that I've learned a lot. HOwever, I am rather depressed at the attitude towards CNA's, as if we can't be trusted or expected to act in a professional manner. This is a career change for me, and I have a MS in another field and professional work experience. I am planning on nursing school and am hoping a CNA job will be good experience, but if I'm not going to be treated well, then maybe I should continue working in my old field until I get into school. Anyways, thanks for any advice!

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What is your MS in?

I have a bachelor's (not in nursing), and working as a CNA to me is depressing, because I feel that I can do much better. I hate being a CNA. To me, it is degrading because I didn't go to college for years to give out snacks and merely babysit. Did I mention that I hate it??

Then again, I don't plan to become a nurse.

If you continue working in your old field, you will probably get paid more.

Follow your heart, however.

But if I were you, I wouldn't be a CNA. With your master's, you might be able to get a position elsewhere in the health field. Keep your options open.

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What is your MS in?

I have a bachelor's (not in nursing), and working as a CNA to me is depressing, because I feel that I can do much better. I hate being a CNA. To me, it is degrading because I didn't go to college for years to give out snacks and merely babysit. Did I mention that I hate it??

Then again, I don't plan to become a nurse.

If you continue working in your old field, you will probably get paid more.

Follow your heart, however.

But if I were you, I wouldn't be a CNA. With your master's, you might be able to get a position elsewhere in the health field. Keep your options open.

My MS is in Environmental science (bachelors in biology), but in our area, there are very few jobs and the pay is crappy (not much more than a CNA, if you can believe that!). Plus, that work is very 9-5 and I would like something that is more flexible and pays better, so my plan is to go for a nursing degree (and before someone jumps on me for that, I was pre-med, so I do have an interest in medical work too). I think I would like being a nurse, but I am unsure about taking a CNA job and being at the bottom of the "food chain", so to speak. But right now, with 2 kids that would need to go into daycare, I need something where hours are flexible (so paycheck is not entirely eaten up by daycare costs), and it seems that being a CNA would fit that requirement, as well as giving me experience.

I'm sorry you hate your job so much! If you don't want to be a nurse, can I ask why you are a CNA? If I weren't interested in going into nursing, there's no way I'd be a CNA. I see it as a stepping stone...

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What is your MS in?

I have a bachelor's (not in nursing), and working as a CNA to me is depressing, because I feel that I can do much better. I hate being a CNA. To me, it is degrading because I didn't go to college for years to give out snacks and merely babysit. Did I mention that I hate it??

Then again, I don't plan to become a nurse.

If you continue working in your old field, you will probably get paid more.

Follow your heart, however.

But if I were you, I wouldn't be a CNA. With your master's, you might be able to get a position elsewhere in the health field. Keep your options open.

This bothers me alot.....First of all if you HATE being a CNA then you dont need to be one. Residents are still people and people catch on when you do things. So if you have the "i hate this" attitude it will reflect on the way you work and treat the residents. As far as CNA'S only doing "babysitting and passing snacks" then that means you ARE NOT doing your job. I work as both a cna and a cmt and whatever my job duty may be for that day i do a heck of alot more then babysit. As for the girl that said she just got her cna. My advice is give it your all and for the most part if you treat nurses with respect they will return it. I do think its a wonderful idea for anyone that plans on going to nrsg school to get there cna work it shows them a different aspect of nrsg. One more thing if you start at the bottom your more likely to make it to the top. Good luck to you maxcat. God Bless Tiffany

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I have never worked in LTC, I work in an acute hospital on a Med-Surg floor. We have mostly post-op patients. There are 31 beds on my floor and they have at least 6 or 7 RN's depending on if we are full or not and sometimes 2 CNA's. If I am the only CNA I am resposible for ALL the vitals on all the patients, but they only assign me 10 for baths, linen changes and anything else they need. However just because they assign me 10 doesn't mean I don't get asked to help with everyone. It's really not too bad, the time flies by for sure. Alot of our patients are ambulatory, but alot are also post op knees and hips.

As for night shift, I did the 7p-7a shifts during my sons pregnancy. I would sleep when my oldest was in kindergarten (But that was only 3 hours!) I would try not to work 2 in a row so I could get more rest. It was hard, but worth it to not have the day care cost. If I were doing a 10-7 it might be easier because then you could nap before going in and 8 is alot easier than 12 as far as that goes. Now that my son is 19 months and I am in nursing school I don't think there is any way I could do nights and survive! LOL! He's WAY too busy for me. I could if I had help though. Just try to nap when they nap (If they still nap) Once I graduate from nursing school I fully intend on going back to night shift, I loved it!

Good luck!

Shannon (CNA for 3 years, Nursing student for 3 months!)

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
What is your MS in?

I have a bachelor's (not in nursing), and working as a CNA to me is depressing, because I feel that I can do much better. I hate being a CNA. To me, it is degrading because I didn't go to college for years to give out snacks and merely babysit. Did I mention that I hate it??

Then again, I don't plan to become a nurse.

If you continue working in your old field, you will probably get paid more.

Follow your heart, however.

But if I were you, I wouldn't be a CNA. With your master's, you might be able to get a position elsewhere in the health field. Keep your options open.

Just curious, but if you HATE being a CNA then why are you one? Espeically if you aren't planning on becoming a nurse :confused:

Being a CNA is more than just giving out snacks and babysitting. If you have a bachelors degree then why aren't you using that to get a better job? I know for me CNA is a stepping stone job and although I might hate somedays, when it comes down to it, I LOVE what I do and that is why I am going to be a nurse. Maybe wiping butts and helping people eat when they can't help themselves isn't for everyone, but it is rewarding. Let me ask you this, God forbid you are sick and in the hospital one day, how will you feel about the CNA that may be taking care of you, "babysitting" you and getting you a snack? Will you still hate the job then? What if you got a CNA who had the same attitude you did? I sure hope it doesn't show in the way you care for your patients.

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LTC, things to look for. 2 CNAs for 22 pt is OK, whatever the number of CNAs on the floor, more than 11-12 pt/CNA is too much. Ask about teamwork. You will never be able to do your job if you can't count on your co-workers. On your tour you should be looking at the residents, asking in a subtle way how many are total care, levels of independence. Take note of this because you do not want to end up with 12 total care residents. Find out about availability of hoyers, policy (are two people required to use it? IMHO a CNA should never operate a hoyer without an assist. Just my opinion from experience) What is the nurse/pt ratio? Does the facility provide hospice care? How long do they train you -- BIG ONE. I worked at a facility once where they trained me one day then threw me on the floor with 12 residents and it was a nightmare. They should train you a minimum of 3 days. What the job requirements will be for your shift -- they are different for each shift. I know people with kids who work night shift. They do not seem to ever sleep because they go home and the kids need them. Did you say whether your kids were in school? I think you said they were toddlers. If they are in day care or school, try to plan your work around that. And of course, benefits, in addition to the health, sick days, and vacation, etc., a lot of facilities will reimburse tuition to nursing students who have a year in on the job.

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Specializes in LTC.

What shift will you be working where you have this many residents? On night shift I would think that's pretty good, day or evening shift I would turn and run. Though, I probably have it pretty coosh where I work.

Though if it's day or evening shift, I would ask about levels of care. Can your residents do some/most of their own cares? Are they full care? Will you be dealing with those who have dementia in the mix?

Good Luck! Also don't listen to those who hate it, if your heart is in it you'll love it. It's amazing the great people you get to meet and help.

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What shift will you be working where you have this many residents? On night shift I would think that's pretty good, day or evening shift I would turn and run. Though, I probably have it pretty coosh where I work.

Though if it's day or evening shift, I would ask about levels of care. Can your residents do some/most of their own cares? Are they full care? Will you be dealing with those who have dementia in the mix?

Good Luck! Also don't listen to those who hate it, if your heart is in it you'll love it. It's amazing the great people you get to meet and help.

The night shift (I think it's 11-7am) has 2 CNA's for 22 residents. There is a seperate alzheimer's unit-not sure what the ratio is there. I was told that the CNA's kind of work as a team to get stuff done, and there is someone else designated as a "bath" person (though maybe that's for the day). I think the level of care varies depending on who's there.

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Specializes in Tele/ICU/MedSurg/Peds/SubAcute/LTC/Alz.
What is your MS in?

I have a bachelor's (not in nursing), and working as a CNA to me is depressing, because I feel that I can do much better. I hate being a CNA. To me, it is degrading because I didn't go to college for years to give out snacks and merely babysit. Did I mention that I hate it??

Then again, I don't plan to become a nurse.

If you continue working in your old field, you will probably get paid more.

Follow your heart, however.

But if I were you, I wouldn't be a CNA. With your master's, you might be able to get a position elsewhere in the health field. Keep your options open.

Maybe you should be a CNA in a different facility, if you feel that way. I can relate, but I tell you one thing if I am not happy there, I won't stay. I worked for a temp agency last summer as a CNA, and of course you are kind of curious where they are going to put you when you get there. Well, I got to my floor and was waiting for someone not to be busy so I can get my assignment. This nurse yelled at me and said, "Don't you have something to do instead of standing around! Get out of here!" Nice, huh! Little did she know, that I was in my last year of nursing school, and hopefully in my nursing career I wouldn't treat anyone like that. Probably because I will remember where I came from. At the end of the day, I told my supervisor and requested not to work there again.

Where I live, the temporary agencies pay the most, or other places will pay you more if you are a seasoned CNA.

Another thing is being a CNA is a lot of work. But, it did help me in nursing school. It help me with time management. It was especially helpful when I had several patients during my clinical rotations.

FOR MAXCAT:

Two CNA's for 22 patients in the evening shift sounds pretty good to me. You might just be changing beds most of the night, doing position changes, and toileting people which is a great help. Most of them will be sleeping, unless they have a tendency to stay up at night. In the morning you might have to do AM care and get them ready for the day.

The sleep thing, will take sometime to get use to. I found that I slept at the same time in the afternoon before I would hit work. I have family who can watch my children whenever and they are both in school so I would catch my zzz's then. If you have someone to watch them while you sleep, you could do it in the afternoon. I have heard of some nurses who take care of their children doing the day and sleep minimally. But, I wouldn't suggest that I have seen enough getting sleep at the wheel accidents from people working third shift. So be careful, and take care of yourself.

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Specializes in LTC.
The night shift (I think it's 11-7am) has 2 CNA's for 22 residents. There is a seperate alzheimer's unit-not sure what the ratio is there. I was told that the CNA's kind of work as a team to get stuff done, and there is someone else designated as a "bath" person (though maybe that's for the day). I think the level of care varies depending on who's there.

That sounds awesome!

Bath Aides are normally day shift and they are responsible for giving everyone, or most everyone a shower or bath. They are absolute life savers!

It sounds like you found yourself a good facility. I've heard so many horror stories about staffing, where day shift is 12/1 and night shift is 25/1, which seems just humanly impossible.

On the note of nights, it takes a couple of months, but you'll get use to it. Just remember that you HAVE to make time to sleep. If you don't sleep you'll find yourself burning out.

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Sometimes I hate being a CNA. I've been griping a lot lately.

I will say that it can be rewarding. I'd just rather be doing something more for what I studied for.

And please, don't tell me that I shouldn't be a CNA if I'm not going to be a nurse or act like I can't complain. Please don't judge me, because you have no idea of what I'm actually like with patients. I try to act as professional as possible, believe it or not. There is such a thing as "venting." I'm not going to comment any more about that. :angryfire

To the OP (the above was not directed at you), it is a stepping stone for me. It's a pride thing, I suppose. I'm sorry you can't find something better with your degree. It would be excellent experience. It's up to you. It just ain't for me. Not forever, anyway.

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