Hate being a CNA

[LadyLeo75]

Hello all I am currently a CNA and I must say I don't like it at all. Everyone say that CNA's make great nurses I start school in September to become an LPN but I feel CNA is not for me. It's not the job it's the people I work with any suggestions on whether or not I should stick it out or go work as a customer service rep and finish school?

[BellionRN]

Want to be a better nurse? Do well in school, understand what you are learning, respect each position at the hospital (including your dietary aids, house keepers), have excellent customer service skills, always try to learn more...

I love this.

And just a sidenote, I didn't work in the hospital setting before or during Nursing School until I was in 3rd year. That summer (before going into 4th year) I got a job as a Student Nurse Employee in a busy ICU and I loved it. I worked there casual throughout my fourth year. My thoughts were, I'm going to be a nurse and in the hospital setting for the rest of my life... I don't feel like I need to start ASAP.

[Jayblade]

Listen...being a CNA isn't going to make you a better nurse. They are 2 entirely different jobs. Find a new CNA position but if you don't like it and its making you unhappy and doing customer service feels better...do customer service. Learning to be a good provider of customer service will serve you just as well as learning the tasks of a CNA when it comes to being a nurse.

CNAs aren't nurses or a form or nursing. They provide tasks. They don't have a nursing education. So the things you do as a CNA are tasks.

Want to be a better nurse? Do well in school, understand what you are learning, respect each position at the hospital (including your dietary aids, house keepers), have excellent customer service skills, always try to learn more...

CNAs provide more than tasks. And quite frankly, cnas do for pt more than a lot of nurses do. They dont have half of the autonomy nurse have. However, their presence and care for pt make an immense difference in the recovery process. What do you call charting on a pt? Assessing a pt? Giving scheduled meds? Aren't those tasks as well? How can a customer service job serve as well as a CNA for someone looking forward to nursing school?

Stop undermining or eating the young. Their job is as important as your.

[IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

CNAs provide more than tasks. And quite frankly, cnas do for pt more than a lot of nurses do. They dont have half of the autonomy nurse have. However, their presence and care for pt make an immense difference in the recovery process. What do you call charting on a pt? Assessing a pt? Giving scheduled meds? Aren't those tasks as well? How can a customer service job serve as well as a CNA for someone looking forward to nursing school?

Stop undermining or eating the young. Their job is as important as your.

As a CNA you are not performing a nursing assessment or using nursing judgment...not even close. Here CNAs do not give meds...you give meds as a CNA? Charting on a patient...CNAs aren't doing anymore than charting simple finds. You aren't learning how to chart as a nurse.

How is customer service good for a nurse? Really.

A CNAs job is important as a CNA. I can do my job with aids. My job can't be done without me. Stop putting yourself at the level of a nurse when you aren't one. We all have out jobs and CNAs who think they are above and beyond what they are create issues. You are not a nurse and do not come close to having the education nurses have. You come across as the CNA who thinks she knows it all and can do the nurse's job without the nurse's educator.

[i_love_patient_care]

I think the lack of respect for CNAs by these nurses is characteristic of a lot of nurses I've come across. Okay we get it. We did not go to nursing school. We do not do assessments like the nurses do. However, nurses who have been CNAs before can get their work done faster when it comes to doing work that they learned as a CNA. I've had code browns with nurses in a hospital setting who would double gown and double glove because they hated cleaning poop. I, on the other hand was halfway done with the job already by the time she was double gowned and gloved. It got to the point to where I had to tell this nurse just hold him so I can clean him up >.>

Being a CNA first does not guarantee a better nurse, but it's a better chance of being a better nurse.

And for the record, a good CNA will let you know when there are symptoms that might signify a critical change in condition. We are your eyes and ears, and provide a lot more than you think.

[Jayblade]

As a CNA you are not performing a nursing assessment or using nursing judgment...not even close. Here CNAs do not give meds...you give meds as a CNA? Charting on a patient...CNAs aren't doing anymore than charting simple finds. You aren't learning how to chart as a nurse.

How is customer service good for a nurse? Really.

A CNAs job is important as a CNA. I can do my job with aids. My job can't be done without me. Stop putting yourself at the level of a nurse when you aren't one. We all have out jobs and CNAs who think they are above and beyond what they are create issues. You are not a nurse and do not come close to having the education nurses have. You come across as the CNA who thinks she knows it all and can do the nurse's job without the nurse's educator.

Im a nursing student. I work as a PCT so I have more autonomy than a CNAs.I work along with nurses all the time. I shadow nurses all the time. I know more than you can imagine. Im not putting myself at the level of a nurse. You might want to revisit my post. I don't need a nurse education to get my job done. On the contrary, nurses do need the aid provided by PCTs and CNAs to get all their job done. You stated cna's only do tasks. I never said CNAs give meds or do assessments and Charting on pts. I just laugh because these are things I expose myself to everyday. You think you are talking to a person that is clueless about the things nurses do everyday. You can call it what you want, I'll call it what it is. Giving meds, doing assessments, charting on pts, those are tasks as well. A Nurse job is important as a nurse too, nothing more. Look at it this way. Can you do your job without a physician or a resident? If your answer is yes, you are wrong. If a pt wants tylenol and is not ordered for it. Can you give the pt tylenol without reaching out to the attending? Don't think of yourself as being on top sweet heart. You are just one step ahead.

FYI- you dont know my level of education. I have a bachelors degree in health education and currently pursing a second degree in nursing.

[janeybirdRN]

Oh, snap. I love my techs. They save my butt and I'm glad to have them.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

It's helpful, but not at all necessary, to work as a CNA prior to becoming a nurse. I worked as an LPN/LVN for 4 years before earning my RN license. I'm almost certain that if I had worked as a CNA beforehand, I would have been totally turned off to the idea of becoming a nurse.

[IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

Im a nursing student. I work as a PCT so I have more autonomy than a CNAs.I work along with nurses all the time. I shadow nurses all the time. I know more than you can imagine. Im not putting myself at the level of a nurse. You might want to revisit my post. I don't need a nurse education to get my job done. On the contrary, nurses do need the aid provided by PCTs and CNAs to get all their job done. You stated cna's only do tasks. I never said CNAs give meds or do assessments and Charting on pts. I just laugh because these are things I expose myself to everyday. You think you are talking to a person that is clueless about the things nurses do everyday. You can call it what you want, I'll call it what it is. Giving meds, doing assessments, charting on pts, those are tasks as well. A Nurse job is important as a nurse too, nothing more. Look at it this way. Can you do your job without a physician or a resident? If your answer is yes, you are wrong. If a pt wants tylenol and is not ordered for it. Can you give the pt tylenol without reaching out to the attending? Don't think of yourself as being on top sweet heart. You are just one step ahead.

FYI- you dont know my level of education. I have a bachelors degree in health education and currently pursing a second degree in nursing.

Sweetheart? Well aren't you showing how condescending you would like to be. And I never questioned your education but your bachelors is not in nursing so what is your point?

I'm more than one step ahead of a CNA. Oh my!

Can I do my job without a physician or resident? And that's where you show how useless you are! Yes...I can. Since the RNs do a lot of the teaching of residents and protecting patients from them...yes I can live without them.

CNAs have their place and being one does not mean a better RN...they are very different jobs!

[Jayblade]

Sweetheart? Well aren't you showing how condescending you would like to be. And I never questioned your education but your bachelors is not in nursing so what is your point?

I'm more than one step ahead of a CNA. Oh my!

Can I do my job without a physician or resident? And that's where you show how useless you are! Yes...I can. Since the RNs do a lot of the teaching of residents and protecting patients from them...yes I can live without them.

CNAs have their place and being one does not mean a better RN...they are very different jobs!

Since the RNs do a lot of the teaching of residents and protecting patients from them? That makes no sense at all. You protect pts from Doctors? you advocate for pts which is different. If you were able to do your job without a physician or resident. Why are they on call? This is where you show how ignorant and incompetent you can be as a nurse. Try giving a asymptomatic pt medications for which they are not written for without the approval of an attending or whoever is overseeing the pt. Whats the first thing you have to do? Page the attending. and I wrong? A pt with excruciating pain wants pain meds but is not written for any. Try alleviating the pain by just educating them. This is how ignorant you are, stating you can do your job without a resident.

If a CNAs job is not important. Why do hospitals hire them? my bachelors is not in nursing but I can guarantee my knowledge about a broad range of disease process, epidemiology, manifestation, and treatment is better is than any regular RN. You give meds which is a like no brainer nowadays. Orders for meds are precisely written; Scheduled meds and PRN's. new systems such as EPIC and ICIS provide you with all the information necessary to educate your pt about the medication contraindications, side effects and mechanism of action.

You are totally right CNAs and RN have different duties and TASKS to execute. This is what make them different from which other. However, you cannot rule out the fact that being a CNA can help a person become a better RN. They don't teach everything in nursing school. Most thighs you learn when you start working as a nurse.

You are not more than a step away from a CNA. Before you know, one of those CNAs can be the one you will get report from next time you go into your shift.

[IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

Since the RNs do a lot of the teaching of residents and protecting patients from them? That makes no sense at all. You protect pts from Doctors? you advocate for pts which is different. If you were able to do your job without a physician or resident. Why are they on call? This is where you show how ignorant and incompetent you can be as a nurse. Try giving a asymptomatic pt medications for which they are not written for without the approval of an attending or whoever is overseeing the pt. Whats the first thing you have to do? Page the attending. and I wrong? A pt with excruciating pain wants pain meds but is not written for any. Try alleviating the pain by just educating them. This is how ignorant you are, stating you can do your job without a resident.

If a CNAs job is not important. Why do hospitals hire them? my bachelors is not in nursing but I can guarantee my knowledge about a broad range of disease process, epidemiology, manifestation, and treatment is better is than any regular RN. You give meds which is a like no brainer nowadays. Orders for meds are precisely written; Scheduled meds and PRN's. new systems such as EPIC and ICIS provide you with all the information necessary to educate your pt about the medication contraindications, side effects and mechanism of action.

You are totally right CNAs and RN have different duties and TASKS to execute. This is what make them different from which other. However, you cannot rule out the fact that being a CNA can help a person become a better RN. They don't teach everything in nursing school. Most thighs you learn when you start working as a nurse.

You are not more than a step away from a CNA. Before you know, one of those CNAs can be the one you will get report from next time you go into your shift.

If the CNA Is getting report it is because she is now an RN...and she had taken many steps to get there.

If you don't think RNs teach residents...you are wrong.

You just aren't getting...I think you are set on pounding your chest. Enjoy.

[janeybirdRN]

I think it depends on the type of nursing whether or not being a cna beforehand is going to make you a better nurse. Ltc, and rehab you need to help with more adls than you will in a cath lab.

[mstearns09]

This thread is rapidly becoming an example of nursing eating their young...