Hate being a CNA; will I hate nursing?

[queenjulie]

I will be starting nursing school in the fall and I just completed my CNA certification, which is required before starting school. I hated it. Part of it was a crappy teacher, but I have no interest in brushing hair, changing sheets, and that kind of thing. Am I going to be a crappy nurse? I want to provide medical care and real help, not just watch old people die slowly.

[andrewprincesspeach]

Idk know the difference between a Nursing Assistant and a Patient Care Tech (PCT) They do the same stuff generally so yeah.

[justmeinlv]

I have been a CNA for 7 years and I hated it also. I bounced around for about the first 5 years and never found anything I liked. I was on the verge of walking away and wasting all that time and energy I had put into school. Then one day I had an interview with the manager of burn unit. I got the job and I love it. Burn care saved my career.

My point is most of nursing sucks, but when you find an area you fit into there could not be a better job! You need to find what you like. Try many things maby you will like working on a cardiac unit, cancer unit, trauma, peds, or even burn care.

Now I am waiting to see if I got into the nursing program and I am really excited to get the phone call.

[afox]

I hated working as a CNA also. I'm not saying that there arent some awesome CNA's who bust there butts. But I think working conditions suck in a lot of places, and there are also some questionable people in practice that I worked with.

Just remember that there are Many different aspects of nursing that you could enjoy. You just have to figure out what you like and dont like about nursing. There is psych nursing, OB, corrections, peds, icu, er, doctors office, school nurse, etc... you are bound to find something that you enjoy doing

[Butterfliesnroses]

CNA "work" is so important. As a nurse, no matter what your specialty, you will be providing comfort for your pt's. So yes as a nurse you may need to change their sheets. It doesn't mean you have to like it but it's part of being a good nurse IMO. Pt's appreciate the little things. I'm a CNA in LTC and have worked at one for 4+ years. I'm a first year nursing student. Most quarters in the nursing program ARE full care! I have 1-2 pt's that I do everything for (except IV stuff, we can assess IVs but can't run any IV meds). Also from a CNA perspective I'm way more willing to go above and beyond in regards to my nurse if she'll do things to make my job a bit easier (get ice water for my pt, push a pt down the hall, etc).

[nursel56]

QUOTE=Butterfliesnroses;4239824]CNA "work" is so important. As a nurse, no matter what your specialty, you will be providing comfort for your pt's. So yes as a nurse you may need to change their sheets. It doesn't mean you have to like it but it's part of being a good nurse IMO. Pt's appreciate the little things.

This is so true, and anyone who's ever been in the hospital as a patient will tell you that. You learn to really appreciate clean, smooth linens once you've been lying on bunchy ones, mouth care once you've had grit or a sour taste in your mouth from meds and/or NPO status, it just goes on and on. From the nurse's standpoint, the meds, tests, and treatments do, and should have top priority. From the standpoiint of the overall care of the patient, CNA "work" has a much more immediate positive effect.