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Discussion

Hated being a CNA, scared to commit to nursing.

I got a job as a nursing assistant at a major hospital in March. I went through the orientation and enjoyed it and especially enjoyed our clinical day. My job was 12 hour night shift, part time. However, when I got up on to my floor, things took a turn for the worse. I cried everyday before and after work. I worked on a med-surg observational unit and I hated the work. I didn't mind the patient interaction in fact, I really enjoyed the patients but there was a lot about the job that I hated. I don't want to sound prissy, but I hated the "dirty work". I've never minded blood, guts, all that but dealing with poop and pee is a different story. The 12 hour shift, especially nights, wreaked havoc on my anxiety. I couldn't stand it. I quit because my anxiety was so bad (due to other things as well) that I had to quit. My manager totally understood and wished me well. Now, I'm at loss for what I want to do. I was going to attend an accelerated bsn program after I graduate next year but now, I just don't know. I don't want to have to miss time with my family by having to work weekends and holidays. If I work days, I'll never see my kids and if I work nights, my sleep exhaustion will exacerbate my anxiety. Nursing appealed to me because I considered myself a nurturer and enjoyed the hospital atmosphere. I also thought working 3 12s would be awesome so I could spend more time with my kids. Has anyone else hated being a CNA but enjoyed being a nurse? How do you handle the time spent away from your kids?

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    Hate to break it to you, but even as a nurse, you deal with poop and pee.

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    I figured that much but I know there's all different types of nursing I could get into besides even being at the bedside. My interests are in labor and delivery, ob, and peds. I know I would be dealing with bodily fluids there but I feel like I would enjoy the work enough that it would be worth it. My main issue is family time and how I'll manage.

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    A good nurse should never ask the cna to do something they wouldn't do themselves. You're gonna be in plenty of code brown's as a nurse.

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    That definitely wasn't the mantra on the floor I worked on, unfortunately. I rarely had help from any of the nurses, with the exception of probably one. Anyways, I know I would still have to be doing all that type of work but that's certainly not my main concern.

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    I figured that much but I know there's all different types of nursing I could get into besides even being at the bedside. My interests are in labor and delivery, ob, and peds. I know I would be dealing with bodily fluids there but I feel like I would enjoy the work enough that it would be worth it. My main issue is family time and how I'll manage.

    That is true, and I think it's safe to say that if you're a nurse you will eventually be able to find a job that you enjoy. But you will almost definitely have to put up with several years of the "dirty work," and even the specialities you mentioned are going to have you elbow deep in poop and pee way more often than I think you're anticipating.

    If you don't think you can handle it, there are many other fields in health care besides nursing.

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    I will think about that. I think I need to spend some time shadowing nurses to see if it's something I can do long term. Do you mind giving me other ideas of health careers besides nursing? I know about respiratory therapy but that's about it. I'll have my bachelors in health sciences in a year if I stick with this plan but I'm planning on getting married and having another child shortly thereafter so I can't spend too much more time in school to do something like PT, OT, etc.

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    You might consider OR nursing. Challenging, competitive to get in to, but many of the scheduled procedures/block time is day shift, limited weekends, and you're dealing with one patient at a time. A job shadow might be the way to go. You do have to take varying amounts of call depending on the type of hospital and your surgical specialty.

    Still see code browns and the occasional gangrenous limb that smells pretty bad, but it is a very different type of nursing.

    Other health care careers include medical laboratory scientist or technologist, radiology tech, ultrasound, anesthesia tech, surgical tech, and healthcare engineering.

    Good luck!

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    All those issues will still exist as an RN. Actually probably more stress. You are seeing the "good" in being able to spend time with your kids Great. However being a nurse so you can spend time with kids is not really a good reason to be a nurse.

    You very well may end up working nights. I know as a nurse for 10 years no new grad is walking in and taking my day shift. I did two years on nights before getting to days.

    The parts of the job you "hate" are still going to be there.

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