HELP! I DON"T WANT TO GO THROUGH CNA first...

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This is really not to put any profession down but I've dreamed of being a nurse for soooo long, now only to discover that before entering my LVN program, I have to get the CNA title first! I am horrified of having to do some of the tasks described! This is not whaat I dreamed of all these years, I was thinking more along the lines of changing newborn diapers, not old folk diapers! CAN ANYONE BRING ANY CONSOLATION?

once again dorselm, thank you!

i wish you the best of luck in your career and i'm sorry that you miss your breaks and lunch. it all goes to show that you are truly dedicated to your patients, even though it is not always peachy! ( if you know what i mean)

like i've mentioned before my time and financial resources are very scarce at the moment and i just wanted to enter the nursing profession and make significant contributions. if that means learning to "get out of my comfort zone" then so be it. what doesn't kill my only makes me stronger right? i do comprehend that it will make me a little more experienced as far as bedside care is concerned. i just know that not every nurse does this every day all day long... that is why they invented the cna position right? i think so. i'm even starting to doubt my interest in lvn, since hearing all this lack of respect and all... i'll keep you updated though. to top it all off the lvn school closest to my home is $32,000 but almost everyone has been telling me i'm crazy if i want to pay that much just for lvn, when the "adult" school in the next city is only $7,000!!!! i just fear that chances are so slim for an lvn to get hired in a hospital nowadays and the expensive school is through the hospital so it's like my "security blanket" of sorts...well now that i've vented i've got alot of decisions to make... thanks again!

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Specializes in Oncology, Orthopaedics, Med/Surg.

"Just for LVN...." :nono:

Oy.... I shall keep my lips sealed. Good luck, and God bless.

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Specializes in A variety.

I have read most of these posts and can understand where just about everyone is coming from in one way or another. However, I think that people are completely attacking the OP for every word she says that can be misconstrued as something else. I mean for goodness sakes, I highly doubt she meant "just for LPN" in the sense that you took it! My impression is that she was meaning that the cost of the education is so much higher than most programs, RN, LPN, whatever the case may be. That is a LOT of money! I know that is way too much money for me at this point to spend on my RN program and I am hoping to get into a community college in the fall and pay less than half that amount! I just think that people are at times being a little too hard on the each other and it doesn't make it a nice arena to talk openly for fear of saying something "wrong." And I really really doubt her intention was to put the LPN profession down and be disrespectful. I think there were many very valid points in this thread, I just think it sometimes gets a little crazy when we are just looking for things to pick apart when it is doubtful (at least to me) that the intention of this last post was to be rude.

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i have read most of these posts and can understand where just about everyone is coming from in one way or another. however, i think that people are completely attacking the op for every word she says that can be misconstrued as something else. i mean for goodness sakes, i highly doubt she meant "just for lpn" in the sense that you took it! my impression is that she was meaning that the cost of the education is so much higher than most programs, rn, lpn, whatever the case may be. that is a lot of money! i know that is way too much money for me at this point to spend on my rn program and i am hoping to get into a community college in the fall and pay less than half that amount! i just think that people are at times being a little too hard on the each other and it doesn't make it a nice arena to talk openly for fear of saying something "wrong." and i really really doubt her intention was to put the lpn profession down and be disrespectful. i think there were many very valid points in this thread, i just think it sometimes gets a little crazy when we are just looking for things to pick apart when it is doubtful (at least to me) that the intention of this last post was to be rude.

so true! if anything i have learned in this forum, especially this forum, is that i will be attacked no matter what!(can you believe this was my very first post, ever?) thanks to people like you who understand my p.o.v. no, i was not bashing lvns. it's just paying over $30,000 for lvn course seems a bit exagerrated for just yes just the lvn license,(given my situation) when i would have to still go through rn program! not that lvns aren't important, because i know they are! my goodness! thanks for the benefit of the doubt!

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Specializes in ICU/CCU, CVICU, Trauma.
So true! If anything I have learned in this forum, especially this forum, is that I will be attacked NO MATTER WHAT!(can you believe this was my very first post, ever?) Thanks to people like you who understand my P.O.V. No, I was not bashing LVNs. It's just paying over $30,000 for LVN course seems a bit exagerrated for JUST yes JUST the LVN license,(given my situation) when I would have to still go through RN program! Not that LVNs aren't important, because I know they are! My goodness! Thanks for the benefit of the doubt!

No, you will not be attacked no matter what. But take a good look at your posts - there's a lot of yelling on your part (size, color, caps). That is unneccessary. And yes, your OP was poorly worded. When someone attacks my profession, I tend to fight back. So I understand those who have "attacked" you. A little bit of me still thinks "thou dost protest too much".

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

You have certainly acquired a great deal of responses and passion in this thread. I don't intend to bash you, either. I just believe that your perception of what nurses do is not correct. I am an LPN myself, and believe me, we are doing dirty work, as well. In fact, the LPN is in the middle of the CNA and the RN, so, we may be medicating and doing nasty dressings more...suctioning, then there are the bedsores... In fact, you may begin to actually appreciate the poo in compared to the gross things you may actually encounter, and be mandated to hold a straight face. It is not the world of the movies, dear. Maybe you need to begin speaking to other LPNs and RNs that are in your area. See how tired we are.

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Specializes in LTC, cardiac, ortho rehab.

the cna work is the foundation of nursing. im an lvn and i change diapers from time to time. its a great time to assess a patients coccyx for any decubitus ulcers or reddening or rashes. i did alot of diaper changing in nursing school and im sure youll do alot too.

a friend of mine in nursing school tried to get through the whole program without "wiping ass" he eventually got a duty in which he wiped ass all day for about 2 weeks. the teacher thought of it as catching up.

but honestly, if you cant do the cna work, i suggest you go into another healthcare discipline, maybe MA or something cause theres no room for an lvn or rn who is afraid to get down and dirty. sorry to sound kinda mean, but nursing is nursing and nursing is hygiene(look up florence nightingale, i think thats how you spell her name)

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Specializes in Alzheimer's Disease, Geriatrics.

I worked my way from CNA, to med aide, and then to nursing school. And let me tell you that the work that I did and the time that I spent with my residents as a CNA was the best time that I have ever spent wiht patients. I worked in AL facility in the ALZ neighborhood, and being that close, and personal with people, is what is going to make you a good nurse in my opinion. The people that I go to school with now, don't have the ability to have that personal connection with someone that you learn to have when you are a CNA. And they are right, you have to do all the same stuff as an LVN, RN and even administrators. I have seen a few of them on the floor doing CNA work when we were short handed. So think long and hard if that is what you want, bc if it is not then you really need to find something else to do. Good luck

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I was a CNA for 8 years before I became a nurse. I also became a LPN before RN. I think it was good for me because it gave me an opportunity to view patient care from different aspects. There is good and bad in every job and I learned a lot from each. I think it is a good idea to start as a CNA. I know it helped me tremendously in my journey to become a RN.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I think the original poster has been scared or spited away from ever posting on this forum again. Some of the comments were a tad harsh, but I tend to unequivocally agree that obtaining the CNA certification would have been a valuable stepping stone.

I was an aide at a group home for developmentally disabled adults who suffered from profound retardation. I did a mixture of 'clean' and 'dirty' work: gave showers, wiped their butts, dressed them, prepared meals, cleaned up after them, administered oral medications, reported changes in condition, and charted on flow sheets. The experience was quite valuable.

In addition, I shall mention that the look and smell of feces becomes more tolerable as the time passes. You will become acclimated to poopy situations, so take it all with a grain of salt. Good luck!

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I am a senior nursing student with a 4.0 GPA blah, blah, blah. I took a job about a month ago on a critical care floor. Lots of kidney, liver, heart failure etc. Lots of immobile, incontinent patients. Lots of bed baths, and lots of poop. Even with my 4.0 GPA , I learned more in 3 days on the job than I learned my entire junior year of school. Working as a CNA is the best thing I have ever done. Every nurse I have talked too says the best nurses are the ones that have been CNAs first. My CNA experience is far more valuable than any grades or honors I may attain. If you don't ever want to do CNA work, that means you will be one of those RNs that sees a patient lying in their waste, and walk away because it isn't your job. Nurses like that are not teamplayers. By the way, since I am working this semester, I probably won't pull all A's, but I will be a heck of a lot better nurse because of my CNA experience. Title means nothing, especially if you think you are above doing certain tasks.

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wow I am not sure how to start this post. I am now a supervisor in my current job. Before that 14yrs before I started in food service, then Direct care (similar to CNA)then LPN now supervisor. Every step I have taken lead me to where I am today. When I work my part time job as an agency nurse I have to rely on CNA's greatly to help me. It is sad that anyone wishing to go into the medical/nursing field would want to bypass being a CNA its called work. I think it helps to start at the bottom. You can only go up. My father just retired as a RN for over 30yrs. Up to his last day working he continued to help with ADL's . Nursing is treating the human need as well as the medical need. I agree with most if you dont want to become a CNA that is like learning to walk before you crawl. It also sounds like cna work is beneath you? I could be wrong. Just my humble opinion.

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