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

Nurses General Nursing

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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?

Specializes in ER.

I have been reading parts of this thread to my husband who is not a nurse but has been a patient. He said please, do a service to your potential patients and choose another profession. People do not enjoy being debilitated or dependant on other people for their daily living activities. Usually it is temporary and they will return to their normal lives.

The attitude of the person "helping" them can make a difference in their recovery. Please, reconsider your career options. I would hate to have someone with your attitude "caring" for my loved ones.

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Sorry some people are so mean to you on this thread. I think your smart to think through what you like and don't like. All of us have things we don't like about our job. But, if you really want to be a nurse hang in there, just do what you have to do , get through it. You never know what you may end up enjoying. Maybe you will take care of an older pt. that may touch your hear in ways you never expected. Try to look at each new experience as an adventure rather than a task. Nursing is a feild with many aspects. We don't enjoy them all. Some people do long term care. Some do peds and so on. But , school is ment to widen your knowlege , take advantage of it.:nurse:Good luck with your decision.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
In my opinion...if you dont want to wipe butts...oral care or turn and postion...go to beauty school

Yep, where one can deal with hair that hasn't been washed in months, and has a yeasty, flaky crust on the scalp (not to mention what a nice odor), who-knows-what brown stuff under fingernails, foot fungus...

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You know, I was scared to death on my first day of clinicals for the CNA class. I was worried that I would gag or crinkle my nose when changing a brief or something like that, but in all honesty, it's not as bad as you think. Instead of thinking of the poop-filled brief in room 205, think of the poor resident in room 205 who is lying in his/her own feces because he/she can't take very good care of his/herself anymore. Put yourself in his/her shoes. I personally would be horrified if someone had to come in and clean me in that way. And if that person gagged at that smell? Just go in there, get the job done with a smile and you both will feel so much better.

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In my program, if you aren't already a CNA, sduring the first term you take a class that essentially trains you to be one, including a 6 week clinical doing CNA work. I completed that and am now in the 2nd term.

I have discovered that the CNAs are so much more comfortable working with their residents in clinical and those of us who just completed the training are a bit tenative. Oh, by the way, this term's clinical is still in LTC but mostly doing LPN duties, INCLUDING changing diapers & wiping butts.

If you really feel you cannot do CNA type duties, run, don't walk to a different profession. You won't make it through LPN training. One of the first things my instructors taught us was that as nurses we will be required to perform duties that those "under" us also do. RNs will do LPN work at times, LPNs will do CNA work. Heck, CNAs probably do housekeeping jobs too. Get used to it. If that resident's CNA is busy with another resident, are you going to leave another sitting in shi__? If you were in the hospital & wanted to get up to use the restroom NOW, do you want to wait for a busy CNA to come while your bladder feels like it's going to burst or would you hope a nurse would step in & help you? It happened to me afetr surgery. Not only did a nurse help me walk to the toilet but she wiped up the urine on the floor because it was too late & changed my gown.

Dixie

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Specializes in OB.

4th semester Rn student- seen lots o poo. and other various unmentionables.

will it go away when I graduate? no.. because when I am in a room right now, I am precepting and am considered to BE the nurse.. who do you think is helping that CNA with the clean up? it aint the janitor.

I think the fact that you have to go thru CNA classes is super idea. It will help you decide if this is the right career for you- which it def sounds like it is NOT. That way you wont waste the time going thru school to find out if you hate it.

I agree with the other posters, I doubt you will find a OB job without an RN behind your name, and I know that in my area, hospitals dont hire LPNs anymore, most new grad LPNs here are hired for LTC.

good luck with your decision!

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As a CNA I can tell you that there is NO SHAME in butt wiping...at least on our end....can you imagine the shame one feels who's having THEIR BUTT WIPED? I know this because some of them tell me how they feel so embarassed having me clean them up....I smile at them and tell them that they shouldn't feel like that because it's not their fault....and I also reassure them that they're fine and that I'm there to help them when they need me....

Now, I worked with an LVN who stated that had it NOT been her being a CNA before entering nursing school there is NO WAY that she would have made it through...She said that being a CNA was soooooooo helpful because in LVN school she had to do the bathing and butt wiping.....and she had went to a tech school to get her LVN and having the CNA wasn't a requirement.....but she said that you can tell who had the experience and who didn't....and the ones that ended up dropping out DIDN'T have the experience as the CNA....Please don't make getting your CNA a bad thing, it will DEFINATELY help you in getting your LVN because in most states being an LVN/LPN requires you to bathe and butt wipe (in hospitals)....Good luck

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Specializes in Lie detection.
sorry some people are so mean to you on this thread. .

i don't think they're being mean at all. it's being realistic. if they can't handle some words on a message board, how will they handle nursing school, let alone working as a nurse???:confused:

i agree with the majority of posts here, the op really needs to rethink her profession choice before starting school. her words "horrified" at the thought of changing an older person's diaper? sounds like a really young person who thinks it's going to be all about johnson's baby powder and rubber duckies.:chuckle

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i don't think they're being mean at all. it's being realistic. if they can't handle some words on a message board, how will they handle nursing school, let alone working as a nurse???:confused:

i agree with the majority of posts here, the op really needs to rethink her profession choice before starting school. her words "horrified" at the thought of changing an older person's diaper? sounds like a really young person who thinks it's going to be all about johnson's baby powder and rubber duckies.:chuckle

you can't judge a person by a few sentences. to tell them we don't need them in this profession is mean no matter how you look at it. i would like to know more about them before i judge. oh....that's right nurses arn't supposed to judge. maybe this op has had a terrible experience with this sort of care in the past that makes them feel this way. as experinced nurses maybe we can help them overcome this. i think that is what this op is really asking for any way.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
You can't judge a person by a few sentences. To tell them we don't need them in this profession is mean no matter how you look at it. I would like to know more about them before I judge. Oh....that's right nurses arn't supposed to judge. Maybe this op has had a terrible experience with this sort of care in the past that makes them feel this way. As experinced nurses maybe we can help them overcome this. I think that is what this op is really asking for any way.

Looking at the title of this thread, then reading the OP about being 'horrified' at having to do some of the tasks described, i still don't feel any different. IF CNA tasks are 'horrifying', nursing tasks aren't going to be much less horrifying, and one shouldn't go into a profession with rose-colored glasses.

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

Nursing is much about poop and body fluids. We clean it, measure it, smell it, dispose of it, describe it, talk about it, collect it and write about it. RN, LPN, CNA... it doesn't matter. We're in the poop and whatever else comes out of a orrifice business. The only consolation I can offer to the OP is that you get used to it. But you'd better realize that nursing is a messy job.

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I see the benefit of being a CNA first. It would help you to solidify basic nursing practice and caring, really caring, for the patient. Hope you are not under the impression that being a nurse means you will not get your hands dirty.

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