I actually like being a CNA - should I become an RN?

Nurses General Nursing

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After years of volunteering at a small LTC facility, I was laid off from my job in an unrelated technical field and I started working there as a CNA. I was constantly stressed about finding another job in an area with a terribly high unemployment rate and the administrator was constantly stressed about filling aide shifts, so I decided to try it out with the understanding that I could go back to volunteering if it didn't work out.

Well, I love it. I love taking care of people and I am actually pretty good at connecting with the patients in a way that makes them less anxious about what they are going through. I've been through the emotional parts of the job as a volunteer too -- losing people who you get really attached to -- and I can handle that.

I am now thinking of going back to school to become licensed as an RN. I'm really apprehensive though. It is a huge move and I've scared that the things that I love about being a CNA at a small facility, like the personal time that I get to spend with each patient, won't be part of a nursing career. I also don't like the idea of starting my education over again, but I can get over that if I know that it is the right thing for me to do.

What I need to know from the nice people on this board is whether or not it sounds like I am living in a insulated little bubble now and if all of the things I love about being a CNA will be pushed off by the huge increase in patient loads and responsibilities that being an RN will bring. I know that nursing school will be a tremendous amount of wor, but I'm not really worried about that. What I worry about is if I will get to the other side of it and the job won't look anything like what I am doing now. Should I just keep CNAing forever or until the job market improves and I can go back into my previous fiend - which I also enjoyed quite a bit?

Also, I don't mine poo and all, but it would be nice to be able to use my brain again instead of just my wiping hand.

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Specializes in home health, dialysis, others.

Go for it - - we need more people like you!

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Being a CNA and an RN are two entirely different things with different job descriptions to boot. But you can make it work.It's all about attitude and you mam, seem to have a very sunny one:).

You already love the professions, that's 50percent of the work- the rest you've got. Go for it!

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Stay working as a CNA. We need people like you in the field!

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You will unfortunately as a nurse not have as much private time with your patients. That is a very sad reality for most nurses. Nursing school is tough and can be expensive. I suggest looking into a community college program. It's much cheaper and should take about 2 years or so to complete. The money will probably be at last double. It is where I live. Look into it and gather the info and then decide.

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Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.

I too did enjoy being a CNA very much and I so miss those carefree days! Don't get me wrong I like being a nurse too but it would be nice to work a shift where all I have to worry about is vital signs, call lights, toileting, and turns. If you enjoy what you do and aren't strapped financially I don't think you should feel pressured to be a nurse.

ETA: I do get to spend quality time with my patients and get to know them as I only have 5 at night in the hospital. I usually end up doing total care because there's only one CNA for 24 pts so I do get the best of both worlds.

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CNA to RN in my opinion is a swap i think, from one end of it to the other, from being someone who reports to another to a person whom others report to. Certified Nurse Assistants are also known as nurses’ assistants, patient care technicians, home fitness aides, and home health assistants. CNAs are engaged in a numerous health care fields. They do the job in hospitals, nursing homes, private homes, and adult living homes. CNAs do a number of responsibilities that cover: monitoring health such as taping a patients temperature, pulsate and respiration, assisting patients feed, bathe, and dress, helping patients march, arranging patients rooms, place given that nutritious meals, answering patients’ call bells, and making beds. They may also help patients to examination place to stay and even assist with simple actions. CNAs report to a Registered Nurse. Registered Nurses do the job in about all areas of the health care career. They act upon many tasks that include: supervising treatments such as medications, performing assured medical actions, monitoring essential signs, recommending and at the bottom of patients, taming patients about medical circumstances and keep families up-to-date on a patient’s status. Registered Nurses can concentrate in convinced medical regions. In my opinion there is a decent difference between the two, and the workloads one should expect, but i think that you should just go with what you are yearning most to do. http://www.nursingstudenttutor.com/nursing/type-of-nurses.html is where i found a list of nursing styles that may interest you.

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Specializes in neuro/ortho med surge 4.

I worked as an aide before I got my RN. I really liked being an aide and helping the patients. I find now that the aide probably spend more time with the patients than I do. It really upsets me that I cannot spend a lot of time with my patients. I find the hands on care and the interaction with the patients is the best part of the job for me. Unfortunately the nurse has too many other tasks to be able to spend the time you would like to.

I would tell you to go for it. You sound like a caring person and that comes across to patients. The nursing profession needs more people like you. Being a nurse and an aide are 2 totally different jobs. I would see if I could shadow a hospital nurse so you can see what the day in the life of a nurse is like. Clinicals do not give you a realistic view of nursing at all.

Sorry about the grammar. Been a long shift at work.

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you could try to be a RN, if you do not like to be an RN,you can change youself back again

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Specializes in MICU/SICU.

FYI, you can't be an RN and work as an aide, unless you give up your license.

I have worked as an aide, and am now an RN. They are not two totally different things, but something that's all encompassed under total nursing care.

We don't usually have aides, and when we do, I find them useless. I work in ICU, and our aides don't bathe people, turn patients, chart vitals, change boards, clean up messes, or do any of the stuff I used to do as an aide independently. Frankly, I don't really know what the aides in our unit do - that's another topic. Anyway, I give 100% of my patient's care, except for RT, and that makes me the nurse AND the aide, but I don't think of it that way, I just think of it ALL as nursing care from the hands on down and dirty ------> to the technical critical thought part. I love it all.

I loved being an aide, and I love being a nurse a million times more, because I feel like I actually use my brain now. (Not that aides don't need a brain, but there was no mental challenge in it)

And should you go back to school to become an RN? Of course you should! Go back and grow yourself, and make more money while you are at it!

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Specializes in long-term, sub-acute, med-surg.

If you like being a CNA, then I say, Good for you! There is a huge need for CNA's, especially those who are dedicated, professional, and choose it for the job itself, not as a step toward being an RN. There's nothing wrong with starting as an aide and then becoming an RN--in fact, I wish I'd done that myself, it would have helped a lot in nursing school--but CNA's are so much more important to caring for patients than they are generally given credit for.

I have infinite respect for those CNA's who make it a lifelong profession. They are the backbone of the healthcare system, and they deserve more respect--and pay increases! If you love it, I'd say stick with it. If later it's time to move on, you'll know it.

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Specializes in prehospital, ER, critical care transport.

My hat is off to you for your awesome attitude toward your work. How different hospitals would be if everyone approached their job the way you do!

If you are considering getting your RN license, I am cheering for you. If you have been out of school for a while, it may ease the transition if you enroll in a prerequisite class or two first. This help accustom you to balancing school and work.

If you don't already, now is a good time to start reading a professional nursing journal or two. There are dozens to choose from; some are general interest, and some are very specialized. Don't despair if you don't completely understand each article; I am an experienced nurse in a specialty area, and I certainly don't understand everything I encounter in the literature at first blush either!

Finally, if you want to stretch your knowledge base while keeping your hands on the patient, may I suggest you look into critical care. Since these patients tend to be complex and fragile, RNs tend to render most of the care that CNAs would be responsible for in another practice setting. Staffing ratios are low - two or three patients at the most per RN. The initial learning curve is a little steep - mainly because of the need to be comfortable with EKG rhythm interpretation - but it's not impossible.

Best of luck!

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