I have a B.A. and thinking about pursuing a CNA

vashtee, RN · Dec 5, 2008

Based on your post, I don't think you'd like being a CNA.

Not one bit.

yousoldtheworld · Dec 5, 2008

Yeah. While I don't think it necessarily means you're selfish, a HUGE part of a CNA's job involves poop and pee. Cleaning it, measuring it, observing it, charting it, emptying it, catheters, colostomies, ileostomies.

If you want to go for something in a hospital setting, perhaps you should try to become a clinical secretary. Or if you were willing to work in long term care, an activities assistant or coordinator, or a receptionist in a doctor's office.

A CNA position is not necessarily a foot in the door unless you're going for nursing...and if you can't stand poop or pee, I wouldn't recommend nursing, either. Look for a job in the healthcare setting where you're not doing direct patient care.

Ling07 · Dec 5, 2008

Based on your post, I don't think you'd like being a CNA.
Not one bit.

lol, can you please explain why??

yousoldtheworld · Dec 5, 2008

Also, what is your Bachelor's in?

And what exactly is it that you'd like to DO in the hospital?

Other healthcare positions are: social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, lab technicians, radiology, human resources, infection control, etc. Your eligibility to work in those areas depends on what your education is in, though, and working as a CNA doesn't really help your chances of getting those jobs beyond being basic healthcare experience.

Ling07 · Dec 5, 2008

Yeah. While I don't think it necessarily means you're selfish, a HUGE part of a CNA's job involves poop and pee. Cleaning it, measuring it, observing it, charting it, emptying it, catheters, colostomies, ileostomies.
If you want to go for something in a hospital setting, perhaps you should try to become a clinical secretary. Or if you were willing to work in long term care, an activities assistant or coordinator, or a receptionist in a doctor's office.
A CNA position is not necessarily a foot in the door unless you're going for nursing...and if you can't stand poop or pee, I wouldn't recommend nursing, either. Look for a job in the healthcare setting where you're not doing direct patient care.

Thanks for your post!! Very detailed. Nursing assistants measure poop? Uh..... So you're pretty much saying it's not likely I will find a CNA position where I am not cleaning bowel movements and urine?

Ling07 · Dec 5, 2008

Also, what is your Bachelor's in?
And what exactly is it that you'd like to DO in the hospital?
Other healthcare positions are: social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, lab technicians, radiology, human resources, infection control, etc. Your eligibility to work in those areas depends on what your education is in, though, and working as a CNA doesn't really help your chances of getting those jobs beyond being basic healthcare experience.

My bachelors is in Communications. I actually want to be a nurse. I love helping people. I help people at my church every other Saturday and I don't need an alarm clock to wake me up. I just get up naturally because I love it so much. So I want to pursue a career where I am helping people and I would like to work in a hospital.

yousoldtheworld · Dec 5, 2008

Yes, we have to rate bowel movements by size and character.

And it is very unlikely that you will find a CNA job where you don't have to mess with those things, because that is one of our main responsibilities.

yousoldtheworld · Dec 5, 2008

My bachelors is in Communications. I actually want to be a nurse. I love helping people. I help people at my church every other Saturday and I don't need an alarm clock to wake me up. I just get up naturally because I love it so much. So I want to pursue a career where I am helping people and I would like to work in a hospital.

Wanting to help people is a great thing, but I think you'll find if you wander over to the general nursing forum that it's been discussed many times - you will NEVER have a nursing job that doesn't deal with body fluids. It just goes with the territory. You'll come into contact with urine, feces, mucus, blood, wound drainage, all kinds of things. If your aversion to those things is something you think you can overcome, great. If not, you might want to look for another role in the hospital.

Ling07 · Dec 5, 2008

Wanting to help people is a great thing, but I think you'll find if you wander over to the general nursing forum that it's been discussed many times - you will NEVER have a nursing job that doesn't deal with body fluids. It just goes with the territory. You'll come into contact with urine, feces, mucus, blood, wound drainage, all kinds of things. If your aversion to those things is something you think you can overcome, great. If not, you might want to look for another role in the hospital.

Thanks for all your help. You've definitely made me think. I thought it was possible to avoid the feces and urine. I would overcome the other stuff but dodo, I don't know.

yousoldtheworld · Dec 5, 2008

No problem. I think it's important to understand what you're getting into...I've seen more than one person start nursing prereqs and then find that they just couldn't deal with the "ick" factor.

Even if nursing isn't for you, there are still LOTS of ways you can help people. Have you considered Occupational Therapy? It is basically helping people in hospitals or facilities re-develop the skills they need to start taking care of themselves again. I have a friend who works in OT and she LOVES it. She says its incredibly rewarding, and you get to work closely with the patients without having to do so much "dirty" work.

rancelumsden · Dec 5, 2008

I did not become a CNA until about age 53. I have about 8 years of college credits with multiple degrees and primary professions were case worker and computer programmer.

It makes absolutely NO difference what your educational background is when you are a CNA. The job is the job. I worked at an ambulatory clinic, hospital, and LTC, so I got the perspective of all those institutions. My educational background MAY have helped me secure a hospital job, but I'm not really sure about that. The background allows me to converse and interview intelligently, which helps in securing a job. But I don't think that HR, or my nurse-manager, really cared that I had all this secondary schooling. She was looking for someone to provide customer carre (we're talking the hospital).

As others have stated, no, you won't make it as a CNA if you can't deal with bodily fluids and functions and no one will care what education you have.