I am considering not being a CNA anymore...

Published

I am just fed up with it. I have begun to dread going to work (my stomach is in knots). I believe that I work hard and provide the best care to my residents but it seems like it is never enough. I went into work last night and I had to give myself a pep talk just to make it through...sad.

I am tired of working with manipulative and mean co-workers. I am sick of asking for assistance with a heavy resident and being told by another CNA that everyone else handles that patient alone. I am sick of hearing "harrumphh!" and the sighing when I ask about a resident that I am not familiar with. I am sick of the bullying and the yelling. I am sick of DON's who have no regard for family emergencies and who make those who ask for FMLA feel like crud. I am over it.

I am really disheartened and saddened but I have lost my drive. There has to better working conditions out there. I do not intend to quit until I find something else. When my instructor told us that the classroom environment was world's away from the real life one, I thought she was pulling our leg. I thought that I would be the one to make a small difference with a good attitude and yada yada yada. I was wrong.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CNA/ ALF & Hospital.
I am just fed up with it. I have begun to dread going to work (my stomach is in knots). I believe that I work hard and provide the best care to my residents but it seems like it is never enough. I went into work last night and I had to give myself a pep talk just to make it through...sad.

I am tired of working with manipulative and mean co-workers. I am sick of asking for assistance with a heavy resident and being told by another CNA that everyone else handles that patient alone. I am sick of hearing "harrumphh!" and the sighing when I ask about a resident that I am not familiar with. I am sick of the bullying and the yelling. I am sick of DON's who have no regard for family emergencies and who make those who ask for FMLA feel like crud. I am over it.

I am really disheartened and saddened but I have lost my drive. There has to better working conditions out there. I do not intend to quit until I find something else. When my instructor told us that the classroom environment was world's away from the real life one, I thought she was pulling our leg. I thought that I would be the one to make a small difference with a good attitude and yada yada yada. I was wrong.[/QUOT

How long have you worked as a CNA? Maybe its just the enviroment that you are in. Maybe you might want to try a different facility (ie.) Hospital, Assited Living, Nursing Home.:idea:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I agree maybe you should try another place to work.

I used to be a supervisor at Tim Hortons and the management was terable, i hated work. So i got out of their and am now going to take cna/stna classes starting monday im so excited !!!

Sometimes we all just have bad days tho

If you love the work you do just find another place good luck tho (:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CNA/ ALF & Hospital.

As long as you love your job,enjoy what you are doing and who you are doing it for, is the kind of employeers dream employee.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've already worked hospitals and home health, right?? If you like the field but want to deal less with the crappy coworkers, consider becoming a med aide or restorative nurse aide. I know that is the cliched answer that most people will give to you, but it really is worth it. Being a med aide is more mental stress (at times), but when I work as one I love not having to worry about getting people into bed or asking for help for heavy people. I don't have to worry about crazy people ditching me to go outside and smoke while a billion call lights are going off. I just get to worry about myself and trust in my own abilities, which is really nice sometimes!! I still work the floor, but I definitely start to miss the floor when I haven't worked it for awhile. And when I am passing meds, I still help on the floor whenever I can, but obviously my first priority is to the meds. I personally think being a restorative aide would be the most boring job ever, and they can be hard to get, but if you like having that one-on-one time with residents and not worrying about maniacal co-"workers" it might be worth a try.

That and a nice, long vacation.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've already worked hospitals and home health, right?? If you like the field but want to deal less with the crappy coworkers, consider becoming a med aide or restorative nurse aide. I know that is the cliched answer that most people will give to you, but it really is worth it. Being a med aide is more mental stress (at times), but when I work as one I love not having to worry about getting people into bed or asking for help for heavy people. I don't have to worry about crazy people ditching me to go outside and smoke while a billion call lights are going off. I just get to worry about myself and trust in my own abilities, which is really nice sometimes!! I still work the floor, but I definitely start to miss the floor when I haven't worked it for awhile. And when I am passing meds, I still help on the floor whenever I can, but obviously my first priority is to the meds. I personally think being a restorative aide would be the most boring job ever, and they can be hard to get, but if you like having that one-on-one time with residents and not worrying about maniacal co-"workers" it might be worth a try.

That and a nice, long vacation.

Whats does a med aide or restorative nurse aide do ? im guessing a med aide passes meds... but restorative nurse? How long are the classes that you took for med aide?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

And Kohala, I've "known" you (on here) for about a year, and you sound like an absolutely great person to work with. We all have times where we hate it and want to quit. Every few months I think about calling it quits. That's the thing I HATE about nursing: it's bipolar. It's not like other careers where you love it all the time. With this field, you love it one month, hate it the next, and I think that's something that everyone in this field has to come to terms with sooner or later. As long as the good times outweigh the bad ones, consider your time in nursing to be well-spent!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CNA/ ALF & Hospital.
And Kohala, I've "known" you (on here) for about a year, and you sound like an absolutely great person to work with. We all have times where we hate it and want to quit. Every few months I think about calling it quits. That's the thing I HATE about nursing: it's bipolar. It's not like other careers where you love it all the time. With this field, you love it one month, hate it the next, and I think that's something that everyone in this field has to come to terms with sooner or later. As long as the good times outweigh the bad ones, consider your time in nursing to be well-spent!

Consider it just being lucky AND A BLESSING to even have a job in these econical times!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in geriatrics, dementia, ortho.
Whats does a med aide or restorative nurse aide do ? im guessing a med aide passes meds... but restorative nurse?

A restorative CNA does PT exercises with patients that the actual physical therapist doesn't need to be present during. They usually get paid a little more and (I think?) work more of a 9-5 type schedule.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in geriatrics, dementia, ortho.

Kohala, I'm sorry to hear that your work environment is so toxic. I agree with CoffeemateCNA, you sound to me like a dream coworker and it sucks that people like you are driven out of this industry by the idiots we all deal with. I don't know what types of CNA work you've done, but it's true that there are different environments where you don't have to deal with other CNA's as often. At an Assisted Living facility (a big one) where you have pagers to respond to call lights, you see your coworkers less often. I felt like my work was much more independent when I worked at one of those places, plus if people were being snotty over the walkie-talkies you can just turn down the volume and ignore them :devil:

Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Consider home health again, if you tried it before. One patient for a shift or a visit. You should find it easier all the way around. Best of luck.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CNA.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've already worked hospitals and home health, right?? If you like the field but want to deal less with the crappy coworkers, consider becoming a med aide or restorative nurse aide. I know that is the cliched answer that most people will give to you, but it really is worth it. Being a med aide is more mental stress (at times), but when I work as one I love not having to worry about getting people into bed or asking for help for heavy people. I don't have to worry about crazy people ditching me to go outside and smoke while a billion call lights are going off. I just get to worry about myself and trust in my own abilities, which is really nice sometimes!! I still work the floor, but I definitely start to miss the floor when I haven't worked it for awhile. And when I am passing meds, I still help on the floor whenever I can, but obviously my first priority is to the meds. I personally think being a restorative aide would be the most boring job ever, and they can be hard to get, but if you like having that one-on-one time with residents and not worrying about maniacal co-"workers" it might be worth a try.

That and a nice, long vacation.

I am still attending school, but I thought that CNA's were not allowed to dispense medications?

Is there further training involved with becoming a Med. Aide?

I too love the field, but would enjoy working one on one with patients, and from what I've read on here and from our Clinicals that I've experienced so far, that is not going to happen.

Thank you in advance for any information you can provide. :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment