I dread going to work everyday!

smmctowelie69 · Aug 21, 2014

I started on 2nd shift myself. I think as a new cna it would be easier for u. Don't give up u chose nursing for a reason. Keep ur head up.

SeattleJess · Aug 21, 2014

If it helps, you're not alone. Being a new CNA is the hardest work I have ever done and I've worked in freight yards, agriculture, childcare and legal advocacy in court! Accept that it is HARD and be gentle with yourself.

Some positives: You will get better. Accept you can't do everything. Just concentrate on what's right in front of you.

Take the time you need to do your work well and safely. You will get better.

Cultivate your relationships with the CNAs who are good at their work and being part of a team. Let them know what you admire about them and ask questions. They will save you! And pay their goodness back to others who will come up behind you.

Try to support everyone on your team but do avoid or minimize contact with the bad apples. They're out there and they can and will bring you down.

Always take your lunch and your breaks or report if you don't. Your managers can get in HUGE trouble if you don't and they won't take kindly to that. If you are pressured in any way to violate the labor laws by working through your legal breaks, call your union or the Wage & Hour Division of the Dept. of Labor or similar state agency if you don't have a union. To be fair, your managers can't make good staffing decisions if they don't have accurate information.

I'm in my first CNA job were I work second shift in the float pool. It's difficult and stressful (though not impossible) to float among over 400 residents and patients and ten different sections in my facility. I've talked to and observed all the shifts, though.

For you, I recommend second shift on an assigned team. Night shift may sound easy but you will be alone with a huge number of people, all of whom may be awake and acting up when the moon is full. You need to be up to speed to work night shift. Also, you will not be sitting around but will be doing all the grunt work there's no time to do during the day: cleaning ostomy bags, urinals and commode buckets, washing, drying, sorting and folding laundry, restocking supplies, etc. Day shift has the most to do: Getting people up and dressed, feeding two meals and doing it all when the facility is thick with managers and family members. No one has it easy on any CNA shift but I think evenings is the least shredding place to start.

"Hate" is a strong word. Try to identify specifically what it is you don't like and it will be easier to formulate a plan to make it less painful or even enjoyable. You can learn so much from working as a CNA! If you still "hate" your job in another month, you can start looking for something else, give notice and leave on good terms.

Wishing you the best.

FutureLPN16 · Aug 22, 2014

Thanks for the wonderful inspiration. I just switch to night shifts cause im not a quitter and plus I start lpn school in 2 weeks. Im not going to give up. Thanks again!

SeattleJess · Aug 22, 2014

Thanks for the wonderful inspiration. I just switch to night shifts cause im not a quitter and plus I start lpn school in 2 weeks. Im not going to give up. Thanks again!

That's my girl! (Or boy...) I'd be proud to be your coworker. You care and you're willing to endure the incredibly steep learning curve. You will succeed!

mvm2 · Aug 22, 2014

I'm sorry you've had such a rough start, and like the others say once you get into a groove you will not be so stressed. Also getting use to LTC enviroment will be good for you since LPNs usually are the nurses working in LTC. Hoping in the coming weeks it will get easier and do I dare say you will even have GOOD DAYS at LTC

Taryn777 · Aug 22, 2014

If it helps, you're not alone. Being a new CNA is the hardest work I have ever done and I've worked in freight yards, agriculture, childcare and legal advocacy in court! Accept that it is HARD and be gentle with yourself.

This, times a billion. I took a cna class and got a job working in a ltc facility last summer because I thought it would look good if I decided to apply to nursing school. OMG, that is a hard job. I have so much respect for anyone who does this job well, especially the girls who work day shift. And it's not like I've never had a demanding job before- but gads, cna work in ltc is hard work. I've done really fast paced assembly line work were you are on your feet all day, very physical, and that is nothing compared to working day shift as a cna.

Day shift was insanely busy, I literally worked through all my breaks and had a 5 minute lunch. I switched to nights and the work was manageable but the hours were really hard to adjust to. I wanted to stick with it longer but honestly I started to be afraid that I'd screw up my back working there. I'm young and in good shape, but that didn't protect one of the girls I worked with who ended up injuring herself. I would say nights were much easier than days, but there was still a lot to do. If you don't mind the hours it is a lot less stress than dayshift. I've heard evening shift is better to, although I never worked that shift myself.

FutureLPN16 · Aug 23, 2014

Yeah I did have a few good days so far.

jose2010 · Aug 27, 2014

You are not alone in that at all... I first started out on 2nd shift in assistant living and it was pretty easy then 3rd at a horrible facility and only lasted and a month and 2 weeks before getting a 3rs shift job at an other assistant living place and ended up fired cuz they were to clickie there I was there 5 months and on have been at a ltc for 5 months on 3rd I love this job we work as a team them compared to the other places I've worked..... Only thing I hate is forces stay I always get stuck on the days my stares staying for 2 or 3 hours helping get people up and helping with breakfast before i go.....

Taryn777 · Aug 30, 2014

No, you are not alone at all in feeling like this. Honestly, the only thing that got me through working the day shift in ltc was that I worked incredibly hard, easily harder than than I'd ever worked before. Eventually I did feel competent at the job, but to be honest it was never what I would consider a "normal" job in terms of work load. Looking back we were short staffed all the time, so that was a lot of it I'm sure. When I worked nights I would do my rounds with another girl at work. It took longer like this but it was nice to work with someone else and I felt like we provided better patient care that way, esp. positioning. I never had that feeling of omg how am I going to get all this done like I did during days. Even short staffed on nights everything got done, although you were dead tired by the end of a short staffed shift. On my best day shift I never felt that way, sadly. There was never enough time, even though I basically worked without taking breaks or any real lunch time for myself. I really hope that was specific to the ltc facility I worked at and that they aren't all like this.

Tim92 · Sep 2, 2014

You're not alone! Trust me! We all have our good (and great) days, and we all have awful days. I work the night shift so most of my shifts go really well, but regardless some times it can be overwhelming. Especially when we are short staffed. Just remember no matter how your shift goes, whether your patients/residents tell you thank you, they ARE thankful for you. You do great work and work hard! Be proud of yourself. It will get better!

VampyrSlayer, CNA · Sep 2, 2014

I'm in this boat... Kinda. I'm new at my cna job (grad in July) and I feel so overwhelmed and my body is screaming at me. Even though I come home exhausted, shower, get in bed and read I cannot fall asleep. My brain won't let me. I think I'm also building my immune system because I haven't been feeling well. I'm planning on dropping from 5 days a week to 3. Maybe pick up a home health aide shift if I need more money. I cry thinking about the pain my body is in as well as the status of some of my residents (I'm a softie and all the residents, well the verbal ones, have told me how kind, gentle and good I am. The nurses told me too.) I love my residents but I don't wanna be on disability before I hit 30!