I'm a CNA, will I lose my license?

nursej22, MSN, RN · Dec 5, 2018

You do not have a license; you have a certification. And no, you will not lose your certification for coming down with an illness, even if it was at work. No one can schedule when they will become sick, no matter what the staffing office says.

I don't know if you will lose your job, but a responsible person should not go home if they are ill.

Seaofclouds, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2018

It really depends on what your manager does with it. If they report you to the state for abandonment (since you initially walked out without telling anyone), you could lose your license/certification. You can not control when you get sick and the responsible thing was to go home, but you have to be sure you speak with someone before you leave and that someone else assumes responsibility for your patients.

VampyrSlayer, CNA · Dec 5, 2018

I'm an LNA and have a license. I would think walking out and calling in an hour later would be abandonment.

Sour Lemon · Dec 5, 2018

You do not have a license; you have a certification.

Some states do license as opposed to certify.

At work today I got sick, I went on my 15 min break. And I began to puke and walked out. About an hour later I called the nurse on the floor that I was sick and had to go home. Then I called the DON assistant and left her a voicemail saying I was sorry for leaving. But I was feeling really horrible. Am I gonna lose my license? I'm calling in tomorrow cause I came down with the flu. :/ I had a list of people to take care of. But I called and told them. I was feeling like crap.

OP, if you didn't leave in an ambulance, you should have cleared your absence with a supervisor before you left.

Do you even need to call in? I'd expect to be fired under these circumstances.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2018

Going home in this situation is appropriate -- but you can't just leave without telling anyone. That is abandonment.

allnurses Guide · Dec 5, 2018

yeah it depends on what state you live in. Here in KY, aides do not have a license,

just a certification... but they still have a governing entity.

You shouldn't have just walked out. You should have at least told someone that

you didn't feel well and you needed to take, what could possibly be a very long

break... better yet you needed to go home.

I suspect that you might get fired, but that's it.

Guest219794 · Dec 5, 2018

At work today I got sick, I went on my 15 min break. And I began to puke and walked out. About an hour later I called the nurse on the floor that I was sick and had to go home. Then I called the DON assistant and left her a voicemail saying I was sorry for leaving. But I was feeling really horrible. Am I gonna lose my license? I'm calling in tomorrow cause I came down with the flu. :/ I had a list of people to take care of. But I called and told them. I was feeling like crap.

License issues aside, how do you feel you handled this situation?

allnurses Guide · Dec 5, 2018

I don't know about your certification, but you are almost certainly going to lose your job.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Dec 5, 2018

Expect to face some type of disciplinary action for abandoning your patients. I suspect there is more to this story than OP has shared.

Wuzzie · Dec 5, 2018

And you do not have the flu. You have gastroenteritis. Pile on over.

wantobern01 · Dec 6, 2018

This is the right way, we all get sick and at times while at work. As a responsible person you tell your supervisor on the the floor before leaving. The people you care for were left unattended and since no one knew you left there were not getting the care they needed. Next time tell someone before you leave. Think of it this way if it were you in that bed waiting for help and the person taking care of you just left..and your there waiting.