Is CNA even worth going for?

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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I was at the clinic today and I spoke to a girl who was an LPN and me and her got into a conversation about how she went about becoming an LPN. I shared with her that I was going to take a CNA course that was going to be free. She went ahead and said "why? Just go for nursing". Then I went to get my blood drawn by the phlebotomist and she told me she was a medical assistant with training in phlebotomy and I asked her if she thought going for CNA was worth it and she went on a rant. " why would you want to wipe someone's ass? You aren't going to work in a hospital you will work in a nursing home". This made me feel kind of dumb for even thinking of doing CNA but I will take the course and complete it just to say I started from the bottom I guess. I felt that there was so much negativity towards becoming a CNA but I think becoming a CNA will test me to see if I really want this. Any advice? Do you regret becoming a CNA? Has it helped you become a better nurse? Person? Any input will be great thanks!

Specializes in OB.

I started as a CNA back in 2009 and the only butts I cleaned were babies ones. (Did peri care on c-section Moms though), since my very first job in the field was in the Mother/Baby unit. Now an OB Scrub Tech I have different duties but still the CNA experience did pay off tons! I think nurses who have been CNA's prior to NS appreciate their CNA's a bit more, since they have walked the walk. Now about to start my NS classes in the fall I'm 100% I will be a step ahead and very confident in my skills. Go for it!

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I don't regret becoming a CNA. It was required as a prereq for my school's nursing program. I've never worked in a nursing home, and I now work on a medical surgical unit. It's a hard job, but I've learned a lot and I believe that my experience has helped me to maintain good grades in NS so far. Working as a CNA has also helped me to realize the realities of nursing. For example, many nurses "wipe butts" too, even though many people seem to think otherwise. My job as a CNA has also helped me to get a full tuition scholarship to complete nursing school, and a guaranteed job as an RN after I complete my program. There are no complaints here. My ultimate goal is to be an ICU nurse, so learning to get over the "grossness" of some nursing tasks and working independently will help me in the future....I hope :rolleyes:

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Specializes in OB.

Oh! I just re-read my post and I want to explain something. When I referred to cleaning only babies butts I was saying it because the OP had someone tell her "why would you want to wipe butts?" The reality is that many nurses do. Some don't. Some nurses get their patients wanter, some don't. Being a CNA has taught me a lot including the type of nurse I want to be in the future and most of all the type of nurse I DON'T want to be!

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Being a CNA will undoubtedly build at least some of a foundation for nursing. Is it glamorous? Heck no. Do I sometimes surprise myself when I'm helping a 75 year old man go pee? Absolutely. I think it's a confidence booster, at least for myself. Experience is EVERYTHING. How one get's it varies but even if you do it and decide you can't do it, at least you gained some knowledge and it was free!! Good luck!

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Haha! I'm a CNA in a hospital and let me tell you, our nurses get down and dirty. All of the nurses at my facility readily help me wipe someones butt, give baths and everything. It is in their scope they just have a much wider scope but I truly appreciate it because I know they are super busy and the fact that they don't think it's above them to help me is awesome. But on another note I personally believe it was worth it for me. I did my CNA class last fall semester and just started working as one in April. It's only been a month and I know already that I do not want to become a nurse. Before I became a CNA I was so confused about if it's what I wanted to do and luckily I took the time to become a CNA so I wouldn't waste even more time becoming a nurse and THEN finding out it wasn't for me. Don't get me wrong, I love what nurse do but it is not for everyone. So I would advice that you become a CNA especially if it's free and go from there. Well good luck in either way you choose.

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Specializes in oncology, MS/tele/stepdown.

At my hospital, CNAs and techs work side-by-side, but the techs have more clinical responsibilities. If I had planned better, I would have done an EMT program to work during school. That being said, I think it is fantastic that you want to work in one of these roles. I did not appreciate how much CNAs and techs did until I was a nurse extern, which is a parallel position on my floor. I do wish I could have made what a tech makes though... they pay the externs a lot less at my hospital.

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