Is being a CNA really so dreadful?

cmurra6745, ADN · Jun 4, 2014

im a cna make above 13$ an hour and work hard .. of course your going to work hard thats healthcare if you want to be lazy and work you would go be a gas station attendant.. all i am saying is dont dread it look forward to it ..

i have 8 months untill im an RN i wouldnt do anything else

Determination08 · Jun 4, 2014

It's rewarding being a CNA , because you are the one who spends most of the time with the patients. The LVNs and RNs don't get that direct contact with the patient. It's a great experience if you want to advance in your Nursing Career. working as a CNA has helped gain experience and has made me think of advancing far in nursing.

CNA's do heavy work, lifting the patients with the mechanical lift, pass the food trays to the patients & assist the feeders, get patients up, do their beds and make sure the linen is clean. assist them in changing their diapers, brushing teeth, shaving, showers/bed bath. I work morning shift at a Rehab Center 7-3 sometimes you have to be in a rush because the patient has to go to Physical Therapy, so you get frustrated. We get from 7 to 9 patients in the morning shift.

3-11pm Shift get around 14 patients, Its not busy like in the morning, but you also have to shower. You don't have to be in a rush because the patients are already up on their wheel chair. You assist the patients get undress and putting their night gown on, do your rounds to change diapers , and just past dinner out.

11pm-7am they get around 16 patients,but don't no much of their experience. It must be difficult to stay awake.

I do believe we CNA's don't get paid enough for all the work we do, but if you love helping people you get a joy out of it. Helping people is the best thing because you get that feeling of satisfaction and it helps to advance in your nursing career.

strawberryluv, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2014

I don't feel like I'm overworked unless there are only 3 CNAs for one wing. If there are 4 then its a manageable load.

If I get put in the Gero psych unit with 4 then its...utter chaos. The work is tiring because of the lifting and turning that you do

on your OWN.

As far as being "underpaid", I totally believe that for the amount of running around we do we should

be compensated more but if you're going on to be an RN then its totally worth it to work as one.

I think the #1 thing that keeps me going though is the satisfaction of helping people. It

feels good knowing by the end of the day that my work HAS made a difference in the every day lives of

my patients.

Blossom7 · Jun 4, 2014

I have been a CNA since 2010. I have worked in nursing home, home care, and I'm now working in a hospital. Working in a nursing home is killing:dead:, that's when the words "underpaid," "overworked," "understaffed" are the true when being a CNA. For home care, it depends of how dependent your patient/client is. The ones I took care of needed more help with their housework than with them, so I just did housework. I didn't use any of my CNA skills and I felt like a maid. Working in hospital, I LOVE IT!!!! I learn so much. It is hard work but what you will get out of that experience, for your future, it is priceless. It doesn't matter if the job posting says 1 yr exp, apply any ways. Where I work, they like to hire no experience CNA that will be or are nursing students. Make sure to be detail on your resume on what you do or learn during CNA clinicals. There are days where you will be thinking why am I doing this, but when a patient or family member say thanks to you, all the negativity will go away. Go luck in your journey:up:

SeattleJess · Jun 4, 2014

im a cna make above 13$ an hour and work hard .. of course your going to work hard thats healthcare if you want to be lazy and work you would go be a gas station attendant.. (emphasis added) all i am saying is dont dread it look forward to it ..
i have 8 months untill im an RN i wouldnt do anything else

Congratulations on your upcoming achievement! I envy you your strong roots in CNA work.

Thanks for the snappy quote. A few days ago, I was struggling to express in a job interview that I love to be busy at work and I'm more afraid of standing around than working hard; I'm not sure I got my point across. Your short and simple sentence gets it just right. Hope you don't mind if I use it!

SeattleJess · Jun 4, 2014

Blossom7, I totally get you about preferring the hard work of a hospital to an easy gig in home health because you want to use your skills! I signed with a home health agency just to have something to do while I plug away at getting a CNA job in LTC. Fortunately, I can turn down jobs for people who want me to iron their sheets (truly!) and drive them on errands; I take only the ones who need help with transfers and such. Still, you work harder and smarter because you are dealing with multiple people, doing triage. Hats off to you and all CNA who work for multiple patients!

Leonardsmom,LPN · Jun 4, 2014

A lot of it I think is what are your expectations in becoming a CNA. The work can be very hard both physically and emotionally. The CNA is the person who is doing most of the grunt work, transferring and moving patients. Depending on the setting in which you are working in such as LTC facility you might be doing this a lot, if you are in a rehab facility or assisted living it might be lighter although there is still going to be some of this just maybe not to the same extent.

Emotionally you are the one that spends the most time with your patients, more so than the nurses or doctors, and sometimes even more than the family. You get to know the people that you are taking care of and even might develop a form of friendship with them, when someone is not doing well, or is actively dying it can be very difficult. Not every one is cut out for it, and that is okay. Even as difficult as it can be sometimes, knowing that you are making a difference in that person's life and helping them can make it easier. The ones that I find to be the hardest for me are those who I have really developed a close friendship with, or those who have passed unexpectedly while I was there.

Time management is important, there are many things that you are going to need to do, things that your boss wants you to complete along with the needs of your patients that are going to arise. Along with that unexpected things might happen, someone starts having chest pains, somebody falls or your area is issued a tornado warning. Being able to be flexible and manage your time well is going to help you in making sure you get what you need to do done.

The pay for a CNA is not horrible, and is most cases you can "survive" off of it, but unless it is not the only income for the household, if you want to do more than survive you will probably have to look for a second job or increase your education so that you can get a better job. Yes there are people making a decent income as a CNA, most of them have been working as one for many years. After 6 years of experience I am just making over $13 a hour, and that is at one of the higher paying facilities in my area, the only place I might be able to make more at is the hospital.

Some places are better to work at than others, I have been at places that could not keep their staff and the CNA's were over worked, I have also been at places that they valued their employees and supported them. Even at the better places for the amount of work that you do I have felt that I was underpaid, but also the amount of education and training that I needed to do the job is minimal when you compare it to the amount that a nurse goes through.

I do agree with the comment of nurses who have been CNA's tend to make better nurses. It might not be true in all cases but I do see the difference usually with the nurses that I work with. Most of the time my nurses that have been CNAs are more willing to help out on the floor with patient care, they will help someone to the bathroom or get them off of a bed pan. If someone is wanting fresh water or an ice pack and the nurse knows that I am busy with another patient they will get that person what they need, instead of putting on their light, or coming to find me to let me know. It is a team effort, and I am more willing to do extra things to help out my nurse if I know that they are also going to be helping me out. In all reality a CNA can make the nurse's job easier or more difficult, again it comes to being a team effort by everyone that is involved.

duskyjewel · Jun 5, 2014

Being a CNA can be pretty awful. From the descriptions of LTC on these boards, I know I would never make it in one. I'm too slow. Silly me, I like to actually spend a little time on my people. I was absolutely miserable in the hospital. Been there, done that, burned the t-shirt. I had to get experience, though, so it was good in that way. I always felt pushed to work in hospice, and now that I do, I'm happy. It's not that we're never understaffed or overworked, but the workload is much more reasonable and we are expected to take time and actually care for our patients. We're expected to chat, listen to their stories, hold their hands, and sometimes just sit quietly and BE THERE. I usually work inpatient units but I've worked in homes too. I'm on the waiting list to pursue LPN (eventually RN and BSN) and plan to never leave hospice. I'm where I belong and I'm staying put!

Dancingqueen94 · Jun 6, 2014

I LOVE being a CNA! I currently work in a long term care facility and it is so rewarding. It gives me such a good feeling knowing that I'm taking care of residents the best I can and helping them when they need that help the most. Even the residents who might not be able to speak, I love them dearly. I talk to them and tell them about the weather, current events, talk about activities going on. I just love being able to take care of them and take pride in that. It is about the most rewarding job in my opinion. Yes, we can be short staffed, but I don't let that get to me. I still take my time with each resident and make sure that they feel safe and comfortable and they have everything they need. To me, I don't even pay attention to the paycheck. It's not about the paycheck in my opinion. It's about the care that you give to the residents. I am so grateful for the opportunities I've had as a CNA to get to know residents and their families. :-)

Lori215, RN · Jun 6, 2014

It is back breaking work, for sure. Your first few weeks you will curse your decision to join the nursing field and want to run away screaming. But then... You get used to it! Generally the pt to staff ratio is too low for a CNA, and the salary depends on where you work. In florida to be a CNA you literally just have to challenge the exam, so making 10.50 an hour after that didn't look too bad to me. The most satisfying part was having patients that I truly loved and reciprocated the appreciation and respect. It is very rewarding once you get over the "gross part". Just always remember, those people NEED you and all the gross and tedious things will just become a part of the job! If you are going to be an RN I cant stress how important being a CNA is. I've worked with nurses who could hardly change a diaper, and knowing how to do all this stuff before you start school is a HUGE stress reliever. People will literally leave nursing school because of dirty diapers. :x3: Good Luck

funtimes · Jun 6, 2014

A lot of it depends on the facility you work at. No matter what CNA is going to be a hard job, Its almost never seen as easy, but whether its merely hard, or much worse depends on where you work. In some facilities the workload and conditions are pretty horrible at that pay level, and it can be really mentally and physically taxing.

How bad it is also depends to some degree on your background. I've noticed people with kids usually do better as CNAs, because they aren't as phased by temper tantrums and some of the behaviors you deal with.

On the bright side, a CNA in LTC has probably the worst pay and conditions and workload in healthcare, so starting out as a CNA you have no where to go but up, and everything else will seem easier by comparison.

jonesv8100 · Jun 6, 2014

I just got my certification this week after passing the state exam during the weekend (yay!). When I started the clinical portion of my training I was absolutely terrified! I literally could not sleep the night before. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to handle the interactions, smells, or the physicality of the job. Man, after the first day all I wanted to do was go back! The connections that you make with the residents make everything else seem trivial. I currently work at at LTC/SNF/Memory care facility. I feel underpaid as I only get about $1 over minimum wage. Especially since I go to bed smelling like Icy-Hot most nights! Like a previous poster said, if you have any plans of going into nursing this will give you a great advantage! Not just from the patient/healthcare provider side. But also the general working of a healthcare facility, HIPAA guidelines, the roles of the facility workers, etc. A great experience for sure.