Is it harder as a CNA in a LTC or Hospital?

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Dec 11, 2013

I've never worked in a hospital, but I think it depends on the person, the shift, and what part of the hospital. My friend used to work in LTC and now works in the critical care unit at a hospital and says it's much easier-- you do less stuff for the patients, it's less physical, and you often get pulled from the floor to be a sitter. Personally I think I would have a harder time at a hospital because I like the have the same routine every day. Although I have worked on the rehab sides of LTCs and it's a lot easier, but also boring. There are more call lights at certain times but less mind games, the patients do a lot more for themselves, and they spend a lot of time in therapy.

Compassion_x · Dec 13, 2013

Where I live, it's fairly easy to get a CNA job in LTCs. Most hospitals want at least 1 year of experience. There truly is a difference in skills and knowledge between the two, which is why they don't usually hire brand new CNAs.

pomm · Dec 13, 2013

I'm currently in a CNA test prep course and the word is that LTC appears to be harder work for less pay.

shorn1 · Dec 13, 2013

It really depends on which aspects of patient care you enjoy. I love bonding with patients/residents and getting to know them...I feel like I had more fun in LTC for this reason. But the hospital is lighter in terms of lifting/cares because there's more staff around to help. For example: I worked one day shift where PT was toileting patients while they worked with them, or they would help the patient shower, freeing me up to do more things. There is always someone around to help me lift. It all depends :)

AM326 · Dec 13, 2013

Oh god LTC by far is much harder! I used to work for one and the pay was horrible for the amount of stress, and labor. I have been working at a hospital in the Float Pool for 7 months and I get to go all over the hospital in every unit (except for dialysis and Cardiac Short Stay). I work mainly in the Critical Care units (ICUs and ER) and I love it. When I'm on the floor (rarely) and I have about 10pts on day shift, it's still wayyyyyyyy better than LTC.

Again, like many have said before it really depends on the person. Some techs are AMAZING in LTC and enjoy it, I personally do not do well with routine. I applaud the aides that work in LTCs and rock it out. :up:

slilly · Dec 13, 2013

I think LTC is definitely more easier to start out in, and plus you get to know all of your residents on a personal level. Hospitals is more fast paced, and patients are always coming in and out, the schedule alone could be very stressful. If you are just starting it really depends on your personality if you want to be working really hard for 12 hours and like the rush of it, or do you want to know all your patients and be involved with their activities. For me I like being on my feet and working all the time, I get bored just sitting around. I work in a facility where it seems more like a hospital than a LTC facility, and I have noticed that some of my patients do miss the socialization and we don't really offer programs throughout the day to give them that. Also, I know that in some long-term care you or assisted living you do not wear scrubs as where in hospitals you do. Not really important but something to think about.

mstearns09 · Dec 15, 2013

My current job at a hospital is much easier than the LTC job I had prior to coming here. There are days it is harder but the thing is, teamwork doesn't exist at my former job. Here, we work as a team and it is so much better. Patient load is lower and I am not held accountable for someone else's work. Most hospitals, though, want you to have at least a year of experience and in all honesty, most people need that extra experience. I get paid less at my current job than I did at the LTC but when I left, it wasn't about money, it was about how I was treated and work practices.

funtimes · Dec 16, 2013

LTC is much harder when you first start. I've come across new PCTs in a hospital who transitioned into the job fairly painlessly despite no experience, but its rare to find a new CNA in LTC who doesn't struggle with the workload and the conditions. LTC is also much more physically demanding and requires a lot more lifting.

The one advantage to LTC is once you get the routine down and know the residents well it can be easier than a hospital, where things are more unpredictable. I also enjoyed working with elderly patients and always admired the generation that grew up during the great depression. In a hospital you get a lot of middle aged and younger patients who are real whiney and demanding and uncooperative and it can get on your nerves when you deal with them day in and day out. The worst patients can be the middle aged patients with type A personalities who are used to being the boss and calling the shots. These people can become ten tiems worse when theyre a little confused due to their medical condition, pain meds, lack of sleep, or just the stress of being sick and in a hospital with no control.

taylynnfree · Dec 24, 2013

Just want peoples opinions. :) I want to keep my options open as i'm not sure yet what I want to do once I finish my training.

If you can get in a hospital GO! THEY PAY MORE ..UR NOT IN A NURSING HOME AND YOUR PATIENT LOAD WILL BE LIGHTER. you will most likely learn more skills in a hospital

funtimes · Dec 24, 2013

There is one thing about most Nursing homes that a lot of people overlook, or don't understand unless they've done both jobs. At a Nursing home, even though the CNAs generally don't do some of the things techs are able to do like blood draws or cathing patients, the CNAs do generally have more responsibility and independence. The RNs have their role and the CNA has theirs, and the two don't overlap much.

As a nursing home CNA, you are totally responsible for caring for the people you are assigned to. The RNs pass meds and do a few other things, and the CNAs do pretty much everything else. If something doesn't get done its totally on the CNA, and the CNA will be held responsible. If one of your people wasn't fed breakfast or lunch, isn't being hydrated, wasn't showered and had oral care done, ist dressed properly, or missed a PT session, or is developing signs and symptoms of say pneumonia and you don't report it, or develops bed sores or skin breakdown etc, as the CNA YOU are the one who is going to be blamed and held accountable. This helps develop a sense of responsibility and independent thought that will serve you later on as an RN that you WONT experience as a tech in a hospital, where the RN is ultimately held responsible. As a CNA if something doesn't get done you can be reported to the state for abuse and neglect, and this isn't some hypothetical far fetched scenario either, it happens all the time.

This is not to knock hospital PCTs. To some degree they aren't expected to operate independently by design, because you can really screw things up or cause harm to a patient if you don't know everything about their situation and condition, which as a tech will often be the case as you have a lot more patients than the RN and usually don't get as detailed a report.

taylynnfree · Dec 25, 2013

There is one thing about most Nursing homes that a lot of people overlook, or don't understand unless they've done both jobs. At a Nursing home, even though the CNAs generally don't do some of the things techs are able to do like blood draws or cathing patients, the CNAs do generally have more responsibility and independence. The RNs have their role and the CNA has theirs, and the two don't overlap much.
As a nursing home CNA, you are totally responsible for caring for the people you are assigned to. The RNs pass meds and do a few other things, and the CNAs do pretty much everything else. If something doesn't get done its totally on the CNA, and the CNA will be held responsible. If one of your people wasn't fed breakfast or lunch, isn't being hydrated, wasn't showered and had oral care done, ist dressed properly, or missed a PT session, or is developing signs and symptoms of say pneumonia and you don't report it, or develops bed sores or skin breakdown etc, as the CNA YOU are the one who is going to be blamed and held accountable. This helps develop a sense of responsibility and independent thought that will serve you later on as an RN that you WONT experience as a tech in a hospital, where the RN is ultimately held responsible. As a CNA if something doesn't get done you can be reported to the state for abuse and neglect, and this isn't some hypothetical far fetched scenario either, it happens all the time.
This is not to knock hospital PCTs. To some degree they aren't expected to operate independently by design, because you can really screw things up or cause harm to a patient if you don't know everything about their situation and condition, which as a tech will often be the case as you have a lot more patients than the RN and usually don't get as detailed a report.

Wrong on so many levels