Losing Faith

I am still looking to be hired, but I will offer this word of advice: Mother Teresa used to say when she got discouraged, that it seems all you do "is one drop in the ocean, but if you did not do that one drop, the ocean would be without it". Only at the end of this life will we know what value every drop we do counts for. Keep the faith!

I have been a CNA for about 15 months and I am completely disenchanted with healthcare. I have very high standards for providing care--I treat the patients EXACTLY how I would expect my family or myself to be treated in the same situation.

I feel like so many companies just want to make their money and don't really care about the patients. I have worked in home health and in assisted living/nursing homes and it has drained me.

I will admit to being SUPER NAIVE in the beginning and my expectations for what being a CNA and what my job would be like were unrealistic.

How do you keep conflicts with your standards and the care provided from getting to you?

For me, its a balance of checking my expectations against my values. I seem to always deal with this. I think its good that I don't become complacent. I have to make sure I'm not expecting perfection since there are no perfect clients, employers etc...

I have resigned from a home care case because the client and family actions were detrimental to his and my own health. I haven't regretted that decision but I felt my agency didn't back me the way I wanted and another caregiver hurt her back with same client. You're right money seems to drive all decisions in healthcare and it can be extremely frustrating.

Don't throw the baby out with the bath water! Healthcare needs dedicated, caring people like yourself. Look at your goals, maybe you need to progress in your education and thats part of the frustration. It may be the companies you work for are not good fits. Check your expectations are they reasonable?

Sorry this is so long, its way early.

Some companies LOVE hiring "caregivers," aka untrained personnel. Because those people do not have a CNA certification, they are much cheaper to hire: $8.00 an hour. Maybe you can try hospital work. I know that hospital CNA typically get paid more. I found work in a skilled nursing/long-term care facility right out of school and my base pay is pretty nice.

Although you want to treat every patient the way you would want your family treated (I think that, too; I'm a fellow perfectionist), there are times when you can't do everything perfectly. Time management is something I've been forced to learn. A good way to overcome these conflicts is just to tell yourself, "I did things the best I can, given the circumstances." As long as you're consistent with the care you give and never compromise safety, you'll do alright.

Count me in as another perfectionist. At the end of the day I usually feel like I did everything the way I want it to be done. Normally I accomplish this by riding my own butt, lol! I rush around like crazy and I do a lot of multitasking.

Some companies LOVE hiring "caregivers," aka untrained personnel. Because those people do not have a CNA certification, they are much cheaper to hire: $8.00 an hour. Maybe you can try hospital work. I know that hospital CNA typically get paid more. I found work in a skilled nursing/long-term care facility right out of school and my base pay is pretty nice.

Although you want to treat every patient the way you would want your family treated (I think that, too; I'm a fellow perfectionist), there are times when you can't do everything perfectly. Time management is something I've been forced to learn. A good way to overcome these conflicts is just to tell yourself, "I did things the best I can, given the circumstances." As long as you're consistent with the care you give and never compromise safety, you'll do alright.

I agree completely. During my orientation, I was a little surprised at how care was given to some patients at times. However it was not completely unacceptable and it was due to time management. Yes some facilities have too little staff or lack of sufficient supplies, but I learned that it is important to improvise and adapt.

I think the hospitals will be best for you. A friend of mine tells me that you will have a better chance enjoying work at a hospital compared to a nursing home. But that's just one person's opinion.

no the pay is crap as a cna overworked underpaid you can be the best cna in the world and still get treated like crap by hospital registered nurses, administrators, boards of nursing, doctors and techs. cnas are treated like crap. we are making less money then the maintenance man in the hospitals and we are the ones doing the patient care. rns walk off the job it doesnt matter the paper work wont get done but who remains on the floor and cover the patient care Guess who the burned out overworked underpaid cna. and the only reason they bring them back is because it cost them more to bring in nurses from the registry. cna get the short end of the stick i would not encourage anyone to start off being a cnago straight to rn and get paid experienced or not. cna make an average of 21,000 a year working full time vs an rn who makes 56,000 a yr as a new grad with no experience. and you dont have to care or have compassion that how most of the new grads i have ran across feel its about the money.