LPN career influenced by being a CNA

[monikee]

Hi,

I am really confused about the direction that my career is taking. I am a CNA and have worked for a year at a LTC. I loved helping the residents and putting a smile on them and I loved when they saw me as part of their family. However, as time went on, I began to get emotionally and physically tired. I have a high respect for all CNAs especially after being one myself, but I started to feel miserable working as a CNA after some time. I still loved helping the residents, but then came a nurse who I felt never liked me, and that honestly made me feel very uncomfortable. I was once going to a resident who kept on coughing, so I approached the resident and asked them if they were okay, and then the nurse just looked at me and said, "What are you doing, they are ok" and looked at me as if they were annoyed by me just because I went to see and asked that resident if they were okay. Then once, I was trying to put a resident on a lift to take them to the bathroom and since this resident was stiff from the limbs, it was difficult and that same nurse saw me struggling and instead of helping me, they stood right in front of me just watching me struggle. After a while of watching me struggle like a good 8 minutes, that nurse finally walked over and showed me how to do it, but again making me feel stupid and inferior to them by the way they showed me. Don't get me wrong, I love aspects of being a CNA, but then again there are those nurses that make you feel stupid, or at least that's exactly how I felt with that nurse, and this same nurse was different towards other CNAs and that's why I am saying that this nurse did not like me. It's not just the whole nurse issue that I struggled as a CNA, I also struggled with feeling like I never had enough time to get everything done, which always ended up stressing me out a lot to the point where I would cry and dread coming to work. Then, there was also the issue with some grumpy residents. I understand that in life and just in any work place, that you will deal with rude people and that maybe I shouldn't take it to heart, but I am that kind of person that is very sensible and emotional. So, I would hate it when resident's would yell at me because I wasn't doing things exactly the way they liked it, or whenever I was busy helping other residents and they had to wait a little, then they would get upset and yell at me even after I would explain to them that I was helping others. All of these factors contribute to me hating being a CNA. I have thought about being a home health aid, but I am just scared after going through all of these issues while working in a LTC. I am in nursing school, I have just finished my LPN year and going for my RN. This is where I am confused. After now being done with my LPN, I still have my doubts about nursing. I feel that maybe I won't like nursing because I did not like being a CNA and now after a full year and completing my LPN and I am still doubting. I like aspects of nursing, but there are others that I don't like. Things I don't like are for example, getting things done in a certain amount of time because of the limited time with each patient and paperwork. I feel like I spent more time doing paperwork than being with the patient and I really hate that because I love dedicating time to that patient and spending time with them. I am just confused if I should continue with nursing, if at this point I feel neutral about it while I see other nursing students really excited about it. Please, help me by giving me advice. And I am sorry for making it super long, but I felt like I needed to explain my whole situation to be understood better.

[caliotter3]

There are many venues to nursing so you have many opportunities to find an area that you like or at least can tolerate to earn a living. The beauty of being a Home Health Aide or LPN/RN who works in extended care home health is that you can change cases if you do not like working with a certain patient. As long as you make an effort and are not impossible to please, your employer should not hold it against you. The beauty of working in intermittent visits is that you don't spend more than an hour or less with each client on any given day. Each other area of nursing has its own advantages (as well as disadvantages). You can try hospice, med-surg, working for a physician in an office setting, being a public health nurse, teaching, working on a neuro rehab unit, etc., etc. As long as you can get hired into an area, you can try it out until you find something you like. You can also shadow to get a "feel" for a unit.

There is so much more opportunity for diverse work environments in nursing than there are in most other lines of work. Don't give up until you have positively decided that another road is the road for you.

[Evycakez]

Hey Monikee, I completely understand where you are coming from. Many times during nursing school I was worried about not liking what I was studying for. I wondered, "is this really what I want to go into?" And when I finally graduated as a nurse in 2014, I was scared to start working. Wen I finally started working it was January 2016 in a SNF during the NOC shift, and boy was it stressful! Whoever said night shift is easy because the patients are asleep should suck a fruit loop lol I remember my uncle found out that I was working night shift and he laughed and said "man you have it easy, everyone is asleep". He later shut his mouth when he found out his daughter (my cousin, who became an lvn as well) had fainted from exauhstion while on night shift duty due to the stress. I remember I would get panic attacks before going in, I couldn't sleep before going in because I would have nightmares and my heart would pound way too hard. My boyfriend was a witness to this, snf is really hard. It would be easier if they had more staff to ease the workload. I remember I would have to stay late to finish my workload and because of this, and then I would get yelled at due to getting overtime pay. Some nurses were able to finish their work on time and it made me feel like there was something wrong with me. Then later found out the RNs helped hem with their charting. No wonder! If you have team members who are able to help it makes your job easier. However I was stuck with an RN who delegated tasks she didn't want to do to me and be on her phone to talk to her stupid boyfriend *eye roll*. Then I also had CNAs that didn't want to take vitals when I asked them to )m(because I had my hands full with charting and med pass for 40+ patients). I would understand if the CNAs were busy themselves, but often times, they were in the activities room either sleeping, talking or watching tv. And I wasn't a strong leader because my lack inconfidence at the time, so this one particular CNA had yelled at me saying hat the other nurses did things themselves (and they didn't realize that these nurses didn't ask them for a thigh cuz RNs helped them out). When you have a good nursing team, it really makes a difference, that's all I can tell you. So after three months of feeling depressed/anxious/incompetent, I left with my self esteem low and the lowest job satisfaction I've ever had (and I've worked in food service). The thing is, I didn't dislike nursing, I disliked that particular environment.

I got into home health, one on one assignments and wow it was a major difference!! I have a new found love for my job, I work with pediatric patients. Learned how to work with traches, and other skills I would not have learned in snf. SNF is good experience and usually high paying. I was getting paid good but it wasn't enough for me to sacrifice my emotional well being. I ecommend home health to start out, they don't pay as well (depending on where you live). But you have an advantage since you worked at snf before.

Whatever ou choose, I wish you luck!