how many nurses did not like being a CNA?

rntj · Apr 4, 2012

I was a CNA for 7 years before I became an LPN, then an RN (have been a nurse for 10 years). I feel it very much prepared me for nursing school and dealing with patients and coworkers. I feel I am a much better nurse because of my CNA experience. IMO if you hate being a CNA (not just the obvious parts, like lifting and stressing your body out), you probably will hate any type of patient care. As far as I have seen it's the former CNAs who are the best, most hardworking nurses.

BostonTerrierLover, BSN, RN · Apr 4, 2012

I am grateful to our hardworking CNAs, and a CNA helped me when I was nursing school with my first bath, or I would have probably threw up a white flag at age 17, with absolutely no idea of how to wash a body.

As far as "liking" my assistant years, there's just soooo many exceptions. I was "SNA" Student Nurse Assistant, and I worked a Med-Surg floor during my ADN years, and with School/Marriage-too much. I liked some aspects of it, like getting to know the Medical Staff, learning the basics of how shifts were ran, and Admit/Discharge. But, I viewed it as a necessary evil to get through Nursing School financially.

Now had I been an ER Tech, I might have said yeah, I really did "enjoy" being an assistant. But, I want to be honest, Quitting that tech/assistant job was as sweet as the Pinning Ceremony. I hated the color we had to wear, like a carribean blue. My nursing supervisor was awesome, and the staff was ok, dayshift was better, but I can't say it was a highlight of my life, no.

But, then again, if someone is just real happy with their job, (in ALL its dementions) then why go on in education?

SurrenderDorothy · Apr 4, 2012

I was an EMT, but wanted to transition into nursing because I felt it was a natural progression and would offer more career opportunities down the road. I felt I should get some hospital experience and got hired as a "CNA" (I wasn't certified, but they gave me that title anyways probably because I was already an EMT) on tele. I hated every minute of that job!! Part of the reasons I hated it is because of the limited scope of practice and I was used to being able to do so much more, but also the particular floor I worked on, the nurses were burnt out and bitter. Needless to say, I quit after 4-5 months. I chalked up my experiences to that particular floor and went into an LPN program as the next step.

Being an LPN was better, but I realized I was taught to think under a medical model in EMT class, versus the nursing model. I adjusted and caught on, but it was still frustrating when as an EMT, I didn't need an order to do anything in my scope, but as a nurse, you need an order for everything, including oxygen. I was also IV certified as an EMT, but not as an LPN, so I couldn't touch them.

I also had a previous bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences and know in my heart I would be much better suited going to PA school, but there are no PA programs near me and we are very settled in this area. I knew early on in my LPN program bedside nursing was not for me. During the last few months of the program, I couldn't wait for it to be over because I had pretty much decided I made a huge mistake going down that road and hoped that somehow I would find at least 1 nursing specialty I was passionate about. Low and behold, my last clinical observation was in the OR and I felt like I had walked into the motherland. I am now taking a surgical tech course and will bridge to RN after that.

So, just because someone doesn't like being a CNA, doesn't mean they don't have the brain or skills to work as an RN in many areas of nursing or somewhere else in health care.