Mc Donalds pays more for CNA with 8 yrs exp

Published

:rotfl:

I have said it for years now it really happened. I live in WA close to the Seattle area. Moved here from the Midwest about 5 years ago and I even said it back then.

You can flip hamburgers for the same hourly wage and not have to put up with all the CRAP... :chuckle

An excellent CNA who has worked at the same nursing home for the last 6-8 years. Just quit and went to work at Mc Donalds for the same amount of money. This is very said and makes me angry.

How does everyone else feel? Does this happen in your areas as well?

Hello,

First allow me to introduce myself, I am new to the forum.

I am an RN currently working on a 12 bed peds unit. We have a 16 year

old high school student working on our unit as a CNA. Apparently there is some new program in place to recruit students interested in pursuing

an RN degree. She makes $10.35/hour, does not know how to make a bed

or how to screw a nipple on a baby bottle. To make matters worse she

was told she would be assisting RNs during procedures IVs, caths etc...

She does not feel it is her responsibilty to pass pt. trays or get them

up to the bathroom, which is something we all do on the unit, no matter what your title. Oh, and she no longer wants to be a nurse, its too

gross, and there is too much paper work.Her only motivation to work is

to buy a $300.00 designer purse. I would think we could "find" a nursing

student who genuinely wants to work peds, don't you?

The 16 year old will probably go through quit a few jobs before she finds out what she really wants. As for me, I've found this rather depressing ($) for someone like myself ,32 years old, who is doing a career change to nursing and will be starting out as a CNA and working my way up. I'm not able to go to school full-time with a family and a full-time job to support us. What I would like to know is --- is a RN who has worked her way up the ladder more respected than a BSN straight out of school. Curious!

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Specializes in Public Health, DEI.
The 16 year old will probably go through quit a few jobs before she finds out what she really wants. As for me, I've found this rather depressing ($) for someone like myself ,32 years old, who is doing a career change to nursing and will be starting out as a CNA and working my way up. I'm not able to go to school full-time with a family and a full-time job to support us. What I would like to know is --- is a RN who has worked her way up the ladder more respected than a BSN straight out of school. Curious!

I don't understand your question. Respected professionally? I would say that experience and performance are what will earn professional respect. Respected personally? I also think personal respect is earned, not conferred on the basis of how one attains their current position. Certainly you can respect someone's practical skills without having personal respect for them, and having total personal respect for someone who is still honing their professional skills. I will say this, in some ways, the nurse who started as a CNA has a less radical learning curve when it comes to the actual practice of nursing, and dealing with the reality of the way things are for us in the workplace, but I'm not sure that translates to respect.

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I just took a pay cut from $15 or more per hour as a waitress to take my first CNA job at a LTC. Yep, I'm nuts :chuckle I'm also REALLY sick of being a waitress.

Mostly I really feel that the experience will benefit me during nursing school (I'm semester 2 of 4 in an ADN program). I feel like I'm really at a disadvantage right now compared to my CNA classmates.

Where I'm at though, it isn't going to be TOO bad compared to what I've been reading on here. I start at 8.50/hr (.30-.80 shift differentials) until my liscense finally comes in from the BON, then go to 9.50/hr with .50-1.00 differentials. The differentials are great for me because I will be working nights and weekends. Saturday night, once I have my official liscense, I'll be looking at 11.00 an hour. Oh yeah, and there's that $500 sign on bonus, and a $30 bonus for coming in if you get called to pick up a shift.

Personally, I don't know how the heck a person could get by on less, especially someplace like California where the cost of living is so much higher. 6 bucks an hour is like 4 an hour (maybe less!) here in Wyoming.

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I don't understand your question. Respected professionally? I would say that experience and performance are what will earn professional respect. Respected personally? I also think personal respect is earned, not conferred on the basis of how one attains their current position. Certainly you can respect someone's practical skills without having personal respect for them, and having total personal respect for someone who is still honing their professional skills. I will say this, in some ways, the nurse who started as a CNA has a less radical learning curve when it comes to the actual practice of nursing, and dealing with the reality of the way things are for us in the workplace, but I'm not sure that translates to respect.

Thanks!

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Specializes in NICU.

I've never understood why CNA's seem to make so little. At my hospital, of all the support personnel, CNA's make the least. Housekeepers, cafeteria workers, secretaries, EVERYONE makes more than the CNA's. Perplexes me, since CNA's have formal training and licensure involved. Yes, housekeepers are valuable employees, but the amount of training ain't what a CNA gets, it's all on the job training... and there's no licensing involved! Why should a nursing student be a CNA when he/she can be a unit secretary and make more? Maybe the hospitals know that nursing students will probably take the CNA jobs even though they are so low paying because they want the bedside care experience.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
licensure

You mean certification. I'm not trying to nitpick, but there is a difference.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.
Originally Posted by oldcurlyrn49

Hello,

First allow me to introduce myself, I am new to the forum.

I am an RN currently working on a 12 bed peds unit. We have a 16 year

old high school student working on our unit as a CNA. Apparently there is some new program in place to recruit students interested in pursuing

an RN degree. She makes $10.35/hour, does not know how to make a bed

or how to screw a nipple on a baby bottle. To make matters worse she

was told she would be assisting RNs during procedures IVs, caths etc...

She does not feel it is her responsibilty to pass pt. trays or get them

up to the bathroom, which is something we all do on the unit, no matter what your title. Oh, and she no longer wants to be a nurse, its too

gross, and there is too much paper work.Her only motivation to work is

to buy a $300.00 designer purse. I would think we could "find" a nursing

student who genuinely wants to work peds, don't you?

Wow! I'm jealous of your highschool CNA! When I started out at 17 as a CNA (several months ago), I got only $8.50/hr, and won't get a raise until I become a MedTech. :rolleyes: Seriously, though, what did she think she was getting into when she took her class and did her clinicals? Inexperience is one thing to have to put up with (I have too much of that I'm afraid :chuckle ), but unwillingness to do the "gross" or "menial" stuff is not the way to endear yourself with your coworkers. I'm sorry that she is so hard to work with, but maybe all she needs is some more time to learn, and maybe mature a bit. It might be best for her and all involved that she take a look at other careers involved with healthcare (if that is her dream) or in other nonmedical careers. She won't be happy and nor will her coworkers if she is in a job she hates.

Just my oh-so-humble opinion! :p

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I was a CNA for .50 above minimum wage about two weeks when I decided this wouldn't cut it. I got in th next available LPN class ASAP, which was about 9 months later. I remember no lunch breaks, back breaking lifting, and I'm sure you know the rest of the garbage CNA's put up with. And when you have family members putting you down as "lazy and incompetent" that makes your blood boil no doubt. It was very depressing.

Yep, one thing being a CNA did for me was to motivate me to go as high as I can in my education, cause I sure didn't want to be stuck in that filthy thankless job.

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Actually, I've met CNAs who have worked long term at a hospital (5+ yrs) who were making $22/hr. (This is Northern California, folks.) I also met a housekeeping person who worked at the County hospital for 20 years who was making about the same.

NurseFirst

True. I was talking about LTC starting wages. Most of the CNA's I know leave LTC and go to the hospitals where the pay is better, especially if you stay there for a long time.

:coollook:

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