NOT FOR ME???

confuzzledwife · Apr 21, 2010

Hi

I felt exactly like you did, except I'd already paid for the CNA training and got my certification. For a couple of months I felt like I wasted my time and money on the class.

]Right after I graduated, I got hired rather quickly at a nursing home. It wasn't for me on so many levels. Part of it for me was personal issues/scheduling conflicts... but the bigger problem was the nursing home environment.

While in school, we learned to have compassion for the residents, we learned that we are to talk to them... and that's what I wanted to do, in addition to regular care. It didn't work out this way for me... even through my clinical's I had the opportunity to sit and talk to the residents while providing care, if even for a few minutes.

Once I got a job (3rd shift), I had 15 people (sometimes up to 30) depending if someone called out.. IMO, the residents were treated like animals.. worse than animals. Everything was rushed, we were to turn them and basically run out of their room, we were told to ignore call bells, (there's no time) so someone who could get up to go to the bathroom but maybe needed a little assistance, ended up wetting themselves, which in turn caused more work for the CNA's. Some of the residents are up at night and just wanted a little companionship, I wasn't able to provide that.... the charge nurse told me to just turn them and go.

On the last night before I quit, one resident was crying. I couldn't ignore it anymore. It turned out all she wanted was a few minutes of my time, she just needed someone to talk to. I spent less than 5 minutes listening to her, I sat in a chair next to her bed and in the end she thanked me for talking to her- that's just sad. I couldn't deal with it anymore. I'm not saying all nursing homes are that way- I'm sure there are better ones out there, or ones that are better staffed..... but where I worked if they just hired one more CNA, things would have been SO much better for the residents. I knew my first night there this wasn't for me... but I stuck it out for a couple of months, and in the end I was right, it wasn't for me.

Other CNA's there were so used to it and didn't see a problem. I can't see how you can go into someone's room in the middle of the night, wake them abruptly out of a sound sleep by turning on the bright light, flipping them over VERY quickly, turn out the light and go, leaving them scared and confused like that.. maybe it's me.

But I'm glad I didn't give up entirely. I ended up looking into other options and I found one that fits me perfectly. Home care. Most agencies in my area want at least 1 yr experience, which just frustrated me more... I knew that I wouldn't last in a nursing home for a year. But with persistence I was able to find an agency who decided to give me a shot, and I'm so glad they did! I now work part-time (which is what I wanted), around my schedule. I was never an 8 hour shift type-of-person, and with my husband's schedule and my kids' schedules right now, that just wouldn't work for me.... so this suits me pretty nice. I work 2-3 hours in the morning during the week, then on weekends I typically have a few 2 hour assignments. This gives me with about 20-25 hours of work every week, and still gives me free time to run errands or whatever I want to do when my kids are in school and I absolutely love it. The pay varies (depending on each assignment). The nursing home paid me $13.45 per hour, the home care pay varies between $12/hr - $16/hr. I'm very VERY happy with home care, I get to provide care and companionship, I can give them the 1 on 1 time they deserve, bottom line - it's exactly what I've always wanted to do. I hope you can find something that makes you as happy as I am now! Good Luck!

hdub · Apr 25, 2010

Confuzzledwife- Thank you for your post. I have been working in a LTC for about two weeks. A few nights ago it was only me and another new girl working (Both our first jobs). Usually there are four. I went at least four hours without sitting down, getting a drink, or going to the bathroom. Residents were mad at me for not answering call lights fast enough, bed checks were rushed, it was just bad. I ended having to stay over an hour to help out days. When I got home I could barely walk and was sick from not eating or drinking. It makes me so mad that these places can get away with this. It's not fair to the residents or us.

I am about to start LPN classes in the fall. Is there anyone out there who had similar experiences as a CNA, but went on to become a nurse and loves it? This place is making me think twice about getting into the nursing field. I wanna be able to give my patients the time and attention they deserve.

I am thinking about checking into the hospital and seeing if I could possibly shadow a nurse in home or hospice care. Any advice?

rzyzzy · Apr 27, 2010

Hdub -

I'm kind of in a similar situation -- my final written exam for CNA is tomorrow, I passed the practicum yesterday. I'm in a nursing program that requires a CNA as a pre-requisite, and before my clinical experience, I was seriously considering working as a CNA while I complete the LPN program.

At my clinicals, the CNA's ducked out and hid while the students were there(to avoid changing briefs). Mrsa and c-diff were running rampant through the halls. Personally, I was afraid to do many of the proceedures on my school-required check-off sheet, because the staff members seemed to be looking to blame the students for anything that went wrong -

Here's an example... one patient took off his nasal canula after we took his vitals - nurse's response? chew us out in the hallway for removing it.. *****! I'm nearly 40 years old, and I'll gladly and profusely apologize for any mistake I make as a student - I won't lie about it, there isn't any reason to.. I'M A STUDENT!!!...

I watched one CNA remove his gloves after a proceedure, stuff them in his pocket - then put those same gloves back on in another room to work on another patient. I pointed this out to my classmates, who observed this behavior dozens of times during our clinicals. :uhoh3:

Our clinical instructor mentioned during our last session that the D.O.N. had encouraged us all to apply for positions at the facility after we get our state licenses... ummm, yeah - when your phone's not ringing, it'll be me on the other end of the line... :yeah:

The short story is that the facilities that hire new cna's all the time are often not great places to work. CNA pay is not very good under the best circumstances, and adding in a dose of grumpy nurses and sandbagging co-workers is a recipe for quick burnout.

KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN · Apr 27, 2010

Hdub & rzyzzy--I feel for both of you. My clinical experience was the opposite of rzyzzy's though- our class was at a very very posh nursing home. One of the top rated ones in the county. I thought all nursing homes were gonna be like that!

Wrong.

I worked in an ALF for about 8 months but I wasn't getting enough hours because our census was low. So I job searched a little and got hired at a nursing home. The pay was a lot higher than what I was making at the ALF. But the conditions were disgusting. I left the place crying plenty of times. Finally I couldn't put up with it anymore. I quit & never went back. Luckily I still kept my other job at the ALF so I picked up some shifts there, but again the census dipped. So I've found a new job at a really great facility ( the sister facility of the place where I did clinicals) & I'm enjoying it so far. I'm doing private duty & its a lot less stressful! LTC is not for everyone. But thats the great thing about this field! You can work in home care/private duty, assisted living, adult daycare, hospice, and hospitals. Or maybe it could be that the LTC you chose isn't the best. That happens. www.medicare.gov ranks all of the nursing homes..maybe you can see which ones are higher ranked in your area & check them out :) Best of luck !!