Please tell me that Nursing is better than being a CNA!!!

[Worthy]

Hi there.

I have been enrolled part-time in nursing school for two years. I have another two years to go (part-time).

To make a very long story short, I was laid off from my office job in January of this year. Aha, I said. I'll become a Personal Support Worker (Canadian equivalent of CNA). I took the 4 month course, graduated with honours, and was offered 3 jobs two weeks after graduation in Long Term Care.

My problem? I'm EXHAUSTED! It is physical work that rates only second to the summer I spent cleaning stalls on a horse farm. The staff are brutal to me because I'm the "new" girl (though I've proven myself to a few and made some friends; and established a "don't push me around" limit with most of the ones I have problems with). I could not find a full-time job so work two part-time ones; most days I work from 7AM til 11AM, then 1PM to 9PM. I never see my husband. My whole day is shot. The two days I get off each week, I am back in school for nursing.

That's my time to rest!

I feel like I have no life. I can't cut my hours down much more than I have to accomodate school; I'm in debt from tuition and life in general is expensive, though my husband is very supportive both emotionally and financially. I make about $9 an hour at one job, $12 at the other.

I am sick at the thought of doing this for another two years. I love my residents and I love caring for them, but I wonder if it gets better. I feel like I need my own CNA to put me to bed at the end of the long day. I realize that nursing, too, is a very physically demanding career, but if I could only cut down my hours....even on my odd days off, they are constantly calling me to come in because they are short-staffed.

I don't know what I'm asking really! My marriage is starting to suffer due to the hours I'm working, as well as my sleep patterns.

I do well in school and am in the 80 to 90% range. My goal was to graduate with no debt, but I am seriously contemplating going next year full-time. It will allow me to graduate 6 months early, and I would be able to cut down my jobs to one, and even that I would only have to work two shifts per week. What is harder, working and going to school part-time, or going to school full-time and working part-time? I would have a student debt of about $8000 if I do this.

Several classmates tell me that they are not interested in going full-time because the workload is "intense" and that it only helps you get out six months earlier.

Any opinions are more than welcome!!! I don't know if I have the emotional strength to keep this up; I'm crying all the time and I'm feeling very lonely.

I have no life!!!!!

[ddc101]

How about looking for some assistance so you can do school full time.Think about it.You will have less money but not for as long a time than if you keep going on your current route.Also try to search for a job that will pay for school.You are going to end up physically burned out at this rate.Its not worth it for money.Get the education first.Then you will have bucks to go out to dinner and that will help the marriage.Talk about this with your husband.Its possible he and you can come to a better solution together.I would hate to see you not become a nurse.Its alot better than CNAing I can attest to that.I was a CNA who became a nurse.The long hours for little pay didn 't take me long to figure out that I would rather be pushing the cart than hear it coming.Best to you.:balloons:

[Jo Dirt]

When I was a CNA I was depressed all the time (I lasted long enough to get signed up for nursing school, which was about 8 months). We were constantly being told how wonderful we were and how we were the backbone of the nursing home but at the same time you could almost hear the whip cracking to work harder. I would look down those long halls with the call lights going off and feel defeated.

There is no way you can feel like you are doing your job when there are two of you (CNA's) and 42 needy patients. As much as I loved the patients I became so frustrated I would cry before work and to add insult to injury the earnings were barely above minimum wage. I think that being a CNA was a good motivator to do well in nursing school...no way I wanted to keep doing that!

Even as just an LPN (which I understand they do now allow LPN nurses to work as nurses in Canada? Only BSN?) the pay more than doubled and though it is much easier physically than the work I did as a CNA you have a new set of problems and frustrations, such as med. passes, treatments, handling emergencies, dealing directly with angry patients/family members, deal with impatient doctors, chart out the wazoo...But then, no job is perfect.

Is there a way you could maybe crunch your lifestyle so you wouldn't have to work that extra job? Eat beans and rice and eliminate some expenses? Do without cable tv for awhile, maybe?If that is at all possible I would do it. It sounds like you are very stressed out. I know what that is like, in a way I am in the same boat you are in. By the end of the week I'm so exhausted I don't feel like I can go on much longer. Hate to sound cliche, but I think things will be looking up for us if we can hang with it.

Good luck.

[SoulShine75]

I would rather be pushing the cart than hear it coming.

LOL...Funny

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

you are stressing yourself out too much and will get burned out, if you are physically able to complete the program. I went to school part-time and worked full time, but if you can quit work, or work fewer hours, I recommend that. Your grades are good. Are you eligible for scholarships? Talk to the financial aid dept. at your school to see if they have any ideas. Or talk to the Dean (they sometimes know more).

[MandyInMS]

At the rate you're going you'll be burnt out before you get your liscense....take your time and be good to yourself...we all have to learn to take care of OURSELVES first and foremost...best wishes (((hugzzz)))

[TexasPoodleMix]

Is there anyway you can get a job in another field .. or maybe on your holidays off, like christmas, get a seasonal job at a retail store ?? or substitute teaching ? You do sound stressed out and very tired. Good luck !

[mattsmom81]

Any way you can quit working altogether, take out student loans and just concentrate on school?? You read like you're plum worn out with everything going on in your life, so you should consider a cutback on something or you'll crash and burn.

On another note....is it the work itself that is dragging you down? If so, you may need to soulsearch whether you're in the right profession for YOU...if CNA work is making you nuts you may not enjoy a nursing career. We never really get away from it...CNA work is basic nursing care and is the framework for what we do. In ICU (and other primary care settings) nurses are expected to do all the 'CNA work' PLUS and many units function this way. Not trying to bring you down, just point out my reality.

Good luck to you and take care of yourself.

[BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN]

Is it that you can't stand being a CNA- and can't wait to be a nurse? Do you see yourself doing what the nurses do? That may be a tough question to ask yourself in the specialty you are in, as LTC differs from many other specialties. While nursing is the same in many ways, it is also very different. If it's patient care that you don't like (bedbaths, poop and vomit), well then you need to rethink it (or plan to do something else, like outpatient or admin.). But remember this, as a nurse, you are practicing based on theory and knowledge. CNAs take blood pressures- nurses interpret what the BP means, treat hypertension, and take a holistic approach- combining all the systems, and psychosocial considerations. Sure, we do A LOT of other stuff (like another poster mentioned), but our jobs are not ask task-oriented as CNAs

It must be very hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe a different setting as a CNA might be good for you (if it's feasible). You can see what other nurses do. Good luck.