ybnvus

Hello~ I am a CNA getting ready to begin my LPN classes in July. However, I have been told by various ppl I have met in the medical field that it is not worth going for anymore as they are fading out the position. Is this true? Others have said that a LPN is nothing more than an underpaid RN....Is that true too? I'm not sure if I want to be an RN. The LPN program is 11 mos. From there I could bridge over to the RN program if I felt this would be a path I wanted to pursue. Any thoughts and advice will be very much appreciated. Thank you.~

cdean7660, wow.. and I thought I had it rough. I am a new CNA, when I say new, I mean..certified just a few weeks ago. My goal is LPN..maybe RN. But after today, I am seriously thinking about other avenues. I love my patients, I love my job, but w/o teamwork... I do not foresee myself being able to do this much longer. Only 3 things kept me from quitting today. One is my nurse, he is awesome. I have learned so much in the short time I have been under him. I may not always get the VS to him, but I do my best to get what he needs done. The other is another CNA whom I work really well w/when we can team up. But if I leave, all the pooh comes down to her...and she may quit too. Mainly because there is no "teamwork" w/the other CNA's. Thirdly, and most importantly, I love the patients.. I really do. Someone has to be there for them. I understand the nurses point of view, it shouldn't be hard to get a few seemingly simple things done... but when you are up to your elbows (literally) in pooh, you have call lights going off, you can't lift the person you are trying to clean up on your own (amazingly some CNA's are houdinis), the patient assignment changes halfway through (for the 2nd or 3rd time), the linen cart is empty, finding soap is like finding gold, it's after 1pm and you still haven't had lunch, let alone a 15 min break...you still have another shower to do, it gets overwhelming. Then you get hit with CNA's raunchy attitudes when all you did was finally finish w/a patient (no other CNA in sight) and offer to help w/the rest of the food trays...(even though no one helped you). You're supposed to clock out @ 3pm..but you are stuck in a room cleaning a patient because at the last moment.. they did what comes naturally, and I just cannot walk away and leave them, so now I'm in trouble for working a few mins over..d*mned if I do, d*mned if I don't. I had a CNA tell me today that I need to take my breaks, the patients will be there when I get back. I have a problem with leaving people in their "mess", I just can't do it. Not too mention some things HAVE to be done by a certian time, so I keep pushing through til it's done. I guess I'm just too slow. And I cannot clock out knowing one of my patients is in need of cleaning, yet I can't tell you how many times I've come onto my shift, and they are so bad...the sheets are soaked. What am I doing wrong?? So cdean7660, not all aides are bad.. I, for one, really try my best. I want to be a good CNA..but I do not think I am cut out for it. Over the past few weeks, I have gone home in tears. If (that's a BIG if) I do go on to be a LPN or RN, I pray I never forget how it was to be a CNA. And no, I do not think it is any easier to be a LPN or RN, I see what my nurse(s) go through, I see the frustration, and how much they can be taken advantage of, which is why I try my best to do what's needed.