makingitright

Dear me...I have not commented here in a while, but this subject right here just seem to nag at me and rile me up and so I must put in my two cents worth. The very idea of discriminating against someone because of a personal choice is ludicrous to me. The very idea that you would call someone who smokes a hypocrite is even more so. So are you saying that it is a given that people who do not smoke make better nurses? Seriously? And you know this how? Took a survey did you? So tell me then we begin with kicking smokers out of the nursing programs, who would go next? Someone who is fat, somebody who has a eccentric way of dress, someone you observe eats with their mouth open (annoying I know but...), someone you do not find particularly attractive or perhaps someone who's voice you do not find pleasant? I mean the possibilities are endless. There are people who should be kept out of nursing school for various reasons, but something as superfluous and nonsensical as smoking does not qualify. Valid reasons include a lack of compassion, lack of care, not being able to display empathy towards others, money hungry, in it for the title only, those who do not have the natural vocation for the craft, those are the people who should be weeded out, those are relevant causes to keep someone out of the profession. I have enumerated each of those because it not about my personal feelings, it is not about being subjectively positioned in one way or another, but it is because it is a known fact that people who do not display those key elements give the worst care and are a nightmare to work with. Sigh...I am non smoker, and despite the fact that I loathe the smell of cigarettes, I could never say do not allow this person in because I hate the fact that they smoke. The reason why? It's because those are my personal feelings and has nothing to do with the care that person or those people could provide a patient with. This profession is not an easy one. It takes real heart to be a good nurse. Let's focus on that the heart of the nursing student, their intentions, intellectual capabilities and other such important aspects of the burgeoning student, for those qualities do matter and very much. In closing there are numerous arguments that you could use to write a good paper, but this one in my humble opinion isn't one of them and to tell you the truth it comes of as a little trite, more than a little prejudiced and very much misinformed.

If you were to look up the definition of the word profession, clearly you would see that there is no question that nursing is a profession. As to CNA being a profession, I would dare to say that it is. We are educated, trained and are compensated for our efforts. There is not question that CNA's are professionals no matter what anyone may say. Autonomy and flexibility have very little to do with professionalism, but I must hint at the fact that there are many CNA's who are independent contractors. Such CNA have been able to afford to set the time and place where they choose to work. And if you and others do not know let me inform you that their various organizations who cater only to CNA's, the web is our playground and therefore it allows us to pick and choose which organizations we wish to be apart of. We are not the poor little darlings of the nursing world you know. The interesting part of this whole dialogue is this, that this debate has gone from a registered nurse complaining that non nurses are taking on a role that they have no business taking, to the validity of our roles as a whole. Here we have people questioning our purpose as CNA'a and our education, our license and even our contributions. This is ridiculous! There are people in all professions and not to mention walks of life that claim to be something they are not, although it is wrong, it is something that happens all of the time. There is nothing new under the sun. Take up your anger with those that deserve it and respect those of us who respect ourselves. Some of the best RN's and health managers that I have come across in my years of nursing have worked as NA's and CNA's before going back to school and finishing. And I would have to say that they happned to be the most compassionate and caring people you could ever meet. In my opinion it takes a lot more than just a license or degree to make a good nurse, it bloody well takes heart. And some people are sadly lacking in that department.

Your post made me feel good and made me smile. I will take your advice I can promise you that. Thank you so much for your wise words. If I am honest can I tell you that I feel to hug you right now.

Maybe it could be that the rant rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it is as simple as that. Or then again maybe perhaps it is the fact that I have heard such arguments before and I can mentally record each time a nurse has tried to disrespect me by using their education and position to try to make me feel small. Or then again perhaps it is the idea of someone saying if you do not agree with me, don't post here unless you are like them. I am not like anyone else yet, I am part of the whole. I am a nurse, I am not and RN or an LVN, but I nurse and take care of sick people and help people every single day. This is what I have chosen to do with my life and I love everything that nursing is and represents. With saying that I must say this as well, it is challenge to mantain one's professional dignity and render the best care one can whilst dealing with such superfluous nonsense. This site is called Allnurses for Godsake, not the RN's den! That means to say every person who plays an active part in nursing has a voice. I do not hesitate to use mine when I deem it necessary and will always continue to do as long as I live and breathe.

Ok, let me say this I am CNA and I am aware of my limitations as such. I for one would never claim a title that I am not entitled to have within my scope of practice. For with a title comes responsibilities and with responsibility comes liability any person with a brain would not jeopardize themselves by needing to resort to using a title that they have not earned. Personally speaking, when I consider my own educational goals I know just how foolhardy it would be for me to do so and I would not dare risk it. Now let me say this, surely you could not think to start a thread such as this and not expect some backlash. I mean your anger and frustration are written all over my screen at the moment and to tell you the truth I find it very unbecoming indeed. I have not decided as of yet if I should be offended or not. As I said before that I do not do this, but I do not know what has annoyed me more if it is your holier than thou attitude or the fact that you have basically dared a person not to respond to you. You cannot say I respect these people and follow that up with the vitriol you have let loose on here. I understand that you have worked hard to be where you are and that you are proud of that, I can appreciate that but still... Now you say the offending parties are your friends and some are your co workers? With the co workers it is a little iffy of course it is, but surely they teach leadership and how to deal with difficult situations at the University. As you have articulated yourself so well here, why not use such a resourceful gift to educate them and set them straight? As to your friends, why not speak to them with the truth? Be a good friend and let them know that the cons of using a title that they have not earned and let them no exactly what could happen to them if they continue to do so. You do not need to be a savior for everyone, but, since this subject is a bone of contention for you use all that education you worked so hard for in other words put it to good use and help them help themselves. You wrote that nurses cannot call themselves doctor and you are wrong about that. There are many nurses who hold PhD and Doctorates tell me what do you call them? What would be their title then? The MD's are upset that these nurses who too have worked their butts off can now deign to share such a title with them. Which seems nonsensical to me because when you look into other professions people earn their PhD and are called doctor, so then it leaves me to conclude that it is about ego. It is about I put in this time and this person did not and so who are they to when if they would research they would see that nurses who earn their PhD's and DNP's are not trying to take anything from them, but just wish to be at the top of their field. So it is not even about the well being of patients any more, it all comes down to prestige and titles. How uplifting, it makes me want to go right out and be the best that I can be. I am working hard to become a member of this type of bureaucracy it makes me feel all warm and tingly inside...not. In times like these I have to remember why I love nursing so much and why I have decided against all to take this path.

The world is full of mean people and one has to learn to defend oneself from such people. The most important thing here is the wellbeing of your patient. Secondly, you cannot leave yourself open to be accused of negligence and such. You did the right thing by reporting these people, and if they try to get heavy, stand your ground respectfully. Trust that management will handle it and if they do not, check to see what the grievence protocol is. This is not about being a snitch, you are not going tit for tat by the looks of things, stop being so hard on yourself. You have worked hard to get where you are, you cannot allow anyone to mess that up for you. This is just my two cents. Please take care!

Hell yes! Even if I never go too far on it, it is a beautiful thing. I have been thinking about this forever. I would love a lilac or pink colored one.

It is true when they say the spirit is strong, even though sometimes the body is weak. Your resilience here is so commendable, truth is I feel to just give you a hug right now. If I had the money I would give it to you myself. Take care!

I tend to wash them in hot water and I also like to add a little pinesol to the water or some other desinfectant. I do not like to take any chances.

My take on this anecdote is this, I do not believe that the person who started this thread was making fun of the patient. I think it was of a way to deal with the situation. Personally, I have seen many sad things and I have also seen many funny things as well. My own not so great moments...I have stepped in poop and almost dived face first into it. I have had poop thrown at me, been cursed at, slapped, kicked, pinched I have seen and experienced it all. I have had moments when I just want to cry, but crying is not an option so...you smile to yourself, you might even laugh and you get on with it. I have had a couple experiences when someone was dying and did not want me in the room because of my skin color. I have also had people who would not let me go because they want me to just sit there and hold their hand. I have found that anyone, at any time can become sick and unable to take care of themselves, no one is excluded from this not young or old. That is not a funny matter, it is just the way life is sometimes.

Right now I am working part time and I am looking for another job that will give me benefits and such while I go to school. I shall be working two jobs for the time being, that will work for me right now. I have been working per diem jobs for so long and have not had any health insurance it seems like forever. I cannot keep on living like this. I pray that I will get a good paying job we good benefits, I need it. I pray that you will too.

LOL OMG, how awful!!

I am going to be thirty five this year. I have always known what I wanted to do with my life. I have always always wanted to be a nurse.There are many nurses in the family, grew up with them as friends to the family, not to mention my own grandmother wanted to be one. She would have made a great nurse, but, she chose to put her family ahead of her own dreams. Nursing is in my blood. It is going to take me some time to get to where I want to be, but I am doing all that is necessary to make it. Look, we are not twenty five years old. You could not pay me to be twenty five again, with the same mindset and lack of knowledge. The naivete that comes along with youth is only dispeled by living, and most of us by this age have lived and experienced life a little, if not much. It is wonderful to know what you really want, to not be stuck in mediocrity. Working towards a goal is uplifting and it fuels the need to be something more, to contribute something more. I know so many people who are stuck, miserable as hell and hate everyone and most of all unwilling to even make a slight change. Sometimes that is all it takes, is adjusting your view and the willingness to just try something new. We are not living in the age where if you are thirty, unmarried or what have you, you are considered pass your prime. Women our age and much older are living fabulously, there are so many choices. It almost makes me giddy with pleasure just thinking about it. Life is for the living and well my advice to all is live your life and live it well. To the dickens with anyone who tells you or makes you feel like being you is not enough! I am thankful to be approaching 35 and I feel wonderful!

Yes, these things do happen. But my policy has always been and still is to mind my own business and do my own thing. As to me...I haven't, I could have, but I did not. Anything is possible, just not with a Dr though, what egomaniacs they are.

Great information! Thank you so much for this!!

I am so sorry that such a thing happened to you. It must have been so embarassing. Yet I think it is quite normal that we react to things in a certain way, especially if you are not exposed to certain things. I remember once when I had just started taking my anatomy class that my teacher had introduced us to let's say for the sake of this conversation "Tammy" She was someone who had given her body up for science, and she was to be our introduction to what it was all about. At any rate, my teacher was speaking to us, talking to us about the woman who had done such a great thing and well went on to stress how we should treat our 'corpses' with respect when we got them. I cannot tell you to this day why, but, she also dipped her hand in the corpse's open body cavity. And she just kept on dipping her hand inside pulling out dried organs and such showing these to us. Everytime she would make this action I could feel my stomach and all remnants of a half eaten lunch lurch forward. I felt sick to my stomach and broke out in a sweat. And she just kept on doing it again and again. I saw every star in the sky, some of classmates where so concerned they led me outside and others found it kind of amusing I suppose. Luckily for me I did not fall or anything, but was left to gather myself together, which I eventually did, but just... What an awful experience that was. I never considered myself to be the fainting type, but for goodsake, she just kept on dipping her hand in that body. I was aghast to say the least and it was not cute. I do not think that anyone thought less of you because of what happened. You are a human being and had a normal reaction. In a little while you will laugh at this and not to mention, you will have a great story to tell. Take care and do not worry about it too much now. :)

I am so happy for you! God bless you!! Now it is time for you to celebrate :anpom:

No, it does not take an RN to understand this. It takes a person with a heart and compassion to get at the gist of the matter. Yes, those people suck! They suck to all hell! I can say this, there is no room for lazy and cumbersome people in our field. They make it hard for everyone else! I commend you for your resilience and wish to do what is right. For what you have written here it is not easy for you. Ok, when it comes to all of your responsabilities, no I do not carry such burdens and I am very sorry that you have to. It is just not right. But what made me mad at you was the fact that you wrote that all cna's are worth nothing more than two cents and that is just not true! I could say the same for some nurses I have had the great "pleasure" to meet and work with. Somehow I just do not wish to stoop to their level, they are not worth my time or effort. I feel, I honestly feel thought that despite all the negative crap, that this is what I am suppose to do with my life. Maybe that keeps you going to work and facing all that you do every day too. There is a deep love there, although in my own experience of late not so easily seen and felt. There has to be a way to balance things out.

There is no such thing as as a silly question. My advice to you is whatever you goals may be, go for it! Both long term facilities and hospitals are wondeful for the experience you get. But, if you can get into a hospital straight away do so. Hospital work is very technical, you are constantly learning new procedures and there is not so much lifting there. Ltc's not so technical, however the vast experiences and knowledge that I have learned in working in them is invaluable to me. Also CNA's are employed in home health, hospices, registries (I would wait to do this until I had a little more experiences or so). However there is a wide array of venues for you to explore. Know that I wish you every good thing on your journey, no matter what path you choose to take.

It depends of the facility. Night shift can be quite busy really contrary to popular belief. Whenever I work in Ltc's. They so love to put me on the medicare section. lol so Usually it is hopping. And hospitals at night seem to always have something going...so it is very good.

As CNA's we are always under time constraints, there is no excuse for negligence. Do what is right for the patient always. No exceptions.

To the nurse that wrote that he or she have been a RN for 16 years and that CNA's are worth two cents. It is because of people like you that some CNA's feel and act the way they do! I have been a CNA for 14 years. I too have broken my ass doing what is best for my patients! When I started to work as one I was wide eyed and bushy tailed because I was knew I was on cusp of doing something wonderful. I have come to dislike it because I have deal with nurses who often time belittle and demean if not me, others like me, their own peers and even family members as if we were all beneath them. I have witnessed first hand nurses treating veteran CNA's who have worked for over thirty plus years as if they were dirt under their feet! Yes, the respect factor is pretty much zero and one has to demand respect. I demand to be treated with respect. I have worked with some really awful people and those people make it hard for everyone else. Yes CNA's have really screwed up personalities, but let us consider the whole picture here. I have been around I have worked in hospitals, hospices, ltc's and the like and thank goodness what keeps me in the game are the good ones, because for every bad one there are two or three who are wonderful. Another reason the fact that I do make a frigin difference! I do mentally put the crap behind me and do the best that I can do. And last but not least, the one that fires me up more is the fact that I have a dream of becoming a nurse. I want to be the best nurse that I can be, and I have made a vow that when I become one, I will treat everyone and I mean everyone with the utmost respect!!!! In this life it takes all kinds, but what I bring to the table is the fact that I actually give a damn! And truth be known there is nothing better than to love what you do, and be paid for it. No one is an altruist here! We have families, bills and responsibilities to tend to. So let us not play the fools of ourselves. So the next time you start mouthing off about CNA's are worth nothing much, think again! For we are the foundation that keeps these places running. You bloody well cannot do it all by your damn self! And what is more don't you ever forget it!

I just got through posting on another thread. I was a bit annoyed by it. In retrospect I do not believe that the person who started the thread was doing so in a malicious way. I think now that it was done to get people to laugh and well say, yes I know someone exactly like this. I guess they caught me on a day when I did not feel like laughing. I had to edit my response here, for it felt too feel good and non chalant. It is almost as I was feeling disconnected somehow. I suppose one could say that as I am writing I am starting to recall the politics and the crap that goes on these places. It seems to me that managment salivates and licks their fingers and sit back and await the outcome of the games. They pit nurses against each other, nurses agaisnst cna's, cna's against cna's and so on and so forth all in attempt to disguise their underhandedness. If we are all fighting amongst ourselves then we take focus off of what really matters "Poor care solution and very low wages." "Let us push the fools a little further..." It sucks like hell! The level of frustration is felt on every level, we all feel the pinch. The problem is since everybody is at each others throats they get away with it. If we were to ban together and not chicken out, things would be so much better for all concerned. The concerned...the patients (who are most vulnerable) and ourselves (the ones that keeps the machine well oiled and working) If most of our mindset was different and forward thinking, the way we view ourselves in relation to our own contributions to the cause would be suprisingly life changing. In every organization you will find the drips and the stups, that is just how it is. The problem is lack of focus and comraderie...if you work on building a good trusting foundation, things would fall into place. Everyone has a job function here, no one is better than the other. Really!

This place is a great source of information. I am happy that there is a place such as this where everyone who makes nursing what it is can come together and just learn from one another. Love this place!

Wow. I am flabbergasted! These are all the personalities that you could come up with? Well then, it must be so nice to be able to be so well thought out in the idea of who we CNA's are exactly, how everyone of us must function, think and must feel. I would have to say do not leave nurses out of the game. For each personality you have listed here, I have worked with a nurse who was twice as bad. Funny thing though, you have failed to mention the CNA's that do come to work every day and give the best of themselves. Some who love what they do, and others although we may not love what we do, but we treat our patients good and with the utmost respect and who are not whiny or jerks to our coworkers. I have been a CNA for a very long time and personally I have come to really dislike being one. The respect factor is often times zero. One is expected to work under the worst and most strenuous conditions sometimes and the pay is lousy...very lousy. However, when I face my patients, I mentally put these truths away. I focus on the patients and what their needs are. I do try my best to bring them joy and some happiness. I am a professional and every move I make is about what is best for them. I make sure that I do my job very well. Some may ask why am I still a CNA then? My answer is that I hang in there because I want to be a nurse, I always have always wanted be one and I will be one. I know that being a CNA will enable me to be to be a better nurse in the future. Some days are better than others, I refuse to get lost in the shuffle. My dreams will come true. So back to the reason that I have decided to post my feelings on this thread. Yes, although there may be some character traits of CNA's that I have worked with listed here. However, it would have been nice to see the positive traits highlighted here as well. For the positive does out way the negative ones and in my opinion it keeps us doing what we do, and keeps us giving the best of us.