Boo439

Central Florida here. I made $8.00 even at an ALF. I make $8.67 at the hospital. I just had my 1 year evaluation so it will go up just a little. I have the option for full benefits, but it costs more for me because I am only part-time. -Cassie

It's funny you say that... I am a CNA at a hospital and I have nothing but SpongeBob scrub tops lol Well, I have one Finding Nemo top. I brighten my patients' days. Not a day goes by without at least one of my patients complimenting me on my top. They enjoy different tops and I've often heard that they get bored looking at plain tops. I always hear, "My granddaughter would just LOVE your top. She watches that show all the time!!." It's a good conversation starter, because I love kids and I can talk about SpongeBob any time lol -Cassie

The hospital I work at is the same way. If someone has MRSA in a wound in their foot and I am going into their room to drop off their lunch tray, I'm not going to put on the gown, mask, etc, unless I'm afraid they're going to karate chop me in the face with their foot. I wear gloves and use anti-bacterial hand sanitizer after removing my gloves. When I change the linens, I wear a gown and gloves. Their door is usually open or closed depending on their preference. The hospital gets hot quickly and the a/c rarely works right. We end up having a patient on iso. with a room temperature of 85 degrees If a pt. has Shingles or another air-borne illness, their door is closed at all times and I, personally, don't go in the room. I never had chicken-pox I'm only speaking for the hospital I work at, but no one has ever said anything to us for having the door open on a contact iso. Even when JCAHO was coming through. -Cassie

Congrats on passing your exam!! I am going into nursing to be able to make more money than I was before I started school. I went to be a CNA strictly to make money. I had no people skills and really no desire to do the work. I was thrown into a situation of being on my own after being supported and not having to work. I had a friend who was a CNA and he said he made enough money to cover his bills. I went and here I am. After working, I realized how much I like the field and that I want to move up and go through more schooling. The money is a major factor to me. I don't think it makes me a bad person to want to get paid well for going to school and getting educated. I don't work at a gas station or fast food restaurant because the pay is so low and so is the education requirement for the job, so it fits. But if I am going to go to school for 2 or more years I think I should be paid accordingly. Sue me.

It depends what state you are in. In Florida, they do the background check and if you have any felonies, it sets off a red flag. I don't know if they go on a case-by-case basis, or if all felonies stop you from going into the nursing program...

My hospital likes as many details as possible as they track illnesses and do studies about how they are spread among the patients/employees. I've been lucky that when I have called in, they don't really care. Then again, CNAs aren't as important to them as nurses. I've heard they get more trouble from calling people off than from people calling in. Employees tell the NS that their children will starve if they don't come into work, etc. When they call me off at 5 am I say "THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!" and go right back to sleep. Like today, for example. I had a crappy night last night and was woken up to Linkin Park ringing on my cell phone by the NS saying she was sorry to tell me she'd be calling me off. I was like, don't be sorry, you made my day!

White is only required for nursing school down here. I wear SpongeBob SquarePants scrub tops every day. I enjoy making my patients smile. I always get compliments about wearing tops that are bright and cheery or I hear how my patien'ts grandchild LOVES SpongeBob. I don't even work in Peds, I'm just a HUGE fan of the show. If I had to wear plain scrubs I would probably feel boring...

I am 22 and I am only a CNA. I am in school to be a nurse. I have noticed that nearly everyone that I work with either swears, doesn't care about their appearance or has an all-around bad attitude. There is a nurse on a floor that I regularly float to. She has to be 60+ years old. Let me give you -1- example of the way she conducts herself. I'll call her "M". I was going on my lunch break and I saw a patient dressed up and ready to go at the elevator. I asked him if he had been discharged and why no one was escorting him downstairs. He told me that he was leaving AMA and "forget this crap, I'm outta here." I ran back to M's floor and said, "M, one of your patients is getting ready to get on the elevator and he's leaving AMA without signing anything!" M didn't even look up from her paperwork and said "I don't give a flying f--- what he does. He has been a pain in my a-- during his entire stay. I don't care, let him go." I was dumbfounded... I went and told her nurse manager and she told me she'd take care of it. Other situations where M gets into verbal arguments with patients who are confused have happened, too. I have told MY nurse manager that these things happen when M floats to our floor. My nurse manager says that M is of a different species. No one ever says anything to her. I don't know if it's because she's so old or what, but it makes me so mad. I have to go around apologizing to patients on the behalf of the hospital because she made them angry. In short, it's not only young nurses...

I can tell that you are from another country. I don't know what the male nursing situation is like where you live, but in the US, no one thinks twice if a male is a nurse anymore. Men make wonderful nurses. We have quite a few on my floor and many more around the hospital. They are nurturing and are still the minority compared to women. The women nurses LOVE having the men around. There's only so many women you can stand to be around. Having a man around is nice to change things up a bit. Men can help if we need a brawny guy to carry something for us If nursing is what you want to pursue, don't let anything hold you back; especially not the stigma that is attatched to male nurses. If you want to do it bad enough, you will and you will succeed. Good luck!

My name's Cassie, I'm a CNA at Florida Hospital - DeLand. I live in DeBary (central FL). I have been a CNA for a year, and I'm taking the pre-req's for the RN program at DBCC.

I worked 3rd shift for a few months. I would eat dinner with my husband around 8-10pm. I would go to work and not eat anything and if I did, it was just a piece of toast or a fruit snack. I would drink water through the night, that was it. I would get home from work, eat a light breakfast then sleep til my husband got home and I would eat a light lunch. I didn't like the schedule for eating or for sleeping, so I moved to 1st shift.

Congrats on your first day alone! Sounds like you did good!

I hope my comments are welcome... I have been a CNA for a little over a year now. I got a job at an ALF the day I graduated from my CNA class. I worked there for 6 months and got bored with it so I applied at the local hospital and got the job the next day. I have been there since and will stay there until the day my husband and I move out of state. I am currently taking the pre-req's for the RN program. I am weighing my options between taking the LPN program online then bridging over to RN or just going straight to RN. Pro - save gas money on lecture days for the LPN program, which will be done online. Con - Have to take an extra semester to bridge over to RN.

Kudos to you. You offered comfort to a family who has been going through a tough situation for 3 1/2 years. Without you, their struggle would have been much harder. I wish there were more people like you in the nursing field.

Can you have a Master's Degree in Psychology? If so, that's what I would get it in.