CNAespy

As a CNA that has worked in assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and hospitals, I'm going to have to disagree with your comment about people that do the hardest work don't get the higher pay. Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs, nursing homes) are routine. Care plans are filled out for you to reference, and once you get to know your residents, the routine becomes much easier. Nursing homes are intense on your body, but there are usually more lifts present in these facilities to ease the physical burden. Assisted living facilities vary greatly but again -- once you know your residents, the routine becomes easier. I've been busy at each facility. I've had crazy bad days at each. But working in a hospital requires much more thinking on the fly and "getting caught with your pants down" than any other facility I've been employed in. I've been doing this for 8 years. Depending on the facility -- you are dealing with the possibility of needing to initiate emergency codes and administer CPR, and you're dealing with people you barely know anything about. Hospitals tend to prefer CNAs with experience as they require a lot more juggling of tasks at the same time and thinking under pressure. Even with 5 years of experience as a CNA, my first job in a hospital was on an acute care / med surg / telemetry unit. I had to take Protonix for 8 months and almost quit about 5 times in those 8 months, but I stuck with it. It is a level of insane crazy that I have never experienced before, had a very high patient turn over rate due to the nature of the unit, and I had to learn the time management skills of a god in order to be good at that job. I earned every extra cent I made. Granted it's not going to be like that everywhere you go, but you can't blanket statment like that. It doesn't always work that way.

I know doctors work really long shifts like that, but as a CNA, you're not allowed to work a 24 hour shift. Not only is it a bad idea as far as your employer is concerned, it's also very hazardous -- not only to your health, but also to the health of everyone you're responsible for taking care of. You will be fatigued, you will make mistakes, you will not remember things as well, and your feet will absolutely kill. I've pulled 16 hour shifts, and by hour 14, I'm feeling every minute after that: in my feet, my ankles, my back, my eyes, my thoughts, and I'm usually starving and starting to feel irritable. 12 hour shifts are no big deal, once you're used to them. Don't over-do it. If you work too much as a CNA/RN/LPN/anything related to patient care, the burn out will do more harm than anything else -- and the car won't be worth it. TL;DR - take care of yourself when you have to take care of others. Best of luck to you.