shadchan

Also true, but he won't be a stay at home dad if he doesn't invest in enough time with his wife to keep her around, or to have children with her.

MiketheRN, that's very true! I'm not saying it's impossible at all. I am saying that speaking from a girlfriend/wife's point of view, a home life is so much more harmonious when both members of a relationship dedicate time out to enjoy each others' company and reap a little of what they have both sowed together.

This has probably already been covered...just saying one thing more... The OP mentioned he wants to get married and be a stay at home dad in the future. That is an awesome goal, but working 60 hours a week is going to make it extremely hard to maintain a relationship unless you and your future wife are in perfect synch, which very few people are. Don't forget the personal committments in your life. :) (Speaking from the POV of a doting girlfriend. Your future wife will very likely need as much support from you as you will from her.)

Sorry to double post - I'd be AMAZED to see that kind of pay for LTC with benefits included. I've never seen LTC pay that much around here. Edit - I have heard, through the grapevine mind you, that Huntington Somethingorother hospital in Pasadena pays a little lower than normal but provides something close to 100% benefits and helps with schooling. May want to check into it if you are into going further.

LTC/SNF started at $10/hr with no prior experience for me. Went to $10.50 after my first evaluation.

I am not old enough to provide true insight on this topic, I do however want to say - I am 20 years old and am SO DIFFERENT from the person I was at 18, it's not funny. That's even a farther departure from when I was 16 - not even in the same solar system. I encourage you with your goals, but I would advise you to keep in mind that your goals may change. You may not like the work you do, even burnout notwithstanding. I've gone through what seems like 800 hypothetical career changes in the past year alone. I will plan everything out to the nth degree and then something comes along that changes it all. "The best laid plans of mice and men..."

I've applied at several places already, but I am more confident than I would be otherwise because I "sort of" have a second job - I work at my school's bookstore between and into the first few weeks of each semester, so I should be starting work with them the first or second week of January again. The pay is monthly so I probably wouldn't see the check for two months, but it is honest work in the most friendly environment I've ever been in, and the sad thing is that it only pays $1/hr less than CNA! IF any of my applications makes it (so far they're all per diems which will hopefully work out with my school schedule), I can always put that job on hold if necessary. They understand that I am juggling several aspects of my life right now and are really really flexible. I am honestly blessed in that respect. Thanks for continuing your advice Dutch, and thank you Valerie for the encouragement. :)

I am looking at a per diem CNA position at a local hospital and I have some questions about y'alls experience with per diem work... Do hospitals usually look for on-call anytime-anywhere per diem workers or have you found that they are willing to work with someone who can only cover 3-4 days a week? I will be in school a few days a week in the spring - I'd like to be sure that there would be no conflict. I am only used to working in SNF/LTC so I have little to no experience with how hospitals manage this. Thanks!

Okay, I think I have one more question for everybody...you have been so helpful and I hope I am not wearing out my welcome! I've given it some thought and am sure that I will put in my two weeks very soon. I am just done. I happened to talk to one of my best friend's clients who has been an RN since the dawn of time (ha) and she said the exact same thing that many of you have iterated to me - Run, and run fast! My question is to when to put my two weeks in. I see the trainer lady again next Friday to finish up the training videos for the med tech cert - should I wait until they give me that, so that in a sense my butt might be covered if someone raises a question, or would it not matter? I have been passing prepoured meds for months, though I have not and refuse to prepour them myself. Would the med tech cert matter at all? I am ready to get out, out, out! I just want to know if the certification would help cover my hiney or if it wouldn't matter either way. Thank you all again for your continued advice!

It is routine for the other caregivers to prepour days ahead of time. :S I thank you all for every bit of advice and encouragement. I have taken it to heart and I will also DEFINITELY be looking more at the PTA program Dutch. I'd rather put myself through PT school making $35-40k a year doing something I'd be delighted to do every day (and in fact, have already had practice with at times) than eke my way through 8 more years of school making $10.50 an hour. LOL PS: I just today found the CNA forums...they've moved since the last time I visited here! LOL Sorry I didn't put this thread there!

Durr, I blended two sentences into one, Dutch. I MEANT to say that the PTA program was suggested to me by several people, and as far as the PT program, I knew it required a master's, yadda yadda...gotcha! Thanks for your help. I went to the session and raised my concerns with the lady who seemed totally baffled by them, but she said she would talk to her higher up and see if we can't make ends meet on this, since I flat out told her I do not feel comfortable prepouring. We not only do routine meds, we also handle and dispense narcotics as needed, and I was NEVER comfortable with that anyway. Also signed up with one home care agency nearby today and plan to do another one next week. :-) So we will see if any good will come of this. Jelli, I get freaked out about this not only because this goes against what I was taught as a CNA, but it is also a liability issue. I don't want my butt in the fire if I can help it. I see where your comparison makes sense, but I unfortunately am not Mom, I am the responsible party on my shift - AKA, the one to point the finger at if something doesn't go right or somebody has an adverse reaction to a medication mispoured by the last shift. I know that nobody is going to stick up for ME but ME. That is why I am making a big deal out of it.

The PTA program was suggested to me by several people, but everything I have heard as of late is that it only requires a Master's. Erk...I work with several PTs who only have their Bachelor's! Thanks for the heads up, it is definitely something I will look into. Also thank you for the encouragement and advice. I'm usually chickenhearted but not when they are asking me to do something like this. I will update you later this afternoon when I return...gonna check out some home care agencies and registries afterwards too.

*PHEW* I am so relieved to hear you confirm my gut feelings...THANK YOU! Now, I have one more question that has evolved from this topic. For the past month or so I have had One Of Those Gut Feelings about work and have deeply considered working for a registry doing homecare either alongside or in place of this job. So in a way I have my butt covered if something happens. I ask because I'm very willing to stand up for myself and my patients but not sure how - I see the lady doing the training at 10am tomorrow. Our employment is at will also. If I raise my concerns and refuse, if they don't have another position for me that doesn't involve passing medication, would it be better/safer just to put in my two weeks right there? Or just walk out? I am not concerned about my resume so much - I am concerned about the health and wellness of my residents and my career in the long term. My goal is to eventually become a physical therapist and I am not going to endanger that by endangering my CNA licensure. The place has gone so far downhill in the past 14 months that I've been there...many of my residents have said that 10 years ago, the facility was THE best in the state. Everything seems to be falling apart now. Thanks again and I'm pretty sure that's my last question. LOL

Okay, I have done some searching on here thanks to you giving me the right keywords to search for. We get prescriptions from the nearby pharmacy and keep them in the med cart as is. On my shift, 3-11, there is no licensed nurse in assisted living but the RN from rehab/acute comes over twice to give insulin to those who need it and take care of any emergencies. There is no licensed nurse that handles the meds. The CMAs do it ALL, including logging the incoming meds from the pharmacy, and including narcotics. All meds are in labeled med bottles or bubble paks; narcotics dispensed are logged in a separate log book. When the caregiver pours the medication, she works from the medication record book as to what to give, and pours the selected meds in the envelope with the patient's name and time to dispense on it. However there will only be 1 hour of training to do this and I've seen more than a handful of medication errors in my short time there. The narcotic counts are always off. Considering that there is very little licensed supervision on this, are my fears justified? Thank you again. I really appreciate the help.

Hi all, I'm so sorry if this is in the wrong place - please lead me to the right one if that's the case. I'm a CNA/CHHA in a big retirement facility with independent, assisted, rehab, and LTC. For the past few months I've been working as a caregiver on their assisted living side because I changed to pt status to return to school. All the other caregivers (no license or certification) pre-pour the patient meds into envelopes that later shifts dispense to patients. I have always felt uncomfortable with this because I know as a CNA I sure as heck am not allowed to go anywhere near the meds. They want me to go to a 1 hour training session tomorrow to become a "med tech aide" and learn to pour the meds myself. They have let me slide on it but they say that the training must be done by the end of the year, so here I am in this predicament. I feel very uncomfortable with this and feel like something is fishy. I've never even heard of a "med tech aide" and Google brings up ZERO search results on it. Please advise me on whether caregivers are allowed to do this, and if so, would it affect or endanger my CNA certification? Thank you all very much in advance.

Sonoran - the gagging reflex, oh man, I had that for the longest time! I think it reached a breaking point when I had a bedbound pt that invariably reached back and went spelunking in her rectum for feces with her bare fingers whenever I had to change her. I almost vomited at that. (She would later be seen shoving her fingers up her nose...it would not occur to her to clean off her hands; we would constantly have to wash them) In any case, after that, I learned how to turn my head away from the pt as I was working and breathe to get some "fresh" air; how to sort of press my tongue against the roof of my mouth to stave off the gag reflex...you will find the things that work for you. But please, remember....you are not alone! It will take time but it gets easier. I think this is something we all have to come to terms with eventually. Best of luck to you!!

I have not noticed any staffing problems with night shift lately. Some of the other CNAs I work with on 7-3 have complained that the night CNAs sleep on the empty beds though, and 7-3 has to fix the beds again in the morning. :icon_roll

Thank you for the advice, everyone. I said "night shift" in general because I am not the only one who complains about the 11-7 shift. I have heard grumbles from almost every corner. I've spoken to my immediate supervisors and also the DSD about it (the DSD, twice; as there was another incident today of bedpans covered in dry fecal matter and clumped baby powder...ewww) so hopefully something gets done. I can understand that they might be sluggish on an 11-7 shift, believe me, I would too. But, doing your job is doing your job...that is the perspective I come from. Maybe I am being a jerk about it, I don't know.

Amen, amen, amen!! I am not anywhere near the fastest one on my team, but I absolutely make sure that my residents have smiles on their faces each and every day. I am very proud of the work that I do, though I have my less than stellar days like everyone else. I had a rough time of it in the beginning because it seemed like I was just drowning in work, but I've picked up speed and work comfortably now. One of my little secrets is to answer a call light, do what I need to do, and before I leave the room, ask the resident if there is anything else I can get/do for them. If they say no, I make sure to tell them to call me if they need ANYTHING at all, and I quote! It means that I have a few more call lights than I would otherwise, but I honestly think it balances out. My residents trust me. That means they are happier, and in some cases that means that they will not put on the call light so much. Like today, we got a new admission - someone that had been here before (referred to by a coworker I am friendly with as a "mean old bat" - she meant this in dry humor and meant no real offense) that at best, has a few screws loose. Very nervous, overreactive, etc. I went in there to change her diaper while she was arguing with a nurse about her meds, introduced myself, and talked with her and answered her questions while I worked. By the time I left the room, I had got her calmed down and I think she only put the call light on twice more the whole day. Trust me, take a moment to earn the residents' trust and your life will be so much easier! "An ounce of prevention..." :)

CNA course taught me the bare bones in equipment like that, but it wasn't until I started my internship and my on the job training that I learned how to operate and adjust oxygen tanks and concentrators as needed, ergolifts, Hoyers, etc. Don't be intimidated by them. For instance, the oxygen tank -- ask someone like a LVN or therapist to teach you how to use it when they have a moment. Listen closely and ask questions if you think of them. For the Ergolift, which we use in my facility, we have an instructional video we have to watch before we can be allowed to operate it.

Amen to that, Marie! Go through their drawers and make sure things are orderly. Make sure the residents have enough towels and such in their bathroom. Take vital signs, even if it's not requested, and check with the charge nurse to see if she needs it recorded somewhere. If the residents use bedpans, kidney basins, or wash basins of any kind, clean them! If the residents are bedbound, or even just relaxing in a wheelchair, ask them if they would like you to apply lotion to their skin. Take your time and massage them gently as you do it. They will love it! You can also use this time to do a skin check; arms, legs, etc and make sure they have no skin tears or the like. ESPECIALLY important to check are their heels and between their toes and if possible, their back/buttocks. So many CNAs miss those areas. I recently found a really painful blister on the heel of one gentleman that had flown under the radar for days, judging by the fact that nobody had reported it and now more than a week later, he is still being treated for it.

Hi everyone, I work 7-3 in a rehab unit of a LTC. Please set me straight on this as I am really mad! Am I being merciless or correct in my judgment? I am getting the impression that night shift is very lazy and doesn't do anything. They used to not even undress some of my "hard" residents, just put a hospital gown over their day clothes and leave them like that. Then I complained at an inservice and it stopped, finally! They routinely leave bags of trash or dirty diapers on the floor or chairs of the residents rooms. Yesterday I went to get the bedpan for one of my ladies and found three of them in the bathroom. One was new, one had urine all over it still, and one was crusty and covered in clumped baby powder. Now how hard is it to clean a bedpan after use??? Seriously! If I can do it on 7-3 they can do it on 11-7.:trout: Also peeved about how the res will wet the bed and it will soak through or miss the pad, making a wet spot on the bottom elastic sheet. It's not that hard to make an occupied bed...not fun, but come on, don't just put a new pad over the wet spot and hope I don't notice! Grrrrr. Please, please folks, regale me with stories about how wonderful other places' 11-7 shifts are so I can feel better. All the RNs and LVNs just kind of shrug their shoulders and go "That's night shift for you" when I tell them about it. It's not fair that they make my job harder, grrr! *ventventvent*

1. The lady that tested me was not mean. She wasn't super friendly, but she was kind! Like the others said, she dropped hints here and there when I was at risk of forgetting something. So did my "patient," a LVN student volunteering. 2. If in question, ask the tester, believe it or not. Ask her whether she wants you to use water or just "mock" bed bath. 3. I got pretty lucky. I got to do occupied bedmaking, putting on ted hose, taking temperature with the glass thermometer (REMEMBER TO SHAKE IT DOWN BEFOREHAND! I forgot that!), washing hands, and something else, I forget. It didn't take very long and it was seriously not that stressful. I fretted so much over this and it was no big deal!

I think at some point you will have to clean up vomit or diapers no matter what. The ER, well, you need an acute care license for that, so make sure you have that ready. From what I hear, be prepared to take vital signs...constantly. LOL Telemetry, I am not sure of. I work in a rehab unit of a LTC here in California and I like it very much. It's very busy, but after 4 months on the job I have learned to come to terms with this! Yes, I've had to clean up some of the messiest diapers you could imagine; yes, I've had to deal with constant vomiters; yes, I've had to clean up small amounts of blood here and there from incisions that open up or people who rip out their IVs, stuff like that. I still have to feed people occasionally, but it's not every day and it's almost always just one person. Remember: Any CNA job is going to be yucky. Period. I used to have a horrible gag reflex at the mere sound and sight of vomiting and would have to leave the immediate vicinity if I heard a puker. I also had a gag reflex when I caught whiff of some of the messier/smellier diapers I had to change. I've since gotten over both those things. Don't be afraid of mess, it gets easier. If you REALLY despise mess, I would honestly suggest applying at an assisted living facility. The pay is much lower, and the work is more like that of a home health aide, but there are very few messes. I've worked a double shift sometimes on the assisted living side of our facility and not once have I had to so much as wipe somebody's butt. I'll take a wet Depends and give them a fresh one, but that's it.

Thanks for all the kind responses. They were very encouraging...:) Since I posted that I've had a couple good days and a hellish one. It seems that many people are talking about how this place is not what it used to be from a class perspective or an employment perspective. One person said, "I'll have to speak with [Administrator X] on Monday" and one resident said (without my bringing up the subject at all), "You know, this place will get better if they get rid of [Administrator X]"... The good days are good, but I feel that on the bad days we are kind of thrown to the wolves. Our DSD usually doesn't answer her phone when we need her permission to hire a registry CNA to come in, which is BIGTIME aggravating. Sunday, I almost lost hope and walked right out the door, as I had a demanding and nitpicky patient that needs a Hoyer lift go to the bathroom four times before 9:00, another one with vomiting and diarrhea...we were two CNAs short, we got one registry in that didn't know a thing, and...just yeah. The DSD had previously said that should any of us have 9 patients she will give the OK to call registry, but after all was said and done, a few people had 9 and that was perfectly OK by her. She talks openly with us about how this is because our company is losing money every month. I was one of those people with 9 and happened to have quite a few high-maintenance patients. Not appreciated and at that moment I didn't care how much debt the organization was in. My lunch was 10 minutes long. I got out 20 minutes late because a lady had family coming and wasn't even up yet, clocked out, chugged a Diet Coke and some lifesavers, and saw that no one was relieving my call lights...so I just went downstairs and worked until it was my time to clock back in, then did so. Now my question to you guys, I have a CNA license but not an acute care license. Should I give up all hope of working in a hospital without it? Is it possible? Is hospital work any better?