Questions about how it's like to be a CNA

Published

Hello,

I'm in school right now to become a CNA. Been in school for about 5 weeks now. Our first day of clinics is actually tomorrow, kindof excited :nurse:

I'm wondering what is like to be a CNA,

  1. how do you like your job as a CNA?
  2. how is the pay? (Illinois)
  3. how is it to work nights?
  4. any advice...?
  5. what is the worst thing about the job?
  6. what's your daily routine?

Any information would be great!

THANKS

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC.

I will answer...I'm a nurse now but was a CNA in September and one for 6 years at that!

1. I loved my job as a CNA! Just not the pay! It's alot of hard work and really takes a special person...you really have to enjoy it!

2. In WA I started out at 8.50 and ended at 10

3. I really enjoyed working nights, my body just really didn't adjust well (which is funny bc now as a nurse I'm working nights and my body adjusts).

4. not really!

5. Probably it's alot of heavy labor without much respect from some of the nurses and even sometimes the residents (some of them viewed me as their slave it seemed)

6. For nights I would go in and check on all my residents, finish putting any to bed. Answer call lights. At midnight do a set of rounds. At 4 do another set of rounds, pass ice water, pass washcloths and set out clothes, do any AM get-ups, chart, take out the garbage. Some nights I had a lot of downtime and other nights it was running all night.

On evening shift I would go in check on all my residents, do vitals, take out the smokers, get the resdients up for dinner and do rounds, toilet residents. Feed them dinner, take a lunch, put them to bed, do rounds again at 9, then chart.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks for answering! and so fast haha!

Glad to know you like it, just about everyone i've talked to said that they really do enjoy it, which is great! and good to hear!

Sucks about the pay tho..... at least i know that was 6 years ago but i'm sure it hasn't gone up much more :(

i'm 19 and looking to move out on my own, is it enough to support yourself?

I'm glad you like nights, i'm a night owl/ or i just have insomnia haha either way tho.. i'd probally be working nights because I hate mornings and just can't wake up .. Did you get any extra while working nights? Or would you say you liked one shift more than the other?

Again, Thanks!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Labor and Delivery.

I'm not sure because I am not a CNA. I think there is a whole section though for CNA"S which would probably give you a ton of information :) Good Luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

how do you like your job as a CNA?: 90% of the time I love it. CNAs are dumped on a lot. But it's fun! I love spending time with people, not at a desk.

how is the pay? (Illinois) No idea about IL.

how is it to work nights? I'm used to it now. It was hard at first. You really have to fight to stay awake sometimes. But if you're going to be on a busy unit, it's way easier. We're kept so busy that before we know it it's time to be doing our final rounds.

any advice...? If you are not sure about something then ASK!!! Never look not busy- if you have down time, ask your co-workers if they need help.

what is the worst thing about the job? Having to answer the same call light lots of times for the same issue. And have to bug the nurse lots of times for whatever the patient wants!

what's your daily routine? It really varies by ward. Generally, we start our morning shift by helping people get washed/showered. Then it's mostly rounding, vital signs and feedings. The evening and shifts are just vitals, rounding, feeding where I work now. Evening shift gets most of the discharges/admissions, but we don't get involved in them much apart from doing vitals and sometimes a weight.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in PICU.

Hospitals pay much more, generally then other facilities. But they usually want one year experience or 6 months. I just graduated and I'm hoping to get my foot in the door at a hospital for that reason. The best way to do that is network! Also many hospitals with have tuition reimbursement programs and give you the hook ups if you go on to get your RN and want a job at that hospital afterwards.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in General medicine/geriatrics.

  1. how do you like your job as a CNA? -- I love working as a CNA. I feel like I really get to know the patients and I love feeling like I make a difference. I will be an RN in just a few months.. I'm hoping to be on a unit where RN's do "total care", because I like CNA work so much!
  2. how is the pay? (Illinois) -- I work in Peoria and make $10.56/hr with an extra 0.95 for the evening shift I work (3-7/3-11) and an extra $1.75 for weekends.
  3. how is it to work nights? I work evenings, but have worked nights before. It gets slow between 2 and 5 am :(
  4. any advice...? Get your own routine down and stick with it. You will most likely have a heavy patient load and need to develop your own system to get all the tasks done on time.
  5. what is the worst thing about the job? Nurses forgetting that you are not their personal assistant, and them asking you to do tasks that they could very well do themselves, but are too lazy.
  6. what's your daily routine? When I work 3-11: Vitals, blood sugars, pass trays, collect trays, Q4 vitals, all while answering call lights/cleaning patients up/etc.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Hello,

I'm in school right now to become a CNA. Been in school for about 5 weeks now. Our first day of clinics is actually tomorrow, kindof excited :nurse:

I'm wondering what is like to be a CNA,

  1. how do you like your job as a CNA?
  2. how is the pay? (Illinois)
  3. how is it to work nights?
  4. any advice...?
  5. what is the worst thing about the job?
  6. what's your daily routine?

Any information would be great!

THANKS

First, I want to note that I work as a CNA at a doctor's office, so some don't apply :(

1. I love my job as a CNA, and since I'm at an office and not a hospital, I have different responsibilities and experiences on the job. I've been able to assist the physician and the nurses in a number of different areas, as well as working with the lab.

2. I'm in Kentucky, but I get $10.00 an hour, which is on the high end. But, then again, I also assist in the medical billing department and sometimes medical records.

3. I don't work nights, my schedule is 8:00 to 6:00

4. The best advice I have for a CNA in a doctor's office is to always make sure to document everything! Now is your time to learn, take advantage of it. Depending on your work environment, you'll be able to do any number of thngs, take it all in!

5. The worst thing about my job is drug screens, granted we don't actually collect the urine ourselves, it seems like I always get to have the job of supervising drug screens... I'm not complaining about the urine, or about the patient being in the bathroom, but my recommendation to anyone do that is to do the 'ole bedpan breathing thing, if you know what I mean!

6. We get to work by 8:00 am and begin pulling charts, etc, getting ready for the day. At 9:00, we open the doors. Each patient must be "triaged," which is vitals and a simple list of complaints. The patient is then passed off to the nurse (who does the physical assessment), and then to the doctor for further examination and treatment.

It's probably not what you were looking for, but it is a different look at what CNAs can do in the world of medicine and health care! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Hospitals pay much more, generally then other facilities. But they usually want one year experience or 6 months. I just graduated and I'm hoping to get my foot in the door at a hospital for that reason. The best way to do that is network! Also many hospitals with have tuition reimbursement programs and give you the hook ups if you go on to get your RN and want a job at that hospital afterwards.

What do you do differntly in a hospital than other facilties?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Geriatics.

You will need three things: a strong back, a strong mind, and a strong stomach.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
You will need three things: a strong back, a strong mind, and a strong stomach.

I so agree with this one. If you lack one, you will have a hard time working as a CNA.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CVICU, CCU, MICU.

  1. I like working in healthcare and could not imagine working anywhere else. I am a nursing student and working as an aide before I became a student has helped me a ton with confidence and being familiar with situations and equipment.
  2. I don't live in Illinois but generally the pay is not a lot considering all that you do as an aide.
  3. It depends where you work. When I worked in a nursing home it was slow. It was a lot of sitting around and getting up to do rounds then sitting around again. When I do them at the hospital I am busy the whole night.
  4. Try to find a mentor who cares about their job and the patients or residents and you will learn a ton from them.
  5. Since I work with a big number of nurses at one time it can be a little demanding and sometimes they do not like to wait or expect me to be just their aide. I also don't like when there are times I feel rushed and I don't get to give the best care I want to give or talk to a patient or resident longer.
  6. I do not have much of a daily routine because every day is different for me and the patients that we get and their needs differ. I do a lot of finger sticks and sometimes if they are q1 my day revolves around that also if there is a patient sitter or a few of them on my day revolves around giving them their breaks and attempting to take mine. A nursing home has more of a routine to it or at least the one I worked at did.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion