Venting (can the nursing field be fun?)

SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN · Nov 11, 2013

Being a nurse is vastly different than being a CNA, though many of the same tasks that you do as a CNA, you will also do as a nurse (as you are ultimately responsible for your patient). I suggest you shadow a nurse in order to get a better idea of what the job is like.

As a side note, DO NOT enter nursing because you're looking for a "fun" job. Nursing is a serious career with large, often staggering levels of responsibility. "Fun" is not a descriptive word that immediately comes to mind.

studentbear, CNA · Nov 11, 2013

Why don't you apply for a CNA job at the hospital or in a skilled nursing facility?

SummerWertz · Nov 12, 2013

I'm guessing that at the facility where you work the nurses pretty much pick up the CNA things (assisting with showering, etc) since you said they don't have CNAs and that they stuck you with janitorial things. I know hospitals definitely use CNAs, but getting on with a hospital is very difficult. I applied uncertified (which wasn't a problem, they were willing to get me certified) but the interview process was a nightmare, and it was my first time applying so I was very unprepared for it. Highly, highly competitive. Not to mention that CNAs are becoming a thing of the past in a sense that there are way too many of them out there fighting for the few jobs available. It's becoming one of those things that one of the nurses could easily pick up. Frankly, I wouldn't have even wasted time or money to get the certification because you can just about wipe your bottom on it these days. What I mean by that is that many nursing schools don't care about your certifications unless you're using them, and as I've already said about that, good luck doing so. I am uncertified and I am doing the same thing a CNA can do for a private family. I take care of their 101 year old mother under the supervision of other employees (CNAs, hospice Rns, etc) who come and go during the week to check on her. I will have the experience without having wasted time and money on certification (I just couldn't do it with having to work, take classes, etc). Now, that is what I recommend you do if you're not liking your current job. Make friends with some nurses ("who you know" is everything these days). See if they could recommend you to any patients who need sitters and caregivers. Contact hospice. They hire a lot of CNAs also.

Now, to your question about fun. Is nursing, or any healthcare profession fun. Well, I guess that really depends on how you define fun. I don't think wiping someone else's bottom and getting bodily fluids on my clothes fun, but I thoroughly enjoy what I do. I like caring for people, I like the science behind nursing and medicine. I feel fulfilled in my career path. Exciting, well, hmm. You have trauma surgeons for example, the ER. If you want exciting, you can go down into the ER, which every other department calls the "Jungle." I guarantee you'll never have a dull moment down there. I volunteered in that department twice and loved it. In the end, I don't really know what you expect to get out of this, but I will say that you get out what you put in. Now, if you think this is something you won't like (you should just have a gut feeling about it) then maybe it's not for you. An example? My boyfriend is an econ major, and he is perfectly happy sitting at a desk and staring at a computer all day. Now, I know that would absolutely bore me to tears. I need to be up moving about, interacting with people, keeping busy. I'm lazy, but I'm not sedentary. I think more hands on experience outside of housekeeping will give you a good idea. And if you can't get an idea with your certificate, volunteer instead and shadow some health professionals. Hope this helps

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Nov 12, 2013

In my area they are desperate for CNAs. There are CNA jobs everywhere. But nursing is not even close to what a CNA does when you get down to it. So you really have to ask yourself what it is you want to do in life. I think depending on what you do in nursing it can be fun. I think every job can be fun if you enjoy it. There are people who are going to say they hate it and find another career but in every profession you are going to find people who hate their jobs. I would do some research on different opportunities in nursing and see if any appeal to you.

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Nov 12, 2013

See if you can get a cna/tech job in an ER. I think there is a lot of fun mixed into all of the seriousness. And that fun is usually because we get to use our skills to try to help somebody is just might be having the worst day of their life.

rubato, ASN, RN · Nov 13, 2013

I would not compare a CNA job in a nursing home to a nurses job in a hospital. Completely different.

Is nursing fun? I don't think it's going to be (I graduate in May). But do I think it will be interesting? Yes, I do. I am about to start my first job as a CNA in oncology in a hospital. I had clinicals in the exact unit so I know what to expect. It will be toileting, bathing, turning, bed making, vitals, blood sugars and that's about it. I'm doing it so that I have a chance of getting hired as a nurse on the same unit. Plus, it is all a part of nursing, just the more mundane part.

SubSippi · Nov 13, 2013

That all depends on what you call "fun."

I either love my job or I hate it, I either have a great day or a horrible day.

To the OP (just curious): what were the sorts of things you were expecting to do with your CNA license?

UWMstudent · Nov 22, 2013

I'm currently on the medical-surgical unit at a 700 bed teaching hospital. I honestly have a ton of fun, almost everyday. I enjoy working with patients and love the nurses I work with. Yeah, there is some less than glamorous jobs that I have to do, but it's nursing-what did you really expect. Yes nursing can be fun, exciting, rewarding, tiring, depressing and disgusting - but so can life.