Why are CNAs not held to professional standards?

la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN · Oct 19, 2015

I agree with commuter. I've worked both LTD and acute care and the CNAs in acute care are way more professional. Maybe it's because they have better pay and better work conditions.
In general I think CNAs often lack professionalism because of the lack of respect given to them by the public, patients and nurse's. If CHAs can be given better pay, better work conditions and treated with respect then I think we would see a change in their attitude.

I agree. I work in acute care and it is so different from what I expected based on experiences at rehab facilities and LTC facilities. It seems like better pay, consideration to patient-staff ratios and overall better conditions make for happier employees. :) Some places just have a bad culture and, if you can't get with it (or refuse to, which you should), then you really should look at getting into a different place ASAP.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Oct 20, 2015

Commuter is exactly right. There are several women in my cohort who are CNAs or also referred to as techs in hospital settings. They are some of the most professional people I know. LTC is a whole other ball of wax. CNAs and Techs do not make much money. They are not paid well especially for a lot of the work that they do. So what kind of people do you think are being attracted to these places? People who either cannot further their education because they don't have the intelligence or ambition, or those who just need to make some kind of money so they are not homeless.

Watch the news sometime and see what happens in these homes often. The residents get abused terribly and don't get their medication, end up sitting in their poop and urine for sometimes days. It's 97% of the time the CNAs. And when you see these CNAs, you can understand why. If the LTC facilities would stop worry about paying their CEOs millions of dollars and making the most money possible, you would see a difference. I think in a hospital a tech makes about $14-$15 an hour. In LTC, these people make usually around $9. That's a big difference in the type of employee you are going to attract. It's sad, but it's true.

I've already told my boyfriend to never let me go to one of those places. I was at a local LTC facility a year ago. I mean locally-owned, not corporately owned. The CNAs were incredible. Awesome ladies. It's because the atmosphere was completely different and the owners gave a crap about their employees. All of the residents were happy there. It didn't have that nursing home smell and the people there, residents and employees were a family. All the same, when I get old, I'm telling my BF to inject me with KCL if he can't take care of me anymore. :nailbiting: Just Kidding with that. But I really will not go into a place like that.

I just don't feel that in healthcare it should always be about the bottom line because you are dealing with other things that are different than in the business world. But that's exactly what it is. Healthcare is a business and you need to get used to that. I know you think you are coming from the business world and healthcare is going to be different and give you this satisfaction that you need, but you are mistaken. It's a business.

The economy has turned around since the 2008 recession. Especially in business. The real estate market and banking market in the US have rebounded. At the time healthcare was not heavily impacted. But you are going to see that change here in the next few years. Just look what you are stepping into with your eyes wide open.

BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN · Oct 20, 2015

This pertains to the OP how? You lost me!!

. Its a legal issue . you are held responsible for any injury and damages failure to provide a degree of care that others would consider reasonable under the circumstances when injury results to your patient

Momof8CNA · Oct 20, 2015

what is it that is troubling you? honestly...i would just unclench a little! :yeah: this sort of work is stressful, and letting off a little steam is ok from time to time. ive seen nurses acting just as silly..that said, i have to agree a little bit on the whole ltc vs acute care deal. i would rather cut my own leg off than work in a nursing home again, primarily because of the staff. the lack of proper supplies, the insane patient workload, the complete and utter lack of team work creates that atmosphere, though.

Jerseygirl609 · Oct 20, 2015

I work in a hospital and it is the same here. You have some wonderful CNA's who are great team players and others who will flat out tell the nurses no when they ask for help. Sometimes they won't even say no, they will turn their back to them and just ignore them. The nurses do not report this inappropriate behavior because then the CNA will get loud and cause a scene plus we are in a union so it's very hard to get fired ( people know this and take advantage).I've had a nurse ask me to help transfer a patient and another CNA tell me "sit down don't help let a tech do it because then they will ask for help all the time". But it's our job!!!!!!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Oct 20, 2015

Respect for the individual (and for authority) is something you should have been taught by the time your five.

Not everyone was taught to defer to authority during their upbringings, believe it or not. Deference to authority is not a universal value that everyone believes in, especially in the 'hood where blind obedience to so-called authority figures might get you used, abused, chewed up and spit out.

Jerseygirl609 · Oct 20, 2015

Not everyone was taught to defer to authority during their upbringings, believe it or not. Deference to authority is not a universal value that everyone believes in, especially in the 'hood where blind obedience to so-called authority figures might get you used, abused, chewed up and spit out.

I can understand that but I think the complaints are not regarding blind obedience. I'm pretty sure when everyone interviews their job duties are layed out. I know I was not told in my interview that I can pick and choose what CNA tasks I choose to do or just sit on my butt for 8 hours and get paid to do nothing while others do twice the work. Wow didn't realize how much that bothered me until I read this thread.....thanks for allowing me to vent lol.

hookyarnandblanket · Oct 20, 2015

I make less money in the acute setting than I did LTC but inleft LTC and took the pay cut because the poor management and expectations in the LTC facility almost pushed me over the edge into a mental breakdown.

quiltynurse56, LPN, LVN · Oct 20, 2015

I have found that it depends on the facility. The one I worked in as a CNA was awful, lots of disrespect for the nurses and a lot of the "me" attitude going on. Once I got my nursing license and landed a job in a different facility, there was lots of respect for the nurses and each other. When there are some of the issues you mentioned, it tends to come from the CNAs that we get from agencies to fill in our schedule. I find that residents are calmer when the aids are calmer and respectful.

MadisonG · Oct 29, 2015

hey, get out of LTC. It is backbreaking work, understaffed, and unprofessional. I used to work as an aide in LTC and hated it. I would never go back. Work at a hospital, much better and more help. Lighter work in my opinion. It will also inspire you to go back to school. Most CNA/STNA in hospitals are in nursing school such as myself. There is so much advice to go around. Nurses offer advice on NCLEX and you are guaranteed a job after graduation. You might even meet a nice resident :-) , SORRY, speaking for myself haha.

neuron · Oct 30, 2015

I am going to add on what theCommuter said. I think there is respect for CNA's, but not in the nursing world. As an 'outsider', I think there is, it is a different level of work. A CNA still has to be pass a state test, which is not easy, and to me is 'equivalent' to being scrutinized by the state at a facility, because they do determine if you will work in healthcare and have an effect on your certification and future. Nurses don't go through this getting their licenses, and it does amaze me how they treat CNA's when CNA's had to endure the scrutinization of the state, they did not. They just had a computerized test. Not all nurses, but some who condescend CNA's. If some nurses had to endure the same scrutiny the CNA's had to during their certification (during the 'skills' portion of the state exam), I wonder how many nurses would be actually licensed and be practicing.

Most nurses that I work with treat CNA's and med aides with respect. Same as what you give them. But some CNA's have a terrible work ethic, don't want to do the same work you do, treat residents poorly. Those CNA's should be reported but the state (at least in TX) doesn't pay attention, they do the minimum which is not even up to par with 'respect'. They don't deal with that.

I think though, that you would have to go into nursing, that is where you will be treated with professionalism. CNA's do clean feces and a lot of situations happen that you aren't prepared for (i.e. multiple C-diff patients, uncompliant pts), this makes some of them unhappy, and so don't treat their colleagues, or coworkers with a great deal of respect. I worked as a CNA for 2 years, and I didn't treat my co-workers poorly, I did my job, I signed up for it so I did it. I didn't complain, if the patients were soiled, I cleaned them up. That was my job. I didn't blame anyone for my job.

emmy27 · Nov 1, 2015

I am going to add on what theCommuter said. I think there is respect for CNA's, but not in the nursing world. As an 'outsider', I think there is, it is a different level of work. A CNA still has to be pass a state test, which is not easy, and to me is 'equivalent' to being scrutinized by the state at a facility, because they do determine if you will work in healthcare and have an effect on your certification and future. Nurses don't go through this getting their licenses, and it does amaze me how they treat CNA's when CNA's had to endure the scrutinization of the state, they did not. They just had a computerized test. Not all nurses, but some who condescend CNA's. If some nurses had to endure the same scrutiny the CNA's had to during their certification (during the 'skills' portion of the state exam), I wonder how many nurses would be actually licensed and be practicing.
Most nurses that I work with treat CNA's and med aides with respect. Same as what you give them. But some CNA's have a terrible work ethic, don't want to do the same work you do, treat residents poorly. Those CNA's should be reported but the state (at least in TX) doesn't pay attention, they do the minimum which is not even up to par with 'respect'. They don't deal with that.
I think though, that you would have to go into nursing, that is where you will be treated with professionalism. CNA's do clean feces and a lot of situations happen that you aren't prepared for (i.e. multiple C-diff patients, uncompliant pts), this makes some of them unhappy, and so don't treat their colleagues, or coworkers with a great deal of respect. I worked as a CNA for 2 years, and I didn't treat my co-workers poorly, I did my job, I signed up for it so I did it. I didn't complain, if the patients were soiled, I cleaned them up. That was my job. I didn't blame anyone for my job.

All the states I've worked in have permitted nursing students to work in a CNA capacity without taking the certification exam after their first semester of nursing school, because the content of the introductory lab for a nursing program encompasses all the skills taught to a CNA class and requires you to demonstrate competency of those skills to pass.

And the "computerized test" taken for a license *is* scrutiny by the state.