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Member
Posts: 33
| Can anybody give the good the bad and the ugly about being a CNA? |
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
 
Location: SE Louisiana |
Certification and Accreditation
Certified National Accountant
Certified Novell Administrator
Certified Nursing Assistant
the list goes on and on..... care to elaborate? |
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 Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
 
Location: Nebraska | I'm in my senior year of nursing school but just started working as a CNA in Sept. I figured it would look better on my resume than working at a coin shop lol. I work at an Assisted Living where I basically assist residents with their ADL's. I certainly don't get paid enough for what I do, which is a LOT but I do enjoy it. Usually I help people get up in the am, shower, and get dressed. I make beds, pick up laundry, drop off laundry, serve meals, deliver room trays, help with toileting/changing briefs, put on/take off a LOT of Ted hose, pick up trash, and fix LOTS of tv's too. The good is that some of the residents have become like family to me and I love them to death. The bad is that you're constantly on your feet and have to deal with cranky people. The ugliest part I've experienced so far is when 6 residents got the flu within the same hour one weekend. House keeping doesn't work on weekends so guess who got to clean up the diarrhea and vomit everywhere. I just took my medication aid test so hopefully in a few weeks I can start passing meds and doing more nursing things. I'd much rather be in a hospital, but I can't complain about my job at all.
Edited by brlracerchick 2014-01-19 11:53 AM
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 Toastest with the Mostest
Posts: 5712
Location: That part of Texas | I was a CNA in high school, college and the first year of law school (yes I worked when I wasn't supposed to). I loved and hated it for various reasons. You love the job for the people you take care of and because you can usually look back at the time you spent at work as something that really helped someone who couldn't do for themselves. I hated the job for having to deal with not having enough help at the places I worked at (sometimes I had 15 residents to take care of by myself when we were shorthanded) and petty administrative stuff that can drive you insane. My favorite job as a CNA was when I left the nursing homes and went to work as a home-health aid for just a few people through an agency. That was a job I really liked because I only had 1-2 people to take care of and took care of the household stuff when I wasn't helping them. I stayed with some awesome people that were like family to me when I did that. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 974
Location: USA | I was a CNA at a rehab hospital and it sucked. The techs at the hospital I work at have it made - they do absolutely nothing. There are a few that are helpful and actually do their job, but most are incredibly lazy. I definitely would not be a CNA at a long term care facility or anything like that. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 371
| I am a cna and have worked at 2 nursing homes and now the hospital. I liked one of the nursing homes working with dementia people. They were very challenging but it was also a lot of fun. I liked who I worked with for the most part. The 2nd nursing home I hated. all of the cnas and nurses were mean to eachother and never helped eachother out. Even when it was a resident who was supposed to have 2 people assisting them. I would have cna's tell me to go do it myself(even if it was not safe). Now I work at the hospital and love it! You are paid less at the hospital but the nurses help with everything. They will help change someone where the nurses at the nursing home thought they were too good to do any of that. You have more responsibility in the hospital and learn a lot more. I am trained in telemetry (heart monitors) also. Hospital is also acute care so you have different patients all the time( though many come back repeatidly). I am in my first semester of nursing school and I feel that I am worlds ahead working in a hospital with all that I see on a daily basis compared to working in a nursing home. |
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Veteran
Posts: 297
| I have worked as a cna in a nursing home and also home care as a hospice aide..
Good-your job is very rewarding. You'll have many laugh with thr patients but also many tears. Patients usually appreciate you the most because they get adl care from you..
Bad- be ready for hard work. Lpn and rn will sometimes push more work on you. Have a good stomach because your gonna see vomit, blood, feces and some bad wounds. Be sure to wear a back brace because you are in a lot of situations where you'll be bent over or pulling. . |
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 Expert
Posts: 1440
Location: Texas | Pay sucks |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 817
Location: Utah | I have been a CNA for years. Finally decided to get my RN.
You will work hard for not very much pay, sometimes you will work with awesome co workers (RN's and other CNA's) I have been taken full advantage of by RN's and other CNA's. It's a rollercoaster kind of job, but I like working in the healthcare field. I have worked in nursing homes and a hospital. Still in the hospital and it is my favorite place to be. I won't go back to a nursing home, but that's just me. I know others who hate the hospital but love the nursing homes and hospice/home health work. |
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 I Prefer a Beard
Posts: 1944
| I'm an RN in the Home health field. I have never been a CNA but I just wanted to say my CNA's are my eyes and ears in patients homes. They see them more frequently than I do and I rely on them and could not do my job without them. I have so much respect for CNA they do such hard work and deserve way more money than they get. |
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| There are but a few honorable professions in this world and a CNA is definitely an honorable profession as you are helping do for others what they cannot do for themselves. It is a job that takes humility of heart to do because so much of it is unpleasant and you will never get paid anywhere near what you should, which is real shame. I know several people who have chosen this field of work and they love their jobs. |
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