Comments on: CNA’s & Respect

By: falycia doll

falycia doll — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:09:30 +0000

hey, ive been a cna for over ten years now. nothing have change we get different adminstrators, D O N s even change name of nursing home every other year, for irs or something crooked im sure. we have like thousands of law suits against nursing home some insisdent were one cna was made to work two halls and a lady had laid in her soil all day nurses or course to good to help but then a family member came and report to state then more her out well state did come like 2 1/2 weeks later , nothing happen o they was calling cna s in having 3 to a hall. this is a good profession but the big head make it hard all they want is money and more it is shocking to me that medicaid , medicare insurance dont look into what the or getting jip out of paying for someone care. have you every heard of patients only allow 1 sometime 2 diapers per shift other then that it is on us going into hopper room washing mess out of pads and linings. the patients and resisdent are suffering alone with the cna s while the upper management get richer. im tried of it is there anything i can do or do you know of any union that may help us???????

By: Tish RNA

Tish RNA — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 18:11:36 +0000

Respect is something you should give and receive. I have been a cna for 13 years and now a restorative aide. I am abused by all departments daily always asking so much of me because they need help or are too lazy to do the work themselves. Being in upstate NY you worry about the nursing home closing. I worry at times I might end up without a job. I have grown up here, my great grandparents were here in this home. This home is my family yet I get little respect no matter how much I smile or how hard I work. I always ask for help and never demand. Yet I am scrutinized because I bettered myself by becoming a restorative aide and now belonging to a different department. I will keep doing this job though because I get the respect from the residents and that is why I love my job.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 04:03:04 +0000

I am 25 and have been a CNA for about 3 years now. I am currently working part time. I am in the process of going to school for nursing. I felt this career would be a great stepping stone. In many ways it is. It allows you to see first hand the unexpected. Life literally changes before your eyes. You will be amazed at how observant you will become. However, besides how rewarded I feel at the end of the day, I still can’t help but to say, this is one career I do not think I will last much longer in. I feel so disrespected everyday. I can’t say that all nurses are demanding, although there are quite a few who seem to forget how busy you really are. I am more mad at Nursing Home Administrations for not properly staffing these facilities. The law require the bare minimum. These folks in the business office have no idea what a day on “the floor” is like. To adequately care for these residents means you need to spend time with them. You cannot do that running around trying to feed, make sure Ms. Smith does not fall again, clean up someone with super mess in thier diaper, dress, shower, weigh 400 lbs people! The list goes on and on. This times 10-15 residents only alowing 15 minutes each, is abuse on them, and abuse to your body. You only get one. This field will tear your body to peices. No one should do it for more than 5 years. Many long time CNA’s tell me this. Many of them are stuck in their field, but admit that their bodies are in a great deal of pain, from lifting and pulling and walking for 8 hours a day-sometimes 7 days a week if staffing is poor. Please make sure you all use proper body mechanics. Once your back gets hurt, that is it. It will always be tender and volnerable to pain. Sometimes dealing with the families can be worse. Sometimes they have unrealistic expectations. Many of them are dealing with a lot of stress, and a few of them are just plain rude. Many of them expect you to cater to thier loved ones hand and foot all day and dismiss all your other residents. As much as I would love to do that, the demands of this job does not alow it. I have those combative residents, who scream, kick and punch me. I have 12 other bed ridden patients who need me now! And when I have someone on the toilet, I am being paged because someone else needs me now too!. And when you don’t answer call lights fast enough, you could get a Write Up. Now I need eyes in the back of my head. Just great! I seriously don’t get paid enough, It gets me by, but I know I need to change and move along in my nursing career. My body hurts and I am so unappreciated. And the powers that be don’t care enough about the residents to staff more Nurse’s and CNA’s. All these neglect cases come from understaffing. Those falls, and those pressure sores are all blamed on us! But there is not enough of us working at one time to accurately prevent these mishaps. We are both stressed, understaffed and responsible for so much everyday. CNA’s are paid way less and put in much more physical and mental labor. Thats what makes our job harder. But Like I said at the end of the day, it is rewarding. I feel blessed. I don’t regret doing this, and I commend all my fellow CNA’s! We are the greatest. We are the key! Without us, these places couldn’t stay in business! Keep on doing what you do.

By: christina

christina — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 04:24:25 +0000

hi, i am a cna in north carolina and i agree with most of the cna’s listed. we are all under-paid, for the work that we do. and i have never seen a nursing home with a full staff of cna’s ,lpns,and rns that wont answera call bell. the rns.and lpns will walk right pass lights like they are to good to help the residents. they wont the cnas to do every little thing,most of the time we are short of staff maybe four to three cnas on the shift.and may have 5-6 baths each and they will not lift a finger to help.and we are disrespected all the time, no thank you or job well done and most of the time we cant do team work because most of the girl them selves has a work load of work, your body get tired and only gets 1 day off and then 2 on your weekend off thats if they dont call you in. dont get me wrong i love my job. and i am not a lazy worker but give me a brake . rns &lpns are not doing what they are surpose to do and the don dont care as long as they got someone on the hall to put cash in the pockets of you ever…..
it time for a change. because im not one to take to much mouth from some one who wonts to abuse there so called power.
cnas keep your head up and the same way they went to school to better them selves you can too. we where all made with a brain so use it.

By: Alicia

Alicia — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 23:57:35 +0000

Hi This is for evryone who is a CNA, I really want to know what I need to become a CNA how long it takes to be certified, how many semesters do you have to study, I have some college already in the medical field. I want to get something at list CNA I love to be in a hospital, I love to care for patients and I want to continue with some education since I stop because I have 2 kids now, but need to continue, any recomendations?? I live in POrtland Oregon.

By: Pam

Pam — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 01:50:30 +0000

Thanks Jackson…your words of encouragement came
at a time when I needed to hear them most. I just left a
job I loved because of horizontal violence and was
discouraged and depressed to the point of thinking that
I’d just quit being a CNA and go find some other type
of job, but your words, “CONTINUE BEING A BLESSING TO THOSE WHO NEEDS YOU..NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT CNA’S..YOU ARE SOMEBODY!GOD BLESSED YOU ALL TO BECOME A BLESSING TO OTHERS..DONT BE DISCOURAGED..” made me realize that I love
helping others and I truly care about people, so I’m not going to let anybody dissuade me from being a “blessing to
others.” I am blessed too, at the end of each work day!

Thanks again, Jackson!!!!!

By: Holly

Holly — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 01:02:25 +0000

Micha that is one good deal. Go for that.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 20:56:40 +0000

I started out going to nursing school for R.N and than I started to be a CNA. I have been doing this for almost two years, but I work like I have been doing it for much longer. My facility is 180 beds and I have been at my job for 19 months. I am frustrated with the nurses that act like they know everything. I feel like my facility is nurse oriented, and the CNA has no say in anything. I enjoy working with the elderly, but I let my other coworkers get to me.

By: Bev

Bev — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 19:44:59 +0000

I am a CNA and work in a Rehab and nursing facility and have for 2 1/2 yearsI love my Job but it is very hard on your body and emotions. We dont get recognized for all we do and I guess its been that way for decades but it isnt fair to the ones who actually hold the nursing homes up.in my job I work a hall that has 16 residents I am responsible for 9 of those residents totally but I help other places as well. at our facility we are really responsible for all the residents Usually around 70 total. our nurses make out our daily assignments and they seem to always give me a partner who isnt willing to work so there for I do most of what gets done. we start out by getting every one up for breakfast. In my case I have four that get up for breakfast and that means washing them , fully dressing them making sure they are dry, and using lifts on two of them(all four that I get up have alzheimers disease so some are combative) then I am usually a Hall monitor which means me and one other CNA ar expected to answer all the call lights, turn, dry , and or reposition the ones who cant do it for them selves plus if any one that works other halls didnt get all their people up by 8:15 Am we have to get them up also. and some times that is up to 5 extra people. I cant complain about our nurses becasue they help as much as posible. but my co-workers (other CNAs) seem to be there just for the pay check. although every one that I have read their articles make more than I do. I only get 8.81 an Hour. If I have a Lazy partner It makes for a really bad day and if our cencus is down they do not allow any over time so have to be done by the end of our shift. the second shift is supose to take our place if we are still on the hall at 3:00 Pm but that rarely happens. the only reason I keep at it is for the residents. they make my day. I have complained to the lpn that makes out the assignments about a CNA that is lazy but to no avail. Any ways I will stay at it but as I said before Its only for the residents! Just wanted to voice my oppinion! Thanks

By: Micah

Micah — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 02:03:22 +0000

I am about to take classes to become a CNA. Recently I had a interview with human resources at a local senior home. Essentially I have been promised a job, and they are going to send me to school to become a LPN. They told me that if I work for them for 6 months they will pay for me to become a LPN, and; if I work for them for 6 months after I become a LPN, they will pay for me to become a RN. The pay at this facility was aproximatley 13.50 an hour(the reason I say aproximatley is because I forget if it was 13.50 or 14.50). Though I have not yet had an interview at the local hospital, I am told that their salary is somewhere around 18 an hour, for CNAs. Perhaps it is my region, but it appears (considering that I live in the suburbs) to be a good job to take.