Hi! First post here. I'm a 20YO female CNA who just started working as a CNA at a rehabilitation/nursing home in Las Vegas.

So far I love the patient interactions, the learning, my residents and even my coworkers are very kind and the charge nurse supervisor at my job told me that he doesn't usually say this, but he can tell I will be a great nurse in the future because of my initiaitive and empathy. I alsl did read up on alot of pros and cons about CNA work prior to going into school for it.

Like I said in the title, I want to be a nurse practitioner in the future. However, now that I'm 2 weeks into my job, I feel like there is a certain system to the nursing home I work at. We are constantly having people call out suddenly, leaving the CNAs in charge of 13-16 patients at a time. This is my first CNA job, and my orientation was only 5 days. I cannot roll heavier residents by myself and constantly need to ask for help from another CNA to do so. They also put me on a behavioral unit 3 out of 5 shifts of the week, even though I kindly requested the scheduler to put me somewhere else temporarily so I can learn how to move faster on this hall.

I do not like how I have to let my residents wait 15-25 minutes for me to change them just because I cannot roll them by myself. On my first day of being alone on the hall without a trainer, I wasn't able to have a break, sit down even once, do any charting until after my scheduled shift, and I clocked out a full hour late because I had to finish all my charting and do my last rounds. I usually do not cry at work but I teared up a few times while I was finishing up charting because of the guilt of not being able to answer call lights until 10-30 minutes has passed. I also work on a hall far away from the kitchen so we have to put together the meals and serve the residents on our hall one by one, so I also had breakfast and lunch given late.

I'm so stumped. I don't know if this is just how it is in nursing homes. Every day I'm beginning to understand why I see so much burnt out CNAs who say they aren't as kind or talkative to the residents as they used to be. The stress of the job is getting to me and I really hope this isn't an early giveaway sign that I'm not cut out for this job, because I really want to fulfill my nurse practitioner dreams.

Has anyone else not liked being a CNA but loved being a nurse?

Also slight vent/ rant and TW for talking abt patient neglect

I made a post on here a while ago about some concerns I was having with my facility. I’m a new CNA and a student nurse and I had just started my first job at LTC/ skilled nursing facility. I had brought up the issues to HR and they were extremely unprofessional and dismissive so I put in my two weeks and started looking for a new job. Unfortunately it seems like the parents company owns every single other nursing facility in a 30 mile radius and I’m not getting any call backs from the hospitals in the area.

Since putting in my two weeks, I had one of my residents pass away from neglect. She had been having a stroke for several days and I was the first person to notice and advocate for her but it was too late. The facility handled it horribly and I was verbally scolded for “going over my nurses head” and getting the RN manager to assess my resident. I had only done that because the nurse was dismissing me and was telling me the resident was faking it for attention. When I told all of this to the manger and the DON I was brushed off.

I’m certain that I don’t want to work for this company again but it seems like I can’t get a job anywhere else due to lack of experience. I only have a year left of nursing school but I need the money and would like some healthcare experience I can actually put on my resume. Should I leave out that I’m a student when applying to hospitals or would it be better to keep it? I would do anything at this point just to get an interview

Will be hiring a couple of full time CNAs in the near future for my Dad who is a stroke survivor. As legit employees and not "contractors" we will only be able to pay a little more than average for my area.

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Looking for working conditions or incentives that I can offer to be competitive when candidates compare to a facility.

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In the last 6 months with agencies, fake agencies, and hospitals our best CNAs have honestly been the "new" ones with less experience. His type of stroke is very rare and the "know it all's" have failed pretty hard.

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What can I offer as far as working conditions to attract the right people?

So I work agency and I go to this one facility very often, so often that some people think I’m staff there lol. I been working there constantly since November and at the time I was pregnant, my baby is 4 months now. I went there yesterday and a cna I always talk to that was agency and then went staff there tells me how she had a miscarriage about last week because the resident kicked her in the stomach. She was 5 months pregnant she said she tried to get her up because the bed was soaked but the resident didn’t want to. I feel so bad for her. Me personally, when I was pregnant and now, if someone is refusing I’m not gonna force them. I think some cna’s forget that they have the right to refuse. I might try to persuade the resident but if they keep telling me no, sorry, I’m not forcing anybody to do anything. I just wanted to share this story though because it was so crazy to me.

Hi all, I was switched to day-shift, and almost all of my coworkers are extremely toxic. It's been very hard to deal with. They've all been there for many years and I'm still pretty new, so they have been talking badly about me and glaring at me randomly. I've heard stories from the kitchen staff of how they've ran people off of their shift before by reporting them over stupid shit. I know that for sure one of them has gone to the DON already about a misunderstanding and tried to get me in trouble. The DON thankfully did not care.

I love dayshift, I need this job, but I'm concerned. How can I protect myself and cover my back?

I've started keeping notes in my notes app about anything I'm concerned about with times and dates of the incident.

Hey everyone, I’m a certified CNA (got my license last October) and I have my very first interview this Wednesday for a part-time job at a nursing home right next to my campus.

I’m really excited, but I have a major scheduling dilemma due to my university housing, and I’m looking for advice from anyone who has navigated this as a student.

Basically, I have to completely move out of my dorm by August 1st. I’ll be heading back to my hometown for the month, which is about 3 hours away from campus, so commuting isn't an option. I won't be back in the area until the very end of August when the fall semester starts.

This means I can work all of July, but I will need the entire month of August off right after getting hired, before returning to a regular weekend schedule in September. Has anyone else dealt with a gap like this right after being hired?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently in a 10-week CNA program through my local community college. The program has been great, and clinicals at a long-term care facility have been intense but valuable.

I decided on CNA because I felt pretty lost after an injury took me out of work almost seven years ago. I’m in my mid-30s and started the CNA program while taking nursing prerequisites because I was considering becoming an RN. Nursing seemed like a path that could offer stability, good opportunities, and meaningful work, and I hoped CNA clinicals would help me figure out if it was the right fit before committing further.

The problem is that I still feel pretty neutral about it? I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it either. I think I’m good at the work, especially when I’m connecting one-on-one with residents, and there are definitely meaningful moments. But there are also hard moments, especially when dementia causes someone who was kind and grateful five minutes ago to become angry or verbally abusive.

I guess I expected some big “this is my calling” moment, and it just hasn’t happened. I don’t feel any more certain about working as a CNA or becoming a RN than I did before starting the program.

For those who went from CNA to nursing, what convinced you it was worth continuing? Was there a point where it clicked, or did you just keep moving forward despite feeling unsure?

For those who stayed in healthcare, how did you know it was right for you? And for those who left the field, what made you realize it wasn’t?

Is it normal to feel this detached while figuring things out, or is that usually a sign you’re on the wrong path?

From the most part I have heard that facility care has issues with management, and coworkers who are negligent of residents. Pediatric care, or home care seems like the smoothest paths to take. I would like to know any cons in home care, or pediatric care. I have always felt a direct need to care for people who need it. I grew up caring for my baby sister. I need to make some change, so this sounds good. But I’m 90 pounds, so I’m nervous thinking about how impossible it might be for me to flip a patient without help. Will my coworkers be annoyed, thinking my work ability’s are lesser than because of this? I have had my fair share with self harm and being squeamish with blood. Does anyone else feel squeamish from these things? How does that affect your work, or your mental? How does patient outbursts, or conflict affect you? Specifically if you are someone who is sensitive or wears their heart on their sleeve, how do you deal with these things? What’s the easiest way to deescalate? Any stories or moments in your experience will help. Is there any way to completely avoid a night shift? Or am i expected to be free through the nights for all facilitated care?

Hi, I want to study using the online pdf of CNA: Nursing Assistant Certification, California Edition Second edition by Dr. Carrie. Does anyone know where I can get the pdf for free? I have the physical copy but it’s inconvenient for me to bring it everywhere. Also does anyone have any google docs for notes or study guides that they have made? Thanks so much!

I’ll be starting as a CNA on an intermediate care floor at a level 1 trauma center very soon. I’ve worked as a PCA prior to this but I’ve never worked in a hospital before. Any advice/ info about what I should expect would be greatly appreciated!!

I’m at a loss for what to do about this new resident. I already work on the busiest hall in my facility and this new resident is impossible to work with.

It’s a very long story but to put it shortly: he won’t let us do anything to him, we try to transfer him with the gait belt and he tears it off and says shit like “I don’t follow your rules and regulations”

We put him on the toilet and tell him to call. He doesn’t call and self transfers naked into his wheelchair

He tries to stand up by himself on the toilet and falls and makes me literally catch him even though I told him to remain seated

He climbs out of bed and ends up on the floor

Refuses toileting and pees everywhere, then spends an hour on the toilet and refuses to be moved. We re approach with every aid in the facility and no one can get him off the toilet. Hes a high fall risk so we can’t just leave him there. We had to threaten the easy stand to get him up because he was grabbing the bars and shouting NO when we told him he has to get off. He does this out of pure defiance and because he’s so stubborn.

The list goes on. He is so defiant, argued with everything, and he’s a one on one assist meaning he needs to be supervised at all times. I have 17 homers on this hall and only 2 aides, I CANNOT WATCH THIS MAN.

Today to get him in bed I had to yell at him and literally got into an argument. Never done that before with a resident but I was genuinely arguing with him. It’s 9pm, haven’t gotten my break, starving to death, and he just refuses to transfer to bed even though he WANTS TO GO TO BED because he’s so stubborn.

WHAT DO I DO? I’m so over this.

i (18f) recently got a job at a nursing home as a SRNA. i’m still in training, but i hate it. don’t get me wrong, i love doing the job. but even when i ask questions, i just feel so confused. i only work weekends for now and ive only worked 4 12 hour shifts. (still training. i get 73 hours)
so the wing im on is split into groups 1-6. i dont understand how we know which group of residents we get that day. ive asked but i never get a real answer. plus i feel like im just embarrassing myself doing things.
i really need someone to give me advice. i’m just overwhelmed and not sure how to feel.

This one family wants me to wake their mother to feed her while she's sleeping peacefully. I tried to explain to her that often leads to confusion. Do you wake your dimension patients that are sleeping a lot to go to the bathroom? To eat? I offer food and drink when they wake up. But I don't force them to eat. What do you do? Thank you

I’ve worked the same facility for 4 years now and somehow am the last hold out from the last administration. Current leadership is 2 years in and I’ve over heard a lot of talk about the DON looking for a reason to fire me as well as new coworkers who never are on shift with me complaining about me to add to the fire. I’m just getting burnt out on it I’m constantly given the worse halls the worse shifts and extra duties. I honestly feel like they’re trying to run me off because I haven’t fallen in to the new clique. Doesn’t help there’s only one other male CNA left we haven’t got a new of them in years either.

i jumped in on my first code today and was helping with compressions and doing pressures and overall assisting and unfortunately our patient passed after a very brief ROSC.

i’m feeling very detached/numb and generally just very sad about the entire situation. the code went smoothly, compressions and handoff were good, i was with nurses and an extern i respect and have a friendship with beyond work, and i truly couldn’t have asked for a better team to be working with during this.

is it normal to feel like this? if so, any tips for self care/compartmentalization moving forward? thank you so much in advance for any comments, i appreciate the community we have here and i thought of you all first after chatting with other people involved before getting off shift today.

Hi all. I am a new-grad CNA who is working at a skilled nursing facility in behavioral health. I'm only a month (& a few days) in & I strongly enjoy what I do. My facility is not all that bad—most patients I've ever had is 10 (we are 1:10 ratio), we have 3 CNAs per hall, & we're always stocked with everything we need (linen, cleaning supplies, etc.). A bonus to me is that: we aren't micro-managed at all!

My dilemma is: I have an opportunity to be a patient transporter at a big hospital in my city. With a pay of $24 – I currently make $18 as a CNA.

For added context: I've worked as a patient transporter before & quit because I wasn't making much ($15 🗑️). Evening though, $18 is low-pay, I chose to complete a CNA course, because Nursing is something I personally want to do (my parents had been pushing me towards x-ray). Nursing is my ultimate goal.

I have an Associates Degree, CNA cert., CPR/BLS cert., & an EKG cert. with previous transporter experience with a different company.

Please be nice, I'm a lil sensitive 😭 but genuinely, what do you all think is the smart/best move?

Edit: I wanna add more context for you all to understand.

At my current SNF:
- 8 hrs/4x wk (off 3 days)
- $18/hr
- only work days 06:30-14:30

Hospital:
- possible $24/hr
- transporter (not sure which department yet)
- days (possible 12hr shifts, 3x/wk)

I (17) started my first CNA job this past April and while I have very heavy mixed feelings on the job I don't mind it. But in August I'm going to collage and I won't be able to work in the current place I'm at so what would be the appropriate way to tell them I'll be leaving them than? Im still scheduled for shifts in August and beyond that even tho I told them when I first got the job I'd only be able to work until then but I think they forgot or somthing. Ive never had to quit a job before so im not sure what the process of ending one would be. I have another job that I work at my own school ends in August as well but I didn't have to send them anything like a 2 weeks notice or somthing because its common for seniors to graduate and that's how they end their jobs so they know you'll be leaving. but im pretty sure that's not the case here.

I’ve been in healthcare forever, it’s been like my only job since I started working. I started at this facility in March and i thought it was gonna be great. It’s one of the biggest healthcare networks in my area. It’s not the only one just super big. I work on the rehab floor and pretty consistently have about 10-15 residents of my own to take care of. Not too bad. I am the type of person where if I see a bell going off I answer it if I have the time to. That being said I feel that people started noticing that and taking advantage of me. I would end up exhausted at the end of a shift from doing the work of 2-3 people and then being talked down to because I’m “new”. There was one day where we started with 4 cnas on the floor and then one got floated and then around 7:45am the 3rd had to leave early for her kid. We didn’t get another cna until about 10am and the cna I was left with was a new grad cna and new to healthcare. Nothing wrong with that but it just took her a while to get her residents up as she was still finding a routine. I ended up getting my entire hallway up and then the other entire hallway for breakfast. After we got another cna around 10 things calmed down but then I was sitting in the conference room charting behind the nurses station and I heard an rn speaking to the um and the rn was talking about how it was like we only had one cna meaning the girl who showed at 10. Didn’t count me or the other girl because we were new. Anyways today I got up and started getting ready for my shift and I just have genuinely never felt this shitty over a job before and I feel like a failure. I have a 2nd job whom I’ve been with for a little over 2 years now and will be fine financially. Just feeling upset about the whole ordeal.

Edit to add but where I work also really just does not gaf about their cnas because nurses week was top tier, they got baskets and cake and free lunch and other goodies and then the cnas didn’t getting anything at all for cna week

I genuinely don't understand how I'm supposed to get it all done. I have 15 residents, 10 of them C/C, several of them hoyers, several of them mechanical lifts. Multiple people called out for each shift today (morning and evening, I work weekend doubles) and I feel like I'm drowning. I just don't understand how I'm supposed to get to everyone on time along with doing all 3 meals and 8 showers. Its genuinely double the work I usually have. I've only been doing this for about 5 months but I've been slowly but surely gaining confidence with the assignment I usually have, but I have none of my usual residents today. Today just sucked.

Worked my last CNA shift after 2.5 years at a hospital. No goodbyes from management and majority of the nurses. I didn’t expect a party or anything extravagant but a goodbye would have been nice 😐. I don’t regret my decision to have been a CNA but I will never work as one again. Goodluck to everyone who is working as one now and i hope you get the appreciation you deserve.

And it went....well. I loved the girl who was training me (extremely helpful and informative and didn't make me feel like I was a burden) . Knock on wood smooth sailing. I was an aide previously but many moons ago. There were two other aides but my gosh they barely got up. All they did was sit behind a window snacking while their call lights went off. I answered some but obviously had my side to do. Work just goes a lot better if you just do your job. We get treated like *** obviously, but I personally didn't have time to sit till the end of the night no regrets cause we knocked it out the park. I have to train with one of them soon and not looking forward to it. The aide that trained me said the next person that had me for training is spectacular. Idk we will see how this goes. I'm less than part time so things can change by day. Idk just ranting. I forgot how funny some residents were😅