I worked as a CNA for just over a year. It is really heavy work, because it involves using your own strength to lift a client. You also have to answer frequently to a client's call light. My main job was to change incontinence briefs for each resident. In the nursing home I worked at, about 75% of the residents were incontinent, meaning they wet themselves and wore adult diapers. I had to go into each room and change their briefs, keep them clean, check water pitchers, etc.
On a scale of 1-10, I would say my satisfaction level was at seven. I loved my residents, but many of my coworkers were only there for the money, and didn't care about the residents' needs. It was difficult being one of the few who worked hard, while everyone else didn't care. I think the only thing that would have to change to move that seven to a 10 would be working with staff that felt as I did about the job.This is a position where, when you go into it with care, you get a lot of satisfaction. I had several situations where a resident would look for me just to say thanks for the extra effort I put in, making me feel good about what I did. It is amazing to know that me, just one person, can make such a difference.
I wouldn't say that it was my calling, but it was close. It is hard emotionally, because most of the residents were elderly, and sometimes you lose people. It wears on you, to an extent that I couldn't do it forever.
I wouldn't say my situation was unique in different ways. My mom has been in the same line of work for years, and I was raised in this field of work. This gave me an advantage going in, of knowing what to expect and already having much of the knowledge I needed medically. Otherwise, I started from the ground up, and still had to go through the same certification classes, still had to start from scratch with the residents themselves.
My mom's experience in this field is what got me started in the first place, because I was fresh out of high school, and this was something I knew. The nursing home she had worked at for over 20 years was one that, once they hired you, they paid for your certification class. Thus I felt this was a gift that I didn't want to waste. I don't regret any of it, and feel like I did everything I could to make my residents' lives as happy and easy as I was able.
The one thing I had to learn the hard way in this job was that no matter how hard you try, you just can't please everyone. I had one resident who was picky, and didn't like anyone. She had no family, no friends, and didn't want any. Nothing was good enough for her; therefore most people didn't try. I still did, and eventually, she stopped snapping at me every time I walked in.
I think the most important thing I learned about the working world is that NO ONE can prepare you for it. It doesn't matter how much someone tells you, it is still so different to walk in and start doing it. I thought, watching my mom for so long, that I could walk in and know what I was doing. Didn't happen.
The reason I got up and went every day came down to basics: Money. However, the reason I did THAT particular job was because I enjoyed it. Every night when I came in, at least one of my residents had a smile for me, and that by itself was enough to make me happy.
I think the biggest challenge in being a CNA is working with mentally unstable clients. Most of them are non-violent, but I've had one or two residents that thought I was a threat, or that it was OK to hit me if I made them mad. I've been hit one or two times, but never really hard, and never enough to put me out of work.
This job can be stressful if you let it, but I usually kept my attitude positive, and smiled through everything, and it kept the worst stresses at bay. I won't say I had no stress at all. My coworkers' attitudes stressed me out. It wore on me, but it was manageable.
On average, this is not a high paying job. In a home like I worked in, I made about $9/hr, but some homes only pay minimum wage, and some pay up to $13/hr. It could be rough making ends meet. Vacation was questionable as well. It all depended on where you worked. The home I worked in offered benefits only to full time employees, and they only got a week per year.
If someone I cared about asked my opinion on this type of work, I would probably recommend that they avoid it, or at least look for a home that took care of its staff. What I would really like to be doing, instead, is being a family photographer. The reason for this is that I can get the same feeling of satisfaction, but with less work, more money, and better benefits.
Author Resource:-
This is a true career story as told to JobsInHealthcare.com and is one of many interviews with health care professionals which among others include a Nurse Aide and an Assistant Director of Nursing
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