I quit a goverment job just because I had been a patient and felt so overwhelmed by not being able to care for myself.  I felt no one cared and I was unable to do anything but pray to die.  When I prayed I asked God to give me the strength to overcome and that I will do all I can to see no one else feels the helplessness that I did.  He answered my prayer and in turn I took a CNA class and got my liscens as a certified CNA.  I have never worked so hard and been paid so little.  I have been working for nearly a year now as a CNA and have seen numerous Nurse Assistants and Aides quit.  The pay is less than what they pay at McDonalds, or as a Food Service worker yet nothing is done to resolve this.  It is predicted in 2011 that there will be a great shortage of Nurses yet the school is made to be really hard when it need not be and the majority of the ones who do make it quit .  There is definitely a problem.  Nurses need to know and understand your Nurse Assistant (not maid or slave) is your wing man and makes sure you don't forget things.  I and the other Nurse Assistants have been treated like 2nd class citizens and get ruled around like we work for queens or princess's.  I can be working my tail off, non stop and a Nurse who is sitting, laughing, and talking to another Nurse will ask me to get juice, take ice, a blanket, etc instead of seeing I am sinking and need help.  So many times I want to just walk out but I have some sweet patient who says something like, "No one helps me like you and I Love You.  I love my work and I feel I am where I am needed but the pay I get could not begin to make any kind of a life for me and a family.  I unlike the others have a retirement from the Air Force to fall back on.  I want to launch a petition to give Assistants more pay and hope the Nurses out there can see the need also.  Not to mention you would get better workers that would stay.  Thanks for hearing me out!

I also agree.  It absolutely would not be possible to get through any day without the CNA's.  When I was a brand new LPN, it was the CNA's who showed me how to do half of the things I needed to do. I had no idea how to hook up suction correctly, and it was a CNA who taught me how.  When I needed to turn or change a patient that was heavier than I could do on my own, it was always the CNA who helped me; the other nurses were all 'too busy.'  As the years have gone by, and I have come across nurses and doctors along the way who everyone agreed were amazingly skilled and approachable at the same time.  I couldn't figure out how these guys and girls were so good at what they were doing, and had such an amazingly different attitude than the other nurses or doctors in their field.  Almost every time I have encountered one of these special people, I evenutally found out that they were CNA's prior to going on to medical school, nurse practitioner school, or RN school.  I agree, I think that everyone shoud have to start out with the CNA's. GN's should not be allowed to come out onto the floor and begin an RN patient assignment. They should spend a number of weeks honing their direct patient care skills, and learning from the best-the CNA's.

I too feel the same as an STNA of 10 yrs. I just finished the LPN Nursing program and will be taking the state boards soon.  I printed off the first comment posted, to take with me as a reminder, once I am employed as an LPN.  

I agree with everybody i have been a cna for about 5 yrs and no matter where i worked rather it be long term facility or hosp or home care us cna work very hard for little pay but when the pt. your taking care of thank you well you kind of look beond the pay i am at some point of my life going to become RN and i think i will be a good one becouse of the cna exp. but if there is patition to sign let me know i will be more than happy to do so.Thanks for listning

I HEAR YOU BUDDY!!!! I have been a CNA for 4 years and am now in a LPN program. I think it should be law that every nurse should have to be a CNA before becoming a nurse and that once a nurse you have to do CNA work periodically to remember how it feels. I've had nurses look for me for 5 minutes just to tell me so and so needed a friggin bedpan. puh-lease people. I understand nurses are busy too, but if everybody worked together it would make life easier on everyone.

Hi friends In my state Florida CNA's make $10 to12 per hour good money for Florida lol

I started out going to nursing school to become an RN then 3 1/2 years later I dropped out when I was going through a very nasty divorce.  I have been a SRNA for 10 years now.  I have to say it is the hardest job I have ever had.  There are days that I leave work hurting from the top of my head to my toes.  I worked 9 years in long term care at the local nursing home.  I will say that was the worst job I have ever had.  The nurses there as well as administration have made the comment several times that CNAs were a dime a dozen and could be found on the street any time.  They never help with patient care that is not in their "job description".  Since that time I have moved on to the hospital.  I have to say it is very rewarding.  I worked night shift for a while(always have)  then changed to day shift.  All the nurses have been exceptional.  They truly care that you are there.  All the nurses that I work with no matter what shift have bent over backwards to help me whenever I need them.  They come up to me several times a day just to see if I need help.  Whenever I do something for them that's not really in my "job description" but I know how to do it I always get complimented & it makes my day so much better.  It also makes my day when a patient tells me how special I am to have helped them.  What i'm trying to say is htat CNAs have a very hard job & don't get the recognition that they deserve.  I make $9.96 an hour and drive 1 hour to work.  I think that I am very underpaid for the job that I do.

I have been working as CNA for the past 10 years and then as  a Patient Care Technician for 6 yrs @ ICU. CNA  and patient care techs  do not get any respect.   For example at the hopspital that I work for give everything for  T he nurses including free parking.  Most RN frankly do not care about patients. Nursing schools are not emphazing on patient care.   Bedside matters are not being taught  and as the health care system becomes more complex more paperwork is added. This means RN spend more time on doing paperwork than patient care.

I am not saying all rn's are uncaring but it sure seemthat way.There is no collaboration between the level of care each individual patient

deserves. Most  people become RN's because they want to 60k - 80k a year. THEY FRANKLY DON'T CARE ABOUT THE PATIENT. THEY CARE ONLY ABOUT COVER THIER ASSES.  (MAKING SURE THAT THEIR CHARTING IS CORRECT SO THEY WONT'

BE PURSUED LEGALLY OR FIRED.       becca08

CNA's are not mushrooms. Before they are hired, they know the pay scale and the job description. If it's not satisfactory, they should leave then. Alot of jobs are underpaid and require hardwork. That's where education or the lack of it comes in. If you want to make big $$$, GO TO SCHOOL. If you are not willing to do that, what's the problem???